The Murder of Trayvon Martin

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I'm not sure what their ages have to do with anything, but ok...

Murder trials require the highest burden of proof to convict. The jury felt the prosecution didn't meet that burden. They found Zimmerman not guilty. I'm not sure why that automatically means that they're all biased and had their minds made up before the trial...

Zimmerman, a more fit one at that, was 27, 28 at the time of confrontation? Martin was 16, and by most photos I've seen, tall and thin.

In general, men are stronger than boys. Zimmerman's appearance now, doughy and out of shape, fit with the defense's "fear for his life" strategy.

I never said all the jurors were biased. But when I hear the CNN interview of juror B-37... "George's heart was in the right place....." that suggests to me her mind was made up before opening statements.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by TonyB06

Zimmerman, a more fit one at that, was 27, 28 at the time of confrontation? Martin was 16, and by most photos I've seen, tall and thin.

In general, men are stronger than boys. Zimmerman's appearance now, doughy and out of shape, fit with the defense's "fear for his life" strategy.

And I know many 16-year-olds who are stronger than some 27-year-olds. If you want to argue strength, that's one thing. To argue that one is stronger than the other because he's 10 years older, though.. that doesn't always add up.

I never said all the jurors were biased.

I'm sorry if I misunderstood, but this statement - at the end of your arguments about how the jury didn't consider all the facts - made me believe that you were referring to the entire jury:

See how this game goes? At every turn, the jury gave GZ every presumption of belief, and the dead guy--strike that--the dead, unarmed kid who had a right to be where he was, got none.

The most galling thing in this for me, besides the kiling and atrocity of a trial verdict is that nobody gave any weight at all to Trayvon's right to stand his ground.

And regarding juror B-37...

But when I hear the CNN interview of juror B-37... "George's heart was in the right place....." that suggests to me her mind was made up before opening statements.

Maybe. Maybe even a few others' were, too. But again, you didn't initially point out one jury member.. you spoke of the jury as a whole.

Even if one person had decided what their vote would be beforehand, everyone in that deliberation room has to agree in order to read a 'guilty' or 'not guilty' verdict.

And even if all of them had their minds made up ahead of time, well.. that's a possibility.. just like it's a possibility that none of them did. None of us will ever know unless they all come out and admit to it. In the meantime, I think that speaking in the definitive about such things only creates more outrage (for lack of a better word).

[maconmagnolia]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Maybe. Maybe even a few others' were, too. But again, you didn't initially point out one jury member.. you spoke of the jury as a whole.

Even if one person had decided what their vote would be beforehand, everyone in that deliberation room has to agree in order to read a 'guilty' or 'not guilty' verdict.

And even if all of them had their minds made up ahead of time, well.. that's a possibility.. just like it's a possibility that none of them did. None of us will ever know unless they all come out and admit to it. In the meantime, I think that speaking in the definitive about such things only creates more outrage (for lack of a better word).

One of the jurors who spoke out (maybe the only one?) said that the jury was originally split 3-3 when they started deliberations, which would suggest that if even a few jurors did have their minds made up that they would acquit Zimmerman, not all of them did.