Did Trayvon have a right to defend himself? Yes or no?

[Hugabear]

Zimmerman defenders constantly talk about his right to defend himself. But what about Trayvon? Did he have the same right?

Here's a kid minding his own business going to and from the store. It's dark and raining. Some stranger with a gun is following him.

Are we to believe that only Zimmerman had the right to defend himself?

[Dwayne Hicks]

1. Absolutely

And he was murdered because of it.

[Hoyt]

2. Yes. He had right to fight with anything he had. Sadly, it was skittles.

[Duer 157099]

7. Not so. He also had a can of a drink.

And he never used it as it was found inside his sweatshirt pocket on his dead body.

I'd say that is evidence that he did NOT attack Z! If he had wanted to, he might have considered using that. imho

[Hoyt]

9. I think the skittles were still in his hand. Further proof of no/minor confrontation.

[cantbeserious]

3. Yes - And He Paid For His Defense With His Life At The Hands Of A Cold Blooded Killer

eom

[mzteris]

4. absolutely!

but if he'd've kicked zimmerman's ass, he'd probably be in jail now, because - you know - he's black and all and every one knows how dangerous blacks can be. Especially black teenage boys. Especially those really skinny ones.

[X_Digger]

5. If GZ grabbed him, or swung at TM, yes.

But just following? No, that's not justifiable cause to use force, regardless of whether GZ was armed or not.

[Hoyt]

11. Some armed Ahole swaggers up behind me in dark. . . . . .

[Tikki]

6. YES, yes, yes, yes, no.

There you go....


Tikki

[bravenak]

10. YES!!!!!!

Zimmerman had the right stay in his car and to not infringe on the rights of another. He stole a life and now he must pay. If not convicted he will never have a normal life and I believe someone will give him some street justice. He prefers it that way anyway, and his mere presence is a danger young men.
I'm afraid someone will feel the need to defend hem selves from him one day and decide they better shoot first.
The next woman he hits or cop he assaults or relative he molests will know his history and behave accordingly.

[The Straight Story]

12. Did he know zimmerman had a gun when he was following him? (nt)

[Lizzie Poppet]

13. IMO, yes...absolutely.

It seems Florida law disagrees with me, but I believe that Martin was put in a situation in which he was legitimately in fear for his life and health, and that this situation came about because of actions on Zimmerman's part leading up to their physical confrontation. It would have been reasonable for Martin to believe that a fight was inevitable at that point. Once someone has come to that conclusion (and it is reasonable for them to have done so), I do not consider it their obligation to let the other party get in the first blow before they take action.

In such circumstances, it's better to try to flee the situation, but that's not always possible or wise (for example: you can't outrun the other person, or nowhere to run, or you think they'll shoot you in the back).

[onenote]

14. As a legal matter it depends on what the facts are

As a legal matter, Trayvon had a right to use force to defend himself when Zimmerman followed him and confronted if he had a reasonable basis for feeling threatened and Zimmerman either was doing something unlawful or had attacked Trayvon. Following someone and even confronting them without an act of force or an actual threat of force is not illegal. Thus, even if Trayvon had a reasonable basis for fearing Zimmerman (and I think he did) under Florida law he had a duty to retreat if the conditions outlined above haven't been met. It may not be fair but its the law.