The Murder of Trayvon Martin

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I disagree.

Trayvon Martin could have been defending himself just as George Zimmerman claims self-defense.

The burden will be on the state to prove that Martin was not the aggressor. Not the other way around. Innocent 'til proven guilty. If Zimmerman was just following and was in a place he had a legal right to be, there's no duty to retreat. If that was the case and Martin attacked and caused the injuries described, I'd say lethal force was privileged at that point.

A broken nose (are there medical records?) after you follow someone and "just so happen" to have a gun--seems potentially justified to me. I see a possible indictment and hopefully no amount of family and friends in powerful positions will reduce that.

A broken nose is pretty hard to make up. Zimmerman's legal team is playing this exactly right. They're holding everything back until and if they have to deal with it in court. They don't have to convince the public that they're innocent. Just the Judge at the preliminary hearing or the Jury at trial.

Just like people want a lesson to be learned regarding young Black and Latino males and hoodies, I hope a lesson is being learned regarding what Neighborhood Watch is NOT about and vigilante justice.

Well, assuming Zimmerman's story is true (and I don't know what evidence there is to contradict it), vigilante justice isn't the story. We may just be talking about a cautionary tale for neighborhood watchers where if they scare the folks they are watching, they may end up being jumped.