The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman: The Trial

@revelette,

revelette wrote:

Because the bar so high for the prosecution to prove Zimmerman acted with ill will rather than self defense is the reason I think Zimmerman is going to get acquitted.

Not just Zimmerman, anyone who's accused of homicide and might go to jail for the rest of their lives. It's the price we pay for not ruining the lives of innocents. (And the system still ruins plenty of those anyway.)

revelete wrote:

So yes, it is undesirable for Zimmerman to get away with shooting and killing a young barely seventeen old for only going home from the store.

The might still get Zimmerman for perjury, in a different trial. I think the prosecution has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he lied under oath. And perjury can get him a year or two in jail, too.

1 Reply

@BillW,

Quote:

In my view, murder2 is still an acceptable outcoming from what I have been witnessing...

I think that's an unlikely outcome. I see manslaughter as much more likely.

But I really think he will be acquitted. I think the jury will give him the benefit of the doubt on self defense.

If he's acquitted, he'll never be able to resume a normal life. His face is now known all over the world. It will be like Casey Anthony and O.J., he'll be reviled by a lot of people. Even among those who had initially supported him, many turned away, or lost sympathy for him, after his lying to his lawyer and the court about his assets at the bail hearing, because he destroyed his own credibility with that, and he was revealed to be a brazen and calculating liar. He's not an upstanding character. So, I don't see him having a happy future even if he doesn't go to jail. That will be justice of a sort.

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@Thomas,

Quote:

The might still get Zimmerman for perjury, in a different trial. I think the prosecution has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he lied under oath. And perjury can get him a year or two in jail, too.

No, he never lied under oath. I don't think any of the statements to the police were sworn statements, and he certainly wasn't under oath during the Hannity interview.

His wife did lie under oath at his bail hearing. She worked with him to transfer their money between accounts, to conceal their assets, and then she lied to the judge's face about their assets. She does face perjury charges.

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@firefly,

Was George Zimmerman there in front of the judge with his wife? If he was there and consented to his wife's lies, he an accessory to the crime.

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@cicerone imposter,

He sat there, "like a potted plant," according to the very irate judge, while he watched his wife lie to the court about their assets.

But, because he didn't testify, and he let her do it, she's the only one who was charged with perjury.

Moving their assets between accounts, to conceal them, wasn't a crime. Her lying to the court about the assets was a crime, and that's why she faces perjury charges.

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@RABEL222,

RABEL222 wrote:

Did anyone understand this post? If you did please explain it to me because it made no sense to me.

g'snake is an asshole from hell and should be ignored!

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@firefly,

firefly wrote:

Quote:
In my view, murder2 is still an acceptable outcoming from what I have been witnessing...

I think that's an unlikely outcome. I see manslaughter as much more likely.

But I really think he will be acquitted. I think the jury will give him the benefit of the doubt on self defense.

Ff, that is my opinion, I'm not on the jury. The jury will make their own decisions in the end. And, yes M2 is most probably out - wanting to be a cop is probably considered to not be a deranged mind even if at the time the person decided they needed to kill someone to get there!

1 Reply

@firefly,

firefly wrote:

He sat there, "like a potted plant," according to the very irate judge, while he watched his wife lie to the court about their assets.

But, because he didn't testify, and he let her do it, she's the only one who was charged with perjury.

Moving their assets between accounts, to conceal them, wasn't a crime. Her lying to the court about the assets was a crime, and that's why she faces perjury charges.

Are you totally skipping manslaughter charges?

1 Reply

@BillW,

For second degree murder, they would have to prove that he acted with animus, with hatred toward Martin. The state said, in their opening statement, that he killed Martin, "not because he had to, but because he wanted to."

They tried to show the hated in what he said to the police dispatcher, by referring to "those f--king punks," since he profiled Martin as being one of them, but I don't think that may have been strong enough to convince the jury of hatred. We'll see...

Manslaughter is more likely if there is a conviction.

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@BillW,

Quote:

Are you totally skipping manslaughter charges?

I'm talking about his bail hearing in that post. Laughing

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@firefly,

firefly wrote:

Quote:

Are you totally skipping manslaughter charges?

I'm talking about his bail hearing.

It's only a question, it has nothing to do with the actual hearing.

BTW, if you go for perjury - they will weigh it against his being acquited and either drop charges or letting him for on probation; maybe a relatively small fine that his backers would pay anyways.

He would go into witness protection and disappear into the Northwest. No body would even remember him in 10 years. They didn't have as much of a problem finding people in Sanford, that didn't know him, for the jury.

1 Reply

@BillW,

He doesn't face perjury charges, he hasn't committed perjury.

And he's not eligible for the witness protection program--he hasn't been a witness.

If he's acquitted, he'll probably stay in hiding and gain another 100 pounds.

1 Reply

@firefly,

firefly wrote:

He doesn't face perjury charges, he hasn't committed perjury.

And he's not eligible for the witness protection program--he hasn't been a witness.

If he's acquitted, he'll probably stay in hiding and gain another 100 pounds.

1. You were talking about perjury when discussing the bail hearing. I was just following a continuation of that discussion, it isn't my fault!

2. Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require protection until the conclusion of a trial, some witnesses are provided with a new identity and may live out the rest of their lives under government protection.

3. You still haven't answeered my relatively easy question? This guy isn't gonna go scott free - this I feel positive about. The lowest manslaughter is 3-5 years (or there about). It can be used for even a negligent accident.

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@BillW,

He won't get witness protection.

And he's been paying for his own security for the past year. It's apparently one of his biggest expenses.

I really don't care what happens to him after the trial--regardless of the verdict.

I did answer your question--I said manslaughter is much more likely than second degree murder if there is a conviction.

Manslaughter of a minor, by the use a gun, can carry up to 30 years.

1 Reply

@firefly,

I just researched and found Florida does not have the lesser manslaughter charges - what I usually call "misdemeanor" manslaughter. They have voluntary and involuntary manslaughter though. Invouluntary cnn be used in the case of self defense if it is determined that excessive force was used. Surely, this is true to all but the haters.........

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@BillW,

No the only haters are the ones who are still trying to find a way for him to go to jail. When he is acquitted he will go free and that eats you up doesn't it?

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@Baldimo,

You wouldn't understand! - actually, that should be couldn't.....

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@BillW,

The state would more likely go with negligent manslaughter--because it was Zimmerman's reckless behavior that set the entire situation in motion. They've already made their case for that kind of manslaughter conviction.

But that would mean they will have to shift gears somewhat in their closing argument to emphasize manslaughter and not just the elements of second degree murder. Their opening statement laid out their case for second degree murder.

He can get up to 30 years on manslaughter--because he killed a minor by use of a gun. The legal pundits on HLN have pointed that out.

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@firefly,

Defenses to Involuntary Manslaughter

■Justifiable use of deadly force to defend against a felony committed against a person or property
■Excusable homicide committed by accident -- for this defense in an involuntary manslaughter case, the defendant must show that she acted without recklessness qualifying as culpable negligence

Culpable Negligence - easily shown when he went against the 911 and 311 operators when theysuggested he not do things he did do. No one believes he was chasing down an address and didn't remember 1 of 3 street names. He isn't going free.

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@firefly,

I think the manslaughter charge option may be part of the judge's instruction to the jury before they go into deliberation.

1 Reply

The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman: The Trial

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