Zimmerman Verdict Rattles Dixwell

"Zimmerman convinced a jury he had acted in self-defense."

Did Zimmerman's lawyers really convince the jury that Zimmerman had acted in self defense, or was the prosecution unable to convince the jury that Zimmerman had not acted out of self defense? It is my understanding that in a criminal case, the defense merely needs to show a reasonable doubt of the defendant's guilt, it is unnecessary to prove their innocence.

In a civil case, Zimmerman would likely be forced to take the stand and prove that he acted out of self defense, but in a criminal case, he is not required to take the stand, nor prove that he acted in self defense.

Do I have this correct?

Panelist Keith King, a federal prosecutor in the Connecticut U.S. Attorney's Office and the pastor of Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church, said it's important to increase the diversity of law enforcement professionals at every level, whether they are prosecuting attorneys or police officers.

How many Prosecution of police killings and police corruption case have you done?

King also urged people to participate in their local and national elections. "We have to get out and vote."

Why should we vote.You can buy crooked politicians.In fact major of politicians are bought by lobbyist.

King, who said he rarely sees "daddy in the courtroom" during trials also said it is important to reconnect to traditional family values.

You are a pastor.You need to start in your own back yard.The collective of black churches of the Christian faith, regardless of denomination has lost its meaning, its relevance.Instead, it seems to have turned inward. It seems to exist for the perpetuation of itself.As the homicide toll in black neighborhoods has swelled,why churches or pastors have seldom taken a stand or ventured beyond the doors of their sanctuaries to bring healing and hope to the community whether to stem the tide of violence and drugs, or to help cure poverty and homelessness or any number of issues that envelop ailing black communities. i remeber growing up and I would see pastors come to the court house and speak on behalf of the person in front of the judge.Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,who more than 40 years ago in his Letter From a Birmingham Jail,wrote that the church was in danger of being dismissed as an irrelevant social club.

In this Washington post poll, white people (and most of the nation as a whole) are evenly split in thirds about agreeing, disagreeing or not having enough information about whether the shooting was justified. 97% of black people feel that the shooting was unjustified.

I for one believe that Zimmerman is partially culpable for what went down but in the end, Martin was on top of him beating the hell out of him. The black community needs to get a grip on this, stop the polarization, and get a grip on exactly what Chief Reddish said; the real problem is black on black violence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trayvon-martin-shooting-and-verdict-huge-racial-gaps/2013/07/22/2b8ca5be-f307-11e2-8505-bf6f231e77b4_graphic.html

Thaddeus Reddish, the assistant police chief of the New Haven police department, said people like George Zimmerman aren't the biggest threat to black males.

You are right.The biggest threat is cops like Billy White.Cops like in East Haven and poilcy like the cops use in New York stop and frisk.The use of deadly force against Black people is standard practice in the United States, and woven into to the very fabric of the society.All Black people – regardless of education, class, occupation, behavior or dress – are subject to the whims of the police whose institutionalized racist policies and procedures require them to arbitrarily stop, frisk, arrest, brutalize and even execute Black people.Even Black police officer have been killed by there own fellow white officers.

It's not George Zimmerman that's killing our black males. It's black males killing males," Reddish said. "This is our problem."

You are correct.Itis our problem.And there are people addressing this.People of all races tend to commit crimes against those of their own race with greater frequency. Whites harm whites, blacks harm blacks, and so on. There are a variety of reasons for this including how people tend to cluster demographically and economically. If you want to reduce the number of black children dying, it makes sense to address that issue first, rather than the almost unique Zimmerman situation.

posted by: robn on July 23, 2013 6:54pm

I for one believe that Zimmerman is partially culpable for what went down but in the end, Martin was on top of him beating the hell out of him. The black community needs to get a grip on this, stop the polarization, and get a grip on exactly what Chief Reddish said; the real problem is black on black violence.

And White people kill on a grand scale. Mass Murders and the like. They don't talk about it but some of the worst killings in the United States have been done by the white population.White Americans are just as likely to be killed by other whites.Jeffery Dahmer got stopped with a body in his moms car.The body wrapped in a trash bag in the backseat and Jeff told the cop that it was clipping from the lawn, and that he was taking them to the dump. At 3am. The cop told Dahmer to go home and get in bed.If this was a blackman , his car would have been searched, most likely.
According to the US Justice Department, 84 percent of whites who are killed happen to be killed by other whites. Blacks, similarly, murder their own about 93 percent of the time.I am just not seeing how the 9 percent difference is so much more egregious.Whites still own the market on crime. Though blacks follow them, it is by less than 50% with assaults, drug abuse, forcible rape, drunk driving, and sex offenses greatly outnumbering those in the black community. So, here is my question: What is so scary about black people? If the argument is that blacks keep killing one another, does it make sense that folks outside of the black community would profess their fear of black-on-black crime? Doesn't it follow that blacks who have an intent to murder, maim, rob, or rape would be less likely to commit such an offense outside of their own community?

Whites still own the market on crime.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/table-43

Maybe the world in itself would be a better place if we stopped making it about color and start making it about the human race. There should be outcries for justice in ALL violent cases. Education begins at home, not in the church or schools. True parenting has become almost extinct. Compassion for the next person is just about zero and reaching out to help our neighbor is a thing of the past. No matter the color of a victim or perpetrator, they all bleed the same.

None of us were in Sanfold, Fla the night Trayvon Martin was killed. None of us know what REALLY happened. But we all have our own opinion and we are entitled to that. A lot of this controversy would go away if people would stop getting mad because everyone doesnt have the same opinion and trying to convince the next person that their view is wrong.

to "Jonathan Hopkins:"

My reading of the case was that the state charged Zimmerman with second degree murder.

To prevail, the prosecution needed to prove malice aforethought beyond a reasonable doubt. Malice aforethought must have at least one of the following elements: (1) intent to kill, (2) intent to cause serious bodily harm, (3) depraved heart wanton conduct, or (4) a killing during the commission of an inherently dangerous collateral felony (burglary, arson, rape, robbery, kidnapping) otherwise known as the felony murder rule.

I have been taught that the defense usually tries to find a hole in the facts that support a non-finding of one of the elements of the charged crime. This can negate the crime because a requisite element of the crime cannot be proven; forcing an acquittal of the criminal charge. Or the defense tries to gain an appeal after a conviction by asserting that all or a part of the judge's jury instruction was improper.

Here the charge was second degree murder with the state trying to prove malice by element (3) or depraved heart wanton conduct which is defined as an extreme indifference to the value of human life. I think the facts of this case make this a very difficult "proof" beyond a reasonable doubt. If an element of the charged crime is not provable then self-defense is basically moot because an essential element of the crime has not been established beyond a reasonable doubt.

I have only just finished 1L and am soon to start 2L so please take my post with that caveat.

Now do I think Martin should still be alive and that Zimmerman should have incurred some criminal liability for his death? Yes, I do. I find it hard to see how Zimmerman was not convicted of involuntary manslaughter. But then, I am not yet an attorney so I probably missed something.

Black-on-black violence isn't the issue, but you can't blame Reddish for espousing that surprisingly racist idiom.

The pervasive aspect to racism is that it infects all of us--no matter our skin color--because it paints our perspective.

The real issue is incredible disparity, poverty, and lack of opportunities for blacks.

Black-on-black violence is a symptom, not a root cause, so I'm tired of hearing that it is the "real" issue in the Zimmerman trial.

If that is the case, why don't we say "white-on-white" killings to describe the 86% of all white homicides?

Why don't we say "white man-on-white woman" killings? After all, while black populations saw enormous decreases in their domestic homicide rates, white women did not. As many as 3 white women will be murdered by their intimate partner today.

Why don't we say that a lack of addiction and recovery programs are the problem? Most of the "black-on-black" violence is rooted in drug deals and drug culture.

Why don't we say that a lack of job counseling and rehabilitation is the problem? Most of the "black-on-black" violence affects men with chronic unemployment and low education.

Why don't we say the chronic poverty, which is absolutely caused by greed and economic disparity, is the problem? There is an incredible correlation between economic disparity and violent crimes.

The reality is if working at a store, or in a restaurant, provided a living wage, you wouldn't have people choosing the dangerous and ridiculous "career" of drug dealer. If we had possible life paths for our poorest citizens in our poorest neighborhoods, they wouldn't be part of a race based statistic of violence.

Wal-Mart won't even build in parts of DC because they'd rather keep netting hundreds of billions a year for top execs than pay enough money for their employees to have stable roofs over their heads.

The disconnect is alarming.

Brutus2011,

Thanks for the clarification and I agree that he should have been charged with manslaughter.

B2011,

Good explanation. Thanks.

" Black-on-black violence isn't the issue, but you can't blame Reddish for espousing that surprisingly racist idiom."

A white web designer is telling a black police officer who grew up in Newhallville that black on black violence isn't the issue? Reddish has years of law enforcement experience on top of a lifetime of being black yet the analysis of someone with white skin trumps a professional black man again.

" Wal-Mart won't even build in parts of DC because they'd rather keep netting hundreds of billions a year for top execs than pay enough money for their employees to have stable roofs over their heads."

The citizens of DC have not required their government to pay government workers at the same scale the politicians are asking of Walmart

http://www.nbcwashington.com/blogs/first-read-dmv/DC-Government-Doesnt-Pay-a-Living-Wage-215585001.html

NHI : Do you really not see the subtle racism spewed her against Reddish? The implication being here that no matter how much experience a black man has a white man is still better at doing your job. If a white web designer who has never put on a uniform in his life has such condemnation for a black assistant chief's opinion I can't imagine what this man must go through on a daily basis in the NHPD. But please keep posting Streever's racists comments, they allow us black people to know that certain white people will never respect your opinion no matter your age, experience or education level.