What do you guys think of the Trayvon Martin shooting?

[Bigfoot]

2506

Read the statute again and note Section 3. In order for the alw to apply the person cannot be engaged in unlawful activity, which if Zimmerman chased and tried to physically confront Martin he was certainly committing assualt. Say that I walk up to you and punch you in the face. Then you start fighting back and I realize you're bigger and stronger than me and you are about to wipe the floor with me. I can't legally then decide to pull my firearm and shoot you in self defense. Now say you teach me a lesson and I get up and start walking away and you decide that you want to go again. Then I would have an argument that I could shoot you in self defense.

Yep. Fat boy said he was returning to his truck when the kid attacked him, I'd like to know more about the injury to the back of his head. Did the kid swing at him with a full coke can in his hand? If he was close to losing consciousness then I can see shooting.

Either way fat boy instigated it and the kid was minding his own business. It's a darn shame he died.

I watched the kids father in a video and it broke my heart, he came across as a good man.

On the other hand what I've learned about fat boy reinforces my first impression. If he said f--ing goons then he had a bias going in to the incident. If he said f---ing coons which is what my ears heard, well screw him. He also has a arrest record of assault on a police officer.

Doesn't prove anything but I like to try and get a feel for both sides. The odds are that fat boy screwed up big time but there is a chance that he's on good legal grounds IF he shot in self defense. I don't think I'd share a lunch break table with him tho.

 

[CharonPDX]

Witness says Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman kicking his fat but. It was Zimmerman yelling for help. Zimmerman has a bloody nose and injuries to the back of his head.

Except stand your ground laws mean stand your ground, not chase the person down. Zimmerman escalated it by following Trayvon against the advice of 911 operators. Even if Trayvon started the physical confrontation, Zimmerman escalated it to that point.. At least where I am, local law says that if you engage the fight, you are responsible even if you didn't start the fight. Same with burglars where one gets shot and killed by the homeowner, the surviving burglar is guilty of manslaughter, not the homeowner! The one who initiated the escalation is at fault, even if the physical action would be classified as self-defense on its own.

 

[Bigfoot]

It is not against the law to walk up and ask a person what he is doing. We don't know if he chased the kid and scared him. We don't what was said. We don't know who started the fighting.

I shouldn't have said fat boy instigated it, we don't know. What I meant was he should have stayed in his car and waited. An armed person has the responsibility to avoid situations where his gun could be taken.