Key witness in Trayvon Martin shooting changed story

[spanone]

A key witness to the Trayvon Martin shooting changed the story he had given Sanford, Fla., police, telling state authorities he was not sure who was screaming during the altercation with George Zimmerman, NBC Dateline confirmed Friday.

The man known as Witness #6 originally told Sanford police Zimmerman cried for help. The witness stuck to his account that he saw Martin, 17, straddling Zimmerman and pinning him to the ground before Martin was shot.

On March 20, according to the Orlando Sentinel, while sitting for a follow-up interview by a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator the witness said that he was no longer sure who was calling for help.

"At first, I thought it was the person on the ground, just because, you know, me thinking rationally, if someone was on top, the person on the bottom would be yelling," he said, according to the Sentinel. "I truly can't tell who, after thinking about it, was yelling for help just because it was so dark out on that sidewalk. You can't see a mouth …"

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11761522-key-witness-in-trayvon-martin-shooting-changed-story?lite

[leveymg]

1. Was "Witness 6" the one who's often heard claiming Martin was "pummeling" GZ?

Wouldn't this change of story also cast doubt on the credibility of that part of the account?

[southernyankeebelle]

2. I have a strong feeling Zimmy is going to walk. You could have had a whole bunch of

flood lights on them and you could see Zimmy pounding Trayon. Yet this little creepy guy is going to walk. Wait and see. We are slowly being prepared for it. I just hope it doesn't start a race riot and people get killed. The Martin family deserves better then this. It is sad. All these stand by laws is nothing more then legalized shooting of minorities. That isn't right.

[Quixote1818]

3. Zimmerman may not walk because his story has changed so many times

The prosecution has pointed this out several times as key. Basically the jury will have to throw out anything Zimmerman has said because its all over the place and they will paint him as a lier. It will depend on the kind of jury they end up with.

They only need to get him with man slaughter, they don't need the murder 2. They have the option for both.

[southernyankeebelle]

4. I hope your right. Justice needs to be served. I don't think he wanted to kill him but

he really went overboard.

[Kalidurga]

5. I think he went out looking for a victim...

I don't know if that translates to he wanted to kill him or not. He might have just been out looking for someone to call 911 on. And we know for a fact that he definitely did call 911 and was told that he didn't need to be following Trayvon. We also know for a fact he was carrying a gun. He may have been carrying it for protection, but it is just as likely he was carrying it spoiling for a fight.

[southernyankeebelle]

9. I agree with you there. Had this idiot stayed in the car none of this would have gone down.

I am willing to bet a million bucks that Zimmy wishes he had listened to the operator.

[Quixote1818]

6. So basically, probably NO witnesses could actually see who was yelling for help

They just logically assumed it was the guy on the bottom. So it probably was Trayvon yelling for help as he was punching Zimmerman because he was scared to death and defending himself.

[IcyPeas]

7. I would not want to be on this jury.

Trayvon Martin's own father said it was not him yelling for help, Trayvon's mother said it was. The lawyers are going to have a field day with so many stories being out there.

The fathers of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman gave Sanford, Fla., police their opinions about the person who was crying for help in 911 tapes of the Feb. 26 confrontation that ended with the shooting death of 17-year-old Martin, according to documents released by the special prosecutor in the case.

Neither said the voice was that of 17-year-old Martin, the New York Times reports. Zimmerman’s father said he thought the voice belonged to his son. Martin’s mother, however, has said it was her son who was screaming on the tapes. An analysis by an FBI lab was not able to make an identification; nor was it able to determine whether Zimmerman uttered a racial slur while pursuing Martin, whom he considered to be suspicious.

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/trayvon_martins_dad_told_police_the_person_crying_for_help_on_911_tapes_was/

[Quixote1818]

8. The police report said the father was visibly distressed when he heard the crying

My impression from the police report was the father was in denial because it was such a painful experience. Later on the father said it was his son. Also, most of the witnesses describe the cries as being from a "boy" and the other voice that initiated things as being gruff and loud.

[amandabeech]

10. Yes, conflicting, changing statements give plenty of room for effective cross examination.

It is possible that the jury will become confused, and refuse to convict under the "beyond a reasonable doubt standard," or at least one of the jurors will refuse to convict resulting in a hung jury.

I believe that Zimmerman is morally responsible for Trayvon's death and, if there is a "higher power," will have to answer for what he did eventually.

But it is hard to see how this is all going to play out at trial under the rules of procedure and the evidentiary rules.

[sendero]

11. I STILL believe..

... it is possible to SCIENTIFICALLY using the RECORDINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE to determine with CERTAINTY who was screaming for help.

I'm virtually certain this is so. All of this witness bullshit is irrelevant.