While I do understand, and can ague you point, this is just part of the whole article:
Over the past several weeks, the men’s parents, Deede and Julius Patterson, watched news of Trayvon Martin’s death in Florida and focused on the similarities. In both cases, an unarmed young black man died at the hands of someone of a different race.
And they began to wonder why no one was marching for their son, why people like the Rev. Al Sharpton had not booked a ticket to Toombs County. The local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. has not even gotten involved, although Mr. Patterson’s father approached them.
“We are looking into the case,” said Michael Dennard, the president of the chapter, after a reporter called more than a year after the crime. He would not say more.
Why some cases with perceived racial implications catch the national consciousness and others do not is as much about the combined power of social and traditional media as it is about happenstance, said Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor at The Atlantic who writes about racial issues.
Several events coalesced to push the Martin case forward: an apparently incomplete police investigation, no immediate arrest and Florida’s expansive self-defense law.
“These stories happen all the time,” Mr. Coates said. “It’s heartbreaking and tragic, but there’s not much news coverage unless the circumstances are truly, truly unusual.”
“Stories like the south Georgia killing don’t have the same particulars,” he said. “One of the great tragedies is that people get shot under questionable circumstances in this country all the time.”
Although the facts surrounding the case in Florida and the case in Georgia are quite different, both involve a claim of legally sanctioned self-defense, a dead young black man and, for the Pattersons and the Martins, deep concern that race played a role in the deaths of their sons.
“I definitely believe racism is why he was shot,” said Mrs. Patterson, who recently left her job as director of operations at a uniform company and moved to another small Georgia town. “And for him to get nothing but a slap on the wrist? There is something wrong here.”
That race played a significant part is not hard to imagine here in a county that was named after Robert Toombs, a general and one of the organizers of the Confederate government. A black woman has never been named Miss Vidalia Onion in the annual festival that begins Thursday. And until last year in neighboring Montgomery County, there were two proms — one for whites and one for blacks.
Still, like so many other crimes where race might be a factor, this one is not so clear-cut. Mr. Neesmith says he felt threatened. He says he aches for the parents but believes none of this would have happened if the young men had not been in his house when they should not have been.

Weren't the young men invited to be there - invited by the girls residing in the house? You can't shoot people just because you don't know them, especially if it appears possible that they were there as guests of other residents of the house. This is a lesson to the girls that their actions could have bad consequences for the homeowner.

Oh wow look, that same article you posted just went over why this isn't getting the same media circus that the Martin/Zimmerman case is. Cool.

Well it seems, for the moment at least, that someone lied while under oath. Or at the very least withheld information and deceived the court and court officers. And keep in mind that both of his parents had jobs/careers in the court systems. His father was a Judge and had to know just what was going on here....Hummm.
Attorney: Zimmerman Had $200K From Web Donations
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/a...5#.T5qsNbMvkUU

George Zimmerman Remains Free - For Now (DETAILS)

George Zimmerman will remain free - for now. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. said he's not going to make a decision about bond until he has all the facts regarding the PayPal accounts and donation lists that have been given to Zimmerman.
Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/george-z...#ixzz1tFrRgIbD

Trayvon Martin Case: George Zimmerman's lawyer says he didn't know about $200,000 in donations before bond hearing
Mark O'Mara told the judge Friday that Zimmerman's family hadn't informed him about the money before his client was granted $150,000 bond.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_1...%3BcontentBody

How George Zimmerman’s Prosecutors Missed $200,000
Florida prosecutors said on Friday they were surprised to learn that George Zimmerman had raised more than $200,000 for his own defense in the killing of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
But a week ago, those same prosecutors had a chance to grill Zimmerman and his family about the fund and mostly took a pass.
The revelation about just how much money Zimmerman collected came on Thursday night when his attorney told CNN that his client managed to raise the cash in just a few weeks by using a crudely built website and a PayPal account.
The six-figure surprise was a major departure from what the Zimmerman family claimed during sworn testimony at a hearing last week.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...in.php?ref=fpa

George Zimmerman’s crude Myspace page from 2005 uncovered-While it includes photos of an ethnically diverse group of friends, the murder defendant’s 2005 web presence includes disparaging remarks about Mexicans.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/0...#storylink=cpy

Now We Know It's Real! Zimmerman's Attorney Confirms MySpace Page (DETAILS)

Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/george-z...#ixzz1tj2hecoA
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/0...#storylink=cpy

Well now it's too much of a circus for me to care anymore. His 2005 Myspace page? That warrants multiple stories, some by actual newspapers?

I'll be interested in the post mortem of his trial. His 7 year old Myspace page, however, is not something I care too much about.

Agreed.

Kevin: This may have some impact on case-not only in court of public opinion but in court of law.
While this article may be far from perfect, it does bring out the point rather well. At the very least, it would make one give the idea some thought
Newly-Uncovered George Zimmerman MySpace Page Disparages Mexicans And His ‘Ex-Hoe’
http://www.mediaite.com/online/newly...nd-his-ex-hoe/

TPMMuckraker

Unearthed: George Zimmerman’s MySpace Page
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...in.php?ref=fpa

I doubt it will have any impact on the case in a court of law. How is it relevant to the charge of second degree murder and how does any relevance outweigh its potential unfair prejudice? What does what he said about Mexicans 7 years ago have to do with whether he committed second degree murder when he killed an African-American youth two months ago? Especially given that he identifies as Hispanic? Despite what the article says (yes, I read it), I think it's unlikely that this information will matter in court.

Here's an idea: Instead of posting nothing but links to random articles, why don't you give us your thoughts on why all of these articles are worth reading or have anything to add to the conversation.

Well besides just reading the articles MysticCat, I also spoke to several friends and associates who are in the legal field. They thought that it could have an impact in court as well.

Well, maybe things are different in Florida -- always a possibility -- but I have some trouble imagining that a judge would let this in.

It will likely have no impact, unless the defense has literally no idea how to pick a jury.

The point that there's a Myspace page? You and I have far different expectations out of articles.

Giving ideas thought is always a good plan.

On a less snarky note, WHAT idea?

While perhaps self-serving:
From Washington Post article:
Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said Wednesday that prosecutors could use Zimmerman’s MySpace comments against him.
“It’s not just speculation and innuendo. He has a history and a habit of profiling people,” Crump said. “He thinks certain things about certain racial groups.”

A statement posted on a Zimmerman defense site run by O’Mara concedes that the comments “will cast Mr. Zimmerman in a less-than-favorable light” and that they could become evidence in the case. The statement says there will be no comment on the MySpace statements for that reason, but it does confirm that the posts were by Zimmerman.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/old-ge...washingtonpost

MC is "in the legal field" as well ... also, when people say things like "are in the legal field" it usually means "they're not lawyers though." Are they? In Florida?

They are and it seems as if both of the attorneys directly involved are of the mind that this could be in play at trial.

No.

First, the attorney for the Martin family is completely uninvolved in the criminal proceedings. That opinion is less than worthless - it's likely intentionally slanted or misleading.

Second, here's the entire context for the defense attorney's statement:

It's a glorified "No Comment" - an easy way to address it without actually addressing it, or tying his client to anything. Don't assume that means it actually will become evidence, or even that O'Mara actually believes it has a significant chance to become evidence.

MC's given us an informed opinion: in most jurisdictions, most judges would find the posts more prejudicial than probative. Likely because, well, they're not at all probative on whether he shot a kid 7 years later, particularly given the decision to avoid Murder 1.

Perhaps self-serving? And, as KSig RC (who, like Kevin, is also "in the legal field") said, not from anyone actually involved in the criminal case.

Aside from general irrelevance to elements of second degree murder, as a general rule evidence of past behavior is inadmissible to show that a defendant acted in a manner consistent with that behavior in committing the crime charged. In other words, the fact that someone did something in the past is not evidence that they did it on the occasion for which they're facing charges. Exceptions to that general rule can apply if the evidence serves some other purpose, such as to establish motive or because of real similarity between the past acts and the current one. Without something else, I don't see how evidence of things he said about Mexicans 7 years ago would meet this exception.

Well it would seem fair to say that based on what you all have said or indicated here that unless one of you is directly involved in this case none of your POVs matters all that much either. I will put more faith into what the lawyers directly involved say or do than anyone here. The only POV that does will be the judge's and the jury's when all this comes together. In what will no doubt be two trials-Criminal and Civil.

And I should add that I place more faith in people that I know as family, friends, Brothers or business associates than unknown people in a social media setting.

All I have to add to the previous comments is this: LOL.

Please just drop this. We don't need a Zimmerman news aggregation service here on GC. I am not at all concerned about what Zimmerman may or may not have said 7 years ago. For a variety of reasons, e.g., relevance and difficulty of authentication, this will never make it to the jury.

I frankly doubt this case ever even goes to a jury at this point.

LOL back at you Kevin-As far as I know-no one is forcing you to read this thread. A thread with almost 9,000 views. And a thread that someone else started.

You're cute when you're mad.

CAN I GET A FLOUNCE?!


Plz...

Well, that would be eminantly reasonable.

And I will continue to give short shrift to posts that consist almost solely of linking to random articles from all over the place, without showing even the slightest bit of independent or critical thought.

The four of you made this thread really boring.

And by "four of you" I mean SOM.

Dear MysticCat and agzg, I see nothing wrong with SOM's posts. It is not uncommon for knowledge to be found from all sources and brought to Greekchat. Moreover, if you all cannot handle the wisdom that SOM brings to Greekchat, feel free to ignore the posts.

Additional information to keep you informed:
http://www.cutepuppies.net/
http://www.dailypuppy.com/

A guy I know said this thread was COMPLETELY AWESOME - obviously I'll take his word over yours, because I know him.

I promise he's not me. Promise.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...rld&id=8663404

That's pretty consistent with Zimmerman's account of things.

I guess this case is no longer as sexy for the media to cover it now that there's a reasonable chance that Martin was the one who initiated the physical violence.

The media is how you found out that info. ;) The media has never been completely silent because I see at least one article per week on this. There has simply been less to say in a larger sense once people get bored with Nancy Grace and the court of public opinion. The obvious "we shall wait and see" is what is going on.

There is still a reasonable chance that Zimmerman initiated the violence when he followed Martin and perhaps ran up on Martin which caused Martin to respond (or Martin to stop when he discovered he was being followed and say to Zimmerman "what the hell are you following me for"). Martin perhaps thought he was defending himself just as Zimmerman is claiming that he was defending himself with a gun-to-a-fist-fight. The Gun Gods are mighty generous if they just so happened to allow Zimmerman to have his gun to defend himself for an unsolicitated and nonprecipitated fist fight.

There never was all that much to say. Hell.. when we were on media blitz mode when this thing started, or rather when the national media picked it up, there was a lot less to say than there is right now.

It's a really good thing we don't convict people in this country based on there being a reasonable chance they're guilty.

And the river of redundancy keeps flowing.

I'm interested to see what "intermediate range" means regarding the approximate distance of the gunshot that ended this boy's life.

As you've pointed out, nothing here changes anything previously known about this story. Legal hearing/proceedings in the matter have been scant, so naturally the coverage has lessened as well.

From the released police video (2 hours? post event), little of these "injuries" were apparent. Also, earlier reporting suggested that paramedics cancelled the need for a second ambulance (meant for Zimmerman) at the scene. Also, I didn't see it noted in the above story but I read yesterday that the family doctor had been a childhood friend of the defendant's father, so there is that. :rolleyes:

Bartlett's-worthy!

I hope so. :)

*****
I'm simply amused that when the media gets started people say "oh, media, thou art loose...why doth thou ramble off of bread and bitter herbs?!" When the media takes a breather and only shares a few news stories people say "hahaha, media, quiet now art thou?! Doth thou have nothing to sayeth?! Take dat! Take dat! Gooniegoogoo!!"

Can't win for losing.

Scenario 1 happens quite a bit. It's neither shocking nor unprecedented. It's called prosecutorial discretion. That's probably why it took so long to charge. In murder cases, prosecutors aren't always going to charge a crime when they know the Defendant has a pretty solid defense.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ort/55046944/1

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...icle-1.1080182

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/17...ound-fired-at/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/cops-witnes...ry?id=16371852

Well, now.

http://cdn-live2.blackenterprise.net...ng-300x232.jpg

Google link