"...a bulletproof vest under his charcoal suit..."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

George Zimmerman's safety a concern

Associated Press

Saturday, April 21, 2012



The defense attorney for George Zimmerman, Mark O'Mara, speaks to the media after leaving the John E. Polk Correctional Facility where he met with his client as he waits to be released on bond on April 21, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman turned himself in to police in connection with the killing of Trayvon Martin on February 26th while Zimmerman was on neighborhood watch patrol in the gated community of The Retreat at Twin Lakes, Florida.

Sanford, Fla. - George Zimmerman is getting out of jail. Now his defense team has to worry about keeping the neighborhood watch volunteer accused of gunning down Trayvon Martin safe on the outside.

Defense attorneys for other high-profile clients who awaited trial on bail had advice for how to protect the man whose shooting of the unarmed black 17-year-old sparked nationwide protests: Get him out of Florida, keep him from going out in public and never leave him alone.

***

Zimmerman appeared to be wearing a bulletproof vest under his charcoal suit, and his wife and parents testified by telephone instead of in the courtroom Friday because they said they've been threatened and feared for their safety. His wife, Shellie Zimmerman, testified she had received hate mail.

***

"The initial challenge is going to be first getting him out of Sanford," said attorney Jose Baez, whose former client, Casey Anthony, endured similar scrutiny when she was released from an Orlando jail last summer after being acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter. "Everybody knows where he is getting released from. That is the first problem."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/21/MN3V1O78JF.DTL

[freshwest]

1. How about keeping him in custody like the 17 year old rape victim?

Hey, she's being kept in jail to make sure she's there to testify against the rapist. We sure do want to see Z get his day in court, don't we?

He's already been out of state, and now they're saying he should leave the state again? But the rape victim can't leave the jail in the interest of justice?

Sorry, I'm so dumb, please explain this to me Amerigo.

[Riftaxe]

3. That sounds horrible

I wish you had included a link to the travesty, i go search for it.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. 17-year-old rape victim 'placed in custody over fears she would flee before testimony'

17-year-old rape victim 'placed in custody over fears she would flee before testimony'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9208476/17-year-old-rape-victim-placed-in-custody-over-fears-she-would-flee-before-testimony.html

10:19AM BST 17 Apr 2012

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Brown had ordered the girl held last month because she has a history of running away. On Monday, he said she would be freed with a GPS ankle bracelet after prosecutors and the girl's attorneys agreed to the release.

The teen's detention was seen by some as victimising her a second time. Victims' rights advocates said incarcerating her could discourage other victims from reporting sexual assaults, but prosecutors claimed the danger posed by the suspected rapist outweighed the inconvenience to the teen.

The judge said the teen's case had charted rare legal territory.

"I am truly sorry for all that you've been through," he told her. "You've demonstrated great courage for a young woman."

[freshwest]

6. That's good, that's the follow up to the story I read here.

It still sounds like coercion to me.

[Riftaxe]

8. Completely Horrific!

This has to be an abuse of testimonial compulsion, it cannot even be argued that is for the greater good since the victim is the one being punished.

on edit: I understand that PC is not in and of itself punishment, but where the heck is the common sense here!?!?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. I can only attribute it to a town riddled with corruption

I was floored during the bond hearing when the attorney asked Pappy Zim if he'd seen the police reports from the assault on the cop, specifically the "I don't give a fuck who you are" remark after the officer identified himself.

I was astounded by the $150K amount for the bond, too. It should have been $1 million.

I don't want to go "tinfoil hat" here, but another way to look at this is that Zimmerman stands a pretty good chance of walking away from this without ever setting foot in a jail cell again. Once the trial is over (if it in fact goes to a trial), he can then leave the state, leave the country, leave the fucking planet...I am confident that his family and his attorney are bombarding him with non-stop assurances that he'll be set free.

That's the aspect of our society that can't be explained..."justice" is an ideal, a facade, a scam...unless you're a 17 year old African American who just shot an unarmed 28 year old half Caucasian, half Hispanic man. Then justice would be swift, the door to the jail cell would be slammed, and jury selection would already be underway. Nobody would be leaving the state.

[freshwest]

7. I've come to believe the term. 'criminal justice system' means exactly the opposite what many think.

That it means, the criminal justice system, accent on the word criminal and not justice.

I've never felt a lot of confidence in it with the conflict of interests that are involved in it. But now it's really out in the open. Or maybe we're hearing so much more about it with media.

There is something really wrong going on, or maybe it's time for us to understand that a lot was going on wrong. We need to learn this and change it.

[Riftaxe]

9. Your post leads to a good question

what happens when justice and fairness diverge?

Fortunately I have a bit more confidence then you in our judiciary, especially where conflict of interest laws come in.
The simple fact that we codify that in our legal system tends to make it "superior" to many in the world that do not.

What many fail to realize is that we have a legal system, and while the results may not always be just or fair (with the understanding that just or fair is a thing that cannot be quantified in any realistic manner), we do at least have one of the best in the world.

Does this mean i don't bitch and moan, and complain about it...heh, the answer is no, I do that probably more the the average guy and more then likely at a louder volume and with more letters then normal.

In the end though I do appreciate the system we have and realize that the personal the little tweaks i would make to it could cascade into unimaginable error! Probably the only rule required for systems design is "Beware of unintended consequences"


But I will still bitch about it, in the end.

[freshwest]

10. I certainly respect it in most regards, particularly in my region, where a good deal of effort's

Put into making things work; and keeping things just. But there still is a matter of money and access to the courts which Obama has once again expanded after decades of it being starved. Some populations in this country have never been given equal treatment in the way that we idealize it.

This particular case appears to be one where influence trumped fairness or procedure. Naturally, we are not on the ground, but there's a lot going on with this that is very troubling. I've seen where tan element of social status assumed and people treated differently.

There is a bureaucracy that can make the system equal, there can be too much cronyism and some things just conveniently get forgotten. On the other hand, some have gotten fair treatment in courts if they have the time and stamina to await the outcome.

Exhaustion, bankruptcy and death, which are matters of wealth too, is factored into the process by the opposing parties, not the system, which cares nothing of the personal cost. The system unintentionally discriminates against those without means and the sense of order and equality that some see in it, for some, it is like a tornado in their family lives, taking away their loved ones and financial support.

But society as a whole never takes these costs to individuals into account. Those with money, frankly, game the system. Even something that might on the face of it seem benign and without pain as copyright lawsuits in comparsion to a system that locks up people for years, there is gaming going on.

In a lot of matters, despite the very best intentions of attorneys, and I've known a number for whom I have the utmost respect because of their passion for justice and fair play, living within a very complex system of morals codified into orders, are swept away by the brute force of money. I've known some who have given living meaning to values that most people don't grasp that are held safe in the legal system, and prevent injustice.

[jpak]

2. Without his great big gun - he is not a man. Totally at the mercy of the hooded candy carriers.

Poor Baby!!!!111