Jay Z and Beyonce join protests over Martin verdict

That will add some gravitas to the protesters.

I wonder what Beyonce wore!

" THIS is the BS.

" Sharpton told supporters that he wants to see an end to the stand-your-ground self-defense laws, which allowed Zimmerman to walk free."

It's this kind of misinformation that has entrapped people."

" George Zimmerman started the fight and George Zimmerman ended the fight,” Martin’s mother said in New York. “My son died without even knowing who his killer was. Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours.”

More misinformation. Following Martin was not what started the altercation. Martin suckerpunching Zimmerman is. But Nevermind the facts. Go with the hype.

Following Martin was not what started the altercation. Martin suckerpunching Zimmerman is.

And you complain about misinformation? That is not a fact. Its just George Zimmerman's side of the story, and Z is the only person left alive who was there and saw everything. And Z also happened to be the person whose butt was on the line, which means if there are ever any reasons to doubt a story on this Earth, that would be at the top of the list!

Z himself admits to reaching in his pockets after M approached Z and asked if he "had a problem". But there was no way for M to know Z was going for his cell phone since Z himself says his phone was not in that pocket. Thus, we don't have a sucker punch here even by Z's own account. What we have is a suspicious dude stalking M, who then goes for something in his pocket after M calls him on the stalking. Why would anyone not think Z was going for a weapon and either pounce on him or wish they had? And you know what? Z might be lying. It might not have been his cell he was going for, but rather his gun. We hear so much about Z's right to self defense. Where did Martin's go? You stalk some innocent people in the dark with racial profiling as your only excuse, fail to identify yourself and your intentions, and then go reaching for things under your clothes, you deserve what you end up with.

" And you complain about misinformation? That is not a fact. Its just George Zimmerman's side of the story"

Who punched whom?

Until a punch was thrown, both parties had the choice to flee. Neither made the right choice. One escalated to a physical confrontation. Did Zimmerman reach for his phone, his gun, or a pack of gum? Only Zimmerman knows. Others can only speculate. If Martin assumed Zimmerman was reaching for a gun it would lend to reason that he would seek to incapacitate Zimmerman by any means necessary placing Zimmerman in a likely fear of severe bodily harm or death. Had Martin sought to defuse the situation, there's a likelihood that nothing more would have happened. Zimmerman could have also made the right choice to not pursue, so in that sense yes he brought the situation on himself. Two wrongs.

FFS, Stand Your Ground isn't even the issue. Zimmerman's self-defense defense was pretty much bulletproof, no pun intended, once it was established and proved by ballistics that Martin was shot from below while he was on top of Zimmerman. Everything else that led up to that point, including any racial profiling, was immaterial as far as the jury was concerned. It had to be.

Following Martin was not what started the altercation. Martin suckerpunching Zimmerman is. But Nevermind the facts. Go with the hype.

Until a punch was thrown, both parties had the choice to flee.

Zimmerman's version does not add up. You can't call it a "sucker-punch" when you let your "punk-suspect" approach you the way Zimmerman claims he let Mr. Martin. Listen to his version with some thought and really try to visualize it.. Zimmerman says Mr. Martin approached him from behind. But instead of launching a sneak attack, Mr. Martin asks him if he's got a problem.

Zimmerman's brain processes an answer (split seconds) and replies, "No, I don't have a problem." (yeah, I'm just out here for a walk keeping tabs on you, you punk.)

By now they are facing each other with Mr. Martin approaching -- IF we are to believe Zimmerman. With his suspect closing in on him, Zimmerman's reaction is to reach for his cell phone to call 911. He doesn't appear to be backing up as Mr. Martin gets closer. No, he doesn't have to, but if he's going to try to talk to 911, wouldn't he try to buy himself some time and try to keep some distance? He just allows his suspect to approach him like that?

If we are to believe Zimmerman, there are two lines out of Mr. Martin's mouth: "You got a problem?" ... pause for Zimmerman's reply ... and "Well, you got one now." And a strike in this scenario would be called a "sucker-punch??!!" Sheesh, a person would have to be really stupid not to see it coming from a mile away! IF we are to buy Zimmerman's version of the events.

Keep in mind, Mr. Martin is on the phone with Ms. Jeantel this whole time and she can hear some of what is going on. What she hears does not back up Zimmerman at all. As she recounts it in her deposition (later on the stand), Mr. Martin's last words to her are "He's still following me," followed by "he's getting closer." (Zimmerman would not be returning to his vehicle at this time.) It doesn't appear as though Mr. Martin is planning a sneak attack. Earlier, he said he wasn't going to run. She describes Mr. Martin's voice as "scared."

Ms. Jeantel then hears Mr. Martin asking: "Why you following me?!!" She hears another voice, which she describes as "older" and sounding angry and breathing as if they had been running, saying "What are you doing around here?" She then describes a sound that sounds to her like a thud of someone hitting the ground. It would most likely be Mr. Martin's phone picking up the sound of the body it is attached to.

Her version sounds much more natural and realistic. There is no report of Mr. Martin challenging Zimmerman, the way Zimmerman recounts it. Zimmerman's call to the dispatcher ends at 7:13:41. The confrontation starts at approximately 7:15:20 -- the call to Ms. Jeantel goes dead within the next 20 seconds or so, and she describes what she hears as someone yelling "get off," "get off." before the call ends. The first call to 911 about the fight comes in at 7:16:11. The gunshot occurs at 7:16:55.

Rather than buy Zimmerman's version, it is quite plausible for Zimmerman to have grabbed Mr. Martin to throw him to the ground -- which he did -- but in the process, Mr. Martin landed a punch squarely to Zimmerman's nose. Stunned, it's quite likely that Mr. Martin got on top of him at this point and started landing blows, with Zimmerman yelling, "get off." This is heard by the neighbors and the calls to 911 come in.

Grandmother Dorothy Clay, 66, wore a pack of Skittles on her hat in honor of Martin, who was out buying the sweets on the night he died. She said she fears for her kids and five grandchildren in a country where a “cowardly, wannabe hero-vigilante” can get away with killing an unarmed teenager.

Pretty much accurate, Mrs. Clay. Only you might add a stalker with serious anger management issues.

@yabits, Martin punched Mr Zimmerman, after which Mr Zimmerman shot Martin fatally in self-defense.

Martin punched Mr Zimmerman, after which Mr Zimmerman shot Martin fatally in self-defense

Zimmerman grabbed Mr. Martin in anger after stalking him, and in the process of throwing him to the ground, Mr. Martin threw a punch that hit Zimmerman squarely on the nose, causing a slight fracture.

Zimmerman claims that, about a minute later, Mr. Martin was no longer punching him. Zimmerman claims that Mr. Martin was trying to choke him while putting his hand on his nose. Zimmerman pulled out his gun and shot him.

Zimmerman also claims that, while in the process of choking and pushing his nose, Martin spotted Zimmerman's gun, which was underneath him at the time. Zimmerman felt he had to get to his gun before Martin did. And so he pulled it out and shot the unarmed teenager whom he stalked for no reason other than "he looked suspicious."

As has been plentifully noted, MR Zimmerman was rightfully fearful for his life, and defended himself. The rest is immaterial.

And the circus continues. A jury of law, after reviewing hundreds of pages of evidence and listening to testimonies for several days, decided that Zimmerman did not do anything wrong legally. And that's it.

@jean

Following Martin was not what started the altercation. Martin suckerpunching Zimmerman is. But Nevermind the facts. Go with the hype.

Misinformation? The facts are, Zimmerman should have kept his butt in the car and followed orders as instructed instead of playing the hero.

bass, I don't disagree that Mr Zimmerman should have stayed in his car. But the fact is that Martin was shot in self-defense, very tragically.

The youth was a drug taking thug. It is sad when ever anyone dies but he paid the ultimate price for his actions. Zimmerman also seems a bit of a nutjob. This is just a side show for people to take sides on, bit of theatre for the plebs.

@falseflag

Trayvon was 17 and do what most stupid 17 year old kids do. Just because the DEFENSE tried to paint that picture of him and Zimmerman as the so called INNOCENT victim doesn't make it necessarily so.

bass4funk

Any 17 year old that does that is a thug and if he does in a country where guns are allowed should expect to be shot. I don't know what the defence have said about him but have read facts about him and his behaviour.

The trial is over. The prosecution didn't have the evidence to win. It's pretty simple. There can be dozens of "if only" points we could fight about. "If only" Zimmerman had stayed in his car. "If only" Trayvon had called 911 instead of his friend.

What bothers me is the exploitation happening by those around Trayvon. His parents ahve been divorced for 15 years. His father is a serial adulterer who sent Trayvon away at age 15 so that he could spend more time with his new girlfriend. His mother left him largely in care of his aunt and uncle at that time- she hadnt had custody of him for more than a decade. Yet now all ofa sudden they appear on TV as the grieving couple. It's nauseating.

And the circus continues. A jury of law, after reviewing hundreds of pages of evidence and listening to testimonies for several days, decided that Zimmerman did not do anything wrong legally. And that's it.

I happen to have been blessed (?) with an analytic mind and was fascinated by chess from a young age. I view the trial process as something like a chess match -- only more complex and fascinating, with human pieces. The moves of a match are all recorded so that they can be studied later. Yes, someone one or lost a particular game, but each game is analyzed to see who made a wrong move, or who made a really brilliant one. Games played a century ago are still being analyzed.

I think it is very important to do that.

Zimmerman's team won game 1, but the match is far from over. Those who think "that's it" don't realize the game we're all in.

Obama is a moron:

“I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk?” Obama said. “And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened?”

I've seen this argument before, that Martin was justified in assaulting Zimmerman because he felt threatened by someone following him. This is pure idiocy.

I get followed a lot in Japan. Sometimes it is someone wanting to ask me if I give English lessons ("No. Thank you for asking."), sometimes it is someone just curious about the new face in their area, sometimes they want to talk to me. Does this mean I'm justified in assaulting anyone? Hell no, you'd be crazy to even suggest it.

If someone followed me for several days I'd be justified in taking their picture and going to the police to say, "Hey, this person keeps following me. Care to look into it? Or y'know if I turn up with a knife in my back then this should give you a good place to start...". But someone following me once? Don't be an idiot.

Obama's statements make no sense, he's basically saying its open season on anyone following you, and that rampant paranoia is a legitimate legal defense.

Maybe they should just amend the Presidential criteria to include "IQ must be below 90 to qualify". Obama supposedly has a degree in law, but he says this nonsense? Clearly he must have slept through the classes.

jpn_guyJul. 21, 2013 - 09:46PM JST Zimmerman's own statements are the only evidence. As no-one saw the tussle,

Johnathon Goodman saw Martin assaulting Zimmerman. Sure, he didn't see the start, but we have eyewitness testimony that Martin continued to assault Zimmerman on the ground, even after Zimmerman was clearly down. There's also the blood on the street from Zimmerman, Zimmerman's wounds (and the medical reports from the night to back them up), and the autopsy of Martin showing no defensive wounds. There's a mass of evidence. You're just ignoring it.

@falseflag

Any 17 year old that does that is a thug and if he does in a country where guns are allowed should expect to be shot. I don't know what the defence have said about him but have read facts about him and his behaviour.

You don't know that and you don't know him! You just know what the Defense said. Of course their job is to discredit him. And that was a underhand snide comment that you made. So all 17 year olds that experiment with drugs are thugs? My, you seem to come off high and mighty. What makes you think that you are a cut above the rest? You are looking at everything from a narrow skewed prism. You might be right, but then again, you might be totally wrong. Remember one thing, we are talking about lawyers, understand what they do and open your eyes. We just don't know, but one thing is for sure. A 17 year old kid is dead, because a lone wolf wanted to play good cop, that's all there is to it.

@frungy

Johnathon Goodman saw Martin assaulting Zimmerman. Sure, he didn't see the start, but we have eyewitness testimony that Martin continued to assault Zimmerman on the ground, even after Zimmerman was clearly down. There's also the blood on the street from Zimmerman, Zimmerman's wounds (and the medical reports from the night to back them up), and the autopsy of Martin showing no defensive wounds.

Remember, it was raining heavily that night, so most of the evidence on Martin's hand would have been washed off. My question is, what led up to the assault? Why would Martin go out of his way to pummel Zimmerman like that? Ask yourself that question, there must be a reason. This is why I say, something went badly wrong once the two met and that Martin or ANY kid would just clock someone just like that seems suspiciously odd.

Of course it's possible that Trayvon was afraid of Zimmerman and swung first. Hard to believe though, given that Trayvon was over 6 feet tall and Zimmerman is a pudgy guy of about 5 foo 8. Again, the evidence does not support that idea. Nor did the prosecution bring it up. To the contrary, the prosecution admitted that the situation ended up wit Trayvon on top and Zimmerman on the bottom. Even so, the better option would have been to run away rather than fight.

I mentioned the parents because, the more I read about Trayvon's home life, the more sympathy I felt for him. It also gave me some insight into what his state of mind may have been that tragic night. A kid, just suspended from school, ordered to go to his father's girlfriend's house in redneck country, that would upset anyone. Especially a teenage boy who had been more or less ignored by both parents for several years. Boys need fathers as role models, and it is painfully clear that Trayvon's father was an abject failure as a role model.

Trayvon was over 6 feet tall

The official autopsy report gives Martin's height as 71 inches. That's not 6 feet.

There can be dozens of "if only" points we could fight about. "If only" Zimmerman had stayed in his car. "If only" Trayvon had called 911 instead of his friend.

If only America didn't have Wild West laws that allowed people to carry guns and use them whenever they 'feel threatened'.

I am not sure, but I heard the coroners report that he was 183 cm but I'm not sure if it is true or not, but he didn't look short. Zimmerman does look rather small, but again, I have no exact idea.

Official autopsy -

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/05/17/trayvon.martin.autopsy.pdf

Well, the public got used to seeing pictures of Trayvon as a beautifully smiling child, rather than the tattoed gold-grilled young man he had become. For months, all you saw was Trayvon at 12, not Trayvon at 17.

Cleo, if America didn't have those laws, then we might be talking about the death of George Zimmerman, not Trayvon Martin.

This is not a case of racial profiling, something the media and protesters have been pushing from day one, but rather ridiculous gun laws that exist in the United States. If people anything good could come of this perhaps it would be to put a major push to change the gun laws and to address the root causes and frustration of the black community. Racial profiling exists but it exists for a reason...Something any newscaster commentator, editor, celebrity, or man on the street dare not say...Because if you openly address the issues that are plaguing the Black community (and you are non-black) such as the disproportionate amount of black children born into one parent homes, disproportionate crime rare stats, disproportionate educational drop out rate, you will be labelled a racist...you will be crucified. Therefore, instead of addressing these issues, everybody tap dances around the elephant in the room and talks about racial profiling as if at is the cause of all these issues. Which it is not...And everybody (including black people know this). Shane on all those who have jumped on the band wagon to serve their own self righteous agendas; meanwhile the black community continues to wallow in desperation with no solutions to their community's plight other than excuses. Yabits...You want to do real good? Take all this misguided energy you've been putting into your posting about this case and direct it toward long term solutions for the black community. Petition the government to: *invest into educational programs for inner city children

Reinitiate affirmative action programs in both the work place and in colleges and universities invest into programs that encourage and assist the black family unit. invest into the economies of inner cities

I am not sure, but I heard the coroners report that he was 183 cm

The report listed his height at 180 cm -- or 5 feet, 11 inches. You'll see people adding inches to his height that aren't there with the intention of making him bigger than he was. And a bigger African American is to be feared as more powerful, so add every inch you can.

Mr. Martin's weight was 72 kg, or 158 pounds. That's slender. One of Mr. Martin's nicknames referred to his slender build. This guy was no muscle-bound person. He wasn't carrying any weapon on the night he was killed by Zimmerman. The shooter was 5 ft, 7 inches or 170 cm. and weighed 185 lbs (84 kg). A mug shot taken of him a few years earlier shows him to be much heavier. (He may have regained a lot of that weight.)

Yabits...You want to do real good? Take all this misguided energy you've been putting into your posting about this case and direct it toward long term solutions for the black community

Gee, does it have to be an either / or? If I'm working with members of the underclass does that mean I have to not place energy in an issue they all care about? You seem very condescending, and I don't see how that attitude helps anyone. You talk as if you are perfect in your analysis that education and affirmative action will cure the root causes. They will not. That is not meant to say they won't have some marginal positive impact.

If anyone wants to consider what might lie close to the root cause, I can't think of a better example than discussing the sin of Ms. Rachel Jeantel. What did she do so wrong to inspire the meanness and disrespect that has gone her way?

While I do agree that Trayvon Martin was murdered, I do believe that it was not racially motivated. As long as the prosecution keeps their approach along those lines, this case will continually be lost by them. I believe that Zimmerman is guilty of manslaughter as he should only have observed and reported like a neighborhood watch "captain" is supposed to do. Not "confront" someone who "looks" suspicious. Problem is the MSM is going to fan the flames (not like Martin's relatives didn't help along those lines) by making sure things are focused on race instead of the problem that Zimmerman went off and further instigated a situation that never had to happen in the first place. Trayvon was walking along a sidewalk in the rain and as far as he knew some person he didn't know in the slightest was stalking him. When Zimmerman got out of the vehicle to follow and confront Trayvon (Zimmerman knew he had a concealed weapon on himself and thought he would "handle" the situation with his "protection"). Zimmerman was following Trayvon from the back so he could not see Trayvon's face at all in the weather conditions to determine that he was a young black man walking on the sidewalk, he was only obsessed with following someone he thought looked suspicious without knowing their ethnicity.

I've nearly been assaulted myself by someone who was literally following me and tried to rush me one time. I did what Trayvon probably did, put up his fists and prepare to defend himself from someone who obviously acting suspicious themselves by stalking him. The people trying to prosecute Zimmerman need to get their case straight.

Either way Zimmerman knows he's going to have to watch his back for the rest of his life, because most likely there will be some person without any wisdom putting him in his grave out of pure blind vindictiveness.

Yabits So you say that addressing the educational and rate of crime disparities will have only a "marginal impact" on the plight of the black community, and believe our energy would best be spent on topics as to how mistreated Rachel Jeantel has been mistreated? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

While I do agree that Trayvon Martin was murdered, I do believe that it was not racially motivated.

While that may be true, my honest opinion is that the Sanford Police would not have been so willing to accept Zimmerman's self-defense story at the scene, if it was an unarmed, 17-year-old white teenager who was living in the neighborhood. I don't believe the "friends" who rallied around Zimmerman would have been so vocal to defend him.

If the white teenager's home was just 70 feet away, and one or both parents arrived at the scene, I don't believe that they would have been quiet if the Sanford Police refused to apprehend the shooter for as long as it took them to investigate and file charges on Zimmerman.

If the white teenager was talking on the phone with his girlfriend, and she was an attractive, articulate, popular girl in the area, and her version of what she heard dramatically conflicted with the shooter's version, I believe that the same, exact jury would have been swayed in a different direction.

This case makes me feel like I'm back in Dearborn in the "good old days."

I don't believe the "friends" who rallied around Zimmerman would have been so vocal to defend him.

Unfortunately those who are most vocal to in Zimmerman's "defense" that I've heard of are still stuck in the "old" Southern ways of thinking no matter how much they try to cover it up. Nothing like shootin' a ** in the street as far as they're concerned, instead of being held accountable for lynching they can just claim it was self-defense as long as the victim doesn't survive in Florida.

Last time I checked about Obama-

He is half-white Raised by his white mother Grew up rich Went to the most expensive private school in Hawaii Went to private colleges 99% of his chosen cabinet are white people Lives in a "white house"

Now he acts like he lived the black struggle.....

@dude

Obama didn't grow up rich. At best for Hawaii standards, average and that's not rich, because a lot of things he wanted to do, his grandparents ( who were the people that raised him ) didn't have a whole lot of money. Growing up in Hawaii, you are in a more international and interracial environment, however, to say that Obama didn't go through the Black experience is false. He did go through it and more so when he moved to the mainland. Going to a private college doesn't mean anything. He was awarded a scholarship, he didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. Now, I'm in NO way an Obama supporter, but I read his books and the man didn't have a cakewalk as far as socially is concerned.

And the circus continues. A jury of law, after reviewing hundreds of pages of evidence and listening to testimonies for several days, decided that Zimmerman did not do anything wrong legally. And that's it.

Exactly. No trial in the history of the United States of America has ever been found to have been rigged, intentionally hamstrung, at the mercy of incompetents, or to have had any shenanigans happen of any kind whatsoever. Never. Not even once. Which is why the DOJ is not bothering to review the case. (sarcasm)

Exactly. No trial in the history of the United States of America has ever been found to have been rigged, intentionally hamstrung, at the mercy of incompetents, or to have had any shenanigans happen of any kind whatsoever. Never. Not even once.

In this trial, "stand-your-ground" was never argued and the legal points of it never saw the light of day -- in the trial.

And yet the judge saw fit to introduce stand-your-ground in the instructions to the jury. And the jury, as we know, considered its principles when coming to a final verdict. I have to believe that the judge didn't write the instructions herself -- that some law clerks working in her office did that. But she clearly wasn't sharp enough to catch what had been done. Nor was the prosecution.

It's a bit like being at a game where there's a circumstance where the right call is very hard to make with the human eye by the umpire or referee. Technology, like the video replay, has made things a bit easier. Referees and umpires have been known to make horrible calls. In a disputed situation, the final decision isn't made until a full and careful review.

Under our legal system, a person found "not guilty" of a specific charge is freed from that charge. An alert and dedicated citizenry, however, will always be vigilant and interested to know if the "right call" had been made. When we "accept" the results of a call, it doesn't mean we agree with it. Referees have been known to be paid off, players have been known to shave points or throw a game. And we have to let the game be played to detect if any of that is going on.

Bias plays a part too. It was said that Ted Williams, the last major league player to hit .400 in a season, had an eye that was so keen, and struck out so rarely, that it was said that umpires gave him his own strike zone. Anything he didn't swing at must have been a bad pitch. The biases here are societal prejudices against a young black male wearing a hoodie and "looking suspicious," and a neighborhood "watch" person who the unschooled citizen views as something akin to law enforcement.

This case isn't even tough to being a close call. It is an egregious miscarriage of justice. I am absolutely delighted with this verdict because of how it exposes so many Americans in the act of being their blinded, deluded or depraved selves.