I watched in a news room studio as John Guy gave his rebuttal closing article. And the one thing that struck me the most was the way Assistant District Attorney Guy handled the topic of race. I’ve said from the beginning this case is all about race. Many of the prospective jurors, both African American and white disagreed in their answers during voir dire that the case was about race. Perhaps, for the people of Sanford, Florida and Seminole County to believe the case is about race says something about them which they chose to ignore. There were peaceful protests to bring about the arrest of George Zimmerman which one juror, referred to as “rioting” during jury selections. Judge Debra Nelson may have also been in denial when she denied the state the opportunity to use the words “racial profiling”. And what else could it be? George Zimmerman’s own testimony stated that there had been break- ins by African American males. And Trayvon Martin fit that description of an African … [Read more...] about John Guy’s Closing Sums it Up About Race in Zimmerman Trial
Archives for July 2013
Women Bear the Weight of the Zimmerman Trial
From the beginning with the 911 operator telling George Zimmerman that they didn’t need for him to follow Trayvon Martin, to State Prosecutor Angela Corey bringing the charges against George Zimmerman, women have played a major role in this case. From the quiet grace of Sybrina Fulton enduring every mother’s nightmare of having to bury her child, to Judge Debra Nelson and the six diverse women on the jury who now have the fate of George Zimmerman in their hands, women have been front and center in the George Zimmerman trial. After giving the jury instructions by which the jury is bound to decide the case, applying the law to the facts, Judge Nelson turned the case over to the 6 women jurors. These six women, ranging in ages from 30's to 60's, who now are deliberating the case know their decision will have an impact far beyond this case. Their faces or identity have not been revealed. We know very little about them, except 5 are white and one, B-29 is being described as … [Read more...] about Women Bear the Weight of the Zimmerman Trial
Is the Prosecution Losing the Zimmerman Trial?
Day 10 of the Zimmerman trial testimony gets off to a start on Monday, July 8 with the defense calling more family and friends. So how did the prosecution do in its case? To hear more, watch on RT America as trial attorney Debbie Hines and Marc M. Harold, a lawyer and former Atlanta police officer discuss the current state of affairs in the trial. How The Prosecution is Losing the #Zimmerman Trial...[VIDEO] http://t.co/i8Bf5i0sSj @THom_Hartmann @MarcMHarrold @legalspeaks— RT America (@RT_America) July 9, 2013 … [Read more...] about Is the Prosecution Losing the Zimmerman Trial?
Trayvon Martin is on Trial Along With George Zimmerman
There’s no doubt that Trayvon Martin, a black 17 year old teenager is on trial for his own murder, ever since George Zimmerman was arrested and charged for his murder, 44 days after killing him. And if Trayvon Martin had lived and George Zimmerman had died, there would be no doubt that the jury would be able to convict on second degree murder, albeit with the same exact case and evidence. Trayvon Martin would be just one more young black man going to prison like the half of the prison population of the jails in the U.S. Now that Zimmerman, a white Hispanic, is on trial for killing an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin is still the one being tried and there’s now discussion about finding reasonable doubt for Zimmerman. To find reasonable doubt, the jury will need to overlook the exaggerations which I prefer to call lies that Zimmerman told. His head was not slammed 20-25 times against the cement, as he claimed. Even the officers, including Det. Serino who mostly … [Read more...] about Trayvon Martin is on Trial Along With George Zimmerman
The Good, Bad and Ugly of the State’s Case Against Zimmerman
All in all, there was some good, some bad and some downright ugly moments in the State’s presentation. After reviewing the good, the bad and the ugly, I grade them a C+ on presentation of the case, possibly a B- , if grading on a curve, which the jury is probably not going to do. The highest grade was the opening statement by John Guy which was an A grade by all accounts. The opening statement was a brilliant way to start using the inflammatory curse words that Zimmerman used to describe Trayvon Martin. Unfortunately,many other aspects of the prosecution’s case did not match up to the opening. The State began its case methodically with the fact witnesses who were the neighbors who either saw or heard something and friend Rachel Jeantel who was the last person to speak to Trayvon Martin, other than Zimmerman. In real court time, witnesses do not always respond the way you expect them to respond, despite all best preparation efforts. This is not scripted TV or at the movies. … [Read more...] about The Good, Bad and Ugly of the State’s Case Against Zimmerman
5 Lies That Could Land Zimmerman in Jail for Life
All of the many lies of George Zimmerman cast a huge shadow over his version of events and his ever sinking Stand Your Ground defense. The problem with lies is sometimes they ultimately catch up and meet the truth. We will soon find out if Zimmerman’s lies will land him in jail for Trayvon Martin’s death. George Zimmerman’s defense rests on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law enacted in 2005. The prosecution claims that Zimmerman was a wanna be cop who knew the Stand Your Ground Law and suggests he might know how to get away with murder using self- defense. Zimmerman told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview on July 18, 2012 that he knew nothing about Stand Your Ground laws before the incident. One of Zimmerman’s Seminole County State college professors, Alexis Carter, who taught a criminal law course involving extensive Stand Your Ground laws where Zimmerman was a student in 2010, testified that he remembers Zimmerman for being one of his better students who got an A grade … [Read more...] about 5 Lies That Could Land Zimmerman in Jail for Life