General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Silence Makes White People Racist [View all]branford
(4,462 posts)due process and even the presumption of innocence as it is understood in any of the 50 states and the federal system. Do you also realize that these constitutional protections are the same regardless of the presence or involvement of a firearm?
Zimmerman was actually charged with murder. He, as are all criminal defendants, presumed innocent. His defense theory was standard self-defense. He claimed that while he was breaking no law that he was attacked, pinned-down and seriously assaulted. If so, even in less permissive jurisdictions like NY that require elements like retreat if able, the same evidence and basic theories would have been presented by both the prosecution and defense with similar burdens of proof as Florida. Given that even the prosecution witnesses testified that Zimmerman was below Martin on the ground in their altercation, and this was supported by forensic evidence, the jury verdict was entirely unsurprising. The SYG and related arguments are red herrings, with the greatest evidence of such the absence of a federal criminal civil rights prosecution.
You are certainly free to believe that Zimmerman is an unrepentant racist murderer. However, few are ready to jettison our basic criminal constitutional protections because of your personal disdain for Zimmerman, hatred of firearms and the Second Amendment, or lack of understanding of centuries of self-defense jurisprudence.