Do you think Zimmerman will be convicted of murder?

To me if Zimmerman was seeking a confrontation verbal or otherwise he would not had try to get the police on the scene by calling 911 many times.

If Trayvon had been worry and concern about the man following him he could had call 911 himself something he did not do.

To me it is likely his being a kid without adult judgment had gotten mad at Zimmerman following him and turn and attack Zimmerman.

In any case if Zimmerman was the assault victim my sympathy is with him not his attacker.

David I carry a very high power stun gun so under similar situations I could used that to stop an attack of that nature instead of the deadly force of a firearm.

Too bad Zimmerman did not do the same.

This is the lie that Zimmerman has been telling and which the Prosecution will show, by means of the evidence, that he was, in fact, not retreating to his vehicle at any point in time during the night in question.

It may well be that it was self-defense, but even so the guy made a series of questionable decisions that cost a life. What if Martins did attack him, but did so because he was scared? Some guy's following you around in a car and gets out on foot. Even if Martin attacked Zimmerman Zimmerman's actions contributed greatly to the scenario and even if Martin is at fault for starting a fist fight he was just a kid on his way back from the store and wasn't looking for this trouble. Even if this was self-defense Zimmerman owes a huge apology for his initial mistake (false positive suspect) that led to a series of events where the kid lost his life.

Even if it was legal self defense Martin would deserve our sympathy. If he attacked Zimmerman he might have been in error but it would have been an error in reaction to Zimmerman's.

I was surprised as well. I would have guessed manslaughter would be appropriate

If Zimmerman was looking for a conflict once more he would not had been calling the police over and over.

Thing is, even if that was a lie I still don't think that breaks the self-defense defense. Certainly wouldn't help it and would call into question his honesty on other matters but even if that was not true and Zimmerman walked up to Martin and verbally confronted him it can still be a case of self-defense (not saying that it was, just saying that I don't see the case revolving around this claim as much as you seem to).

Mmm, I dunno. If you start a confrontation, and it leads to you killing someone, it's really tough to claim that it was in self-defense.

I think Zimmerman used incredibly bad judgment, that he did follow the kid, that words were exchanged and that aggression turned into violence...And knowing that he carried a gun he should have been that much more cautious about following the kid

“You’ve seen the affidavit of probable cause. What do you make of it,” Smerconish asked. “It won’t suffice,” Dershowitz replied without hesitation.

“Most affidavits of probable cause are very thin. This is so thin that it won’t make it past a judge on a second degree murder charge,” Dershowitz said. “There’s simply nothing in there that would justify second degree murder.”

Dershowitz said that the elements that would constitute that crime are non-existent in the affidavit. “It’s not only thin, it’s irresponsible,” said Dershowitz.

Dershowitz went on to strongly criticize Corey’s decision to move forward with the case against Zimmerman. “I think what you have here is an elected public official who made a campaign speech last night for reelection when she gave her presentation and overcharged. This case will not – if the evidence is no stronger than what appears in the probable cause affidavit – this case will result in an acquittal.”

Smerconish identified the total lack of any mention of the supposed fight that occurred between Martin and Zimmerman prior to Martin being shot. He said he was disappointed that he did not see any mention of that conflict that led to Martin’s murder.

“But it’s worse than that,” said Dershowitz. “It’s irresponsible and unethical in not including material that favors the defendant.”

“This affidavit does not even make it to probable cause,” Dershowitz concluded. “everything in the affidavit is completely consistent with a defense of self-defense. Everything.”...

Legal experts said Corey chose a tough route with the murder charge, which could send Zimmerman to prison for life if he’s convicted, over manslaughter, which usually carries 15-year prison terms and covers reckless or negligent killings. The prosecutors must prove Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin was rooted in hatred or ill will and counter his claims that he shot Martin to protect himself while patrolling his gated community in the Orlando suburb of Sanford. Zimmerman’s lawyers would only have to prove by a preponderance of evidence — a relatively low legal standard — that he acted in self-defense at a pretrial hearing to prevent the case from going to trial. There’s a “high likelihood it could be dismissed by the judge even before the jury gets to hear the case,” Florida defense attorney Richard Hornsby said.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/dershowitz-zimmerman-arrest-affidavit-irresponsible-and-unethical/

Second-degree murder is ordinarily defined as 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of passion" or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life.

For example, Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor. At a stoplight the next day, Dan sees Victor riding in the passenger seat of a nearby car. Dan pulls out a gun and fires three shots into the car, missing Victor but killing the driver of the car.