@DrewDad,
oralloy fails to see that, by charging Zimmerman with 2nd degree murder, they also intend to prove that he created the dangerous condition that led to the death of Martin.
That will likely include Zimmerman's getting out of his car, following, and confronting Martin--which are all provocative actions, which point to Zimmerman as the instigator and creator of the dangerous condition for Martin. What made the condition most dangerous for the unarmed Martin was the fact that Zimmerman was armed with a weapon while doing all of those things. And, after provoking Martin into a fight, Zimmerman needlessly killed him with that weapon while Martin was trying to defend himself from someone he saw as menacing him.
And, what motivated Zimmerman's actions to respond to Martin as "suspicious", to call the police, and to follow and confront him, seems mainly based on racial profiling--he was a young black male wearing a hoodie, and fit Zimmerman's perception of criminal types in that housing complex--and fit Zimmerman's perception of the (criminal) person he was shooting at when he killed him. Acting on such erroneous perceptions--and the animus inherent in them--would also constitute a "deranged mind".
Zimmerman had negative feelings toward Martin from the moment he spotted him--he saw him as a criminal type, based mainly on his physical appearance, and Zimmerman didn't like seeing such alleged criminals in his housing complex, and it bothered him when they were able to elude the police. In reality, Martin wasn't actually doing anything wrong or even remotely criminal--he was the victim of Zimmerman's racial profiling. Martin was returning from the store to go back to the residence where he was a guest, and he was walking around talking on his cell phone as he did that--that's all he was doing. The "suspicious" activity was all in Zimmerman's mind. And it was Zimmerman's mind-set--and his own decision not to sit in his vehicle until the police showed up-- and his own determination not to let this particular criminal type elude the police--that led him to create the dangerous condition that culminated with Martin's death through the use of Zimmerman's gun.
And, if oralloy would bother to look at and read the evidence which has been made publicly available, he would see that there is evidence to back up a charge of 2nd degree murder based on that sort of scenario, and to challenge Zimmerman's claim of justifiable self-defense.
If Zimmerman did not instigate and provoke and create the entire situation that led to Martin's death, one would have to believe that, on his way back from the store, Martin spotted Zimmerman, went up to him, and for no logical or sufficient reason, began beating him in a way that caused Zimmerman to fear for his life, forcing him to shoot in self-defense. Think anyone can provide any evidence to support that theory? Is there
anything at all, in Martin's past history, to suggest he would suddenly act in such an irrational and extremely aggressive/homicidal fashion toward a total stranger--particularly after having behaved in a perfectly appropriate manner in a store a few minutes before that? Do Zimmerman's relatively minor injuries--a punch in the nose and a few tiny scrapes on the back of his head--even support his claim of how severely he was being beaten or endangered? Where is the credibility in Zimmerman's version of events?
The state may, or may not, be able to convince a jury at trial, but they do have evidence to support a 2nd degree murder charge.
