0 0

First and foremost, we must remember that the prosecutor in the Zimmerman case did not charge George Zimmerman until public outcry was so great that they, for all intents and purposes, had to make an arrest.

The prosecutor, of course, is the same who has charged, tried and convicted Marissa Alexander, an African American woman, for 20 years in prison… Why? For firing warning shots at her domestic abuser. She was denied a “Stand Your Ground” defense, a defense which Zimmerman did not even need to invoke (and which his defense did not).

Jarvis DeBerry breaks down six essential proofs from a legal insider, that the prosecution, which has repeatedly denied African American “Stand Your Ground” defenses, and which did not even want to prosecute George Zimmerman, threw the case, so that Zimmerman would experience only a temporary inconvenience, before being set free and having his murder weapon returned to him, so that he could kill again if he believes it necessary.

1) Prosecutors didn’t demand a change of venue. The recusal of the Seminole County district attorney and multiple judges from that county is proof that the case was a political hot potato and that there was a fear that there would be negative political ramifications following a Zimmerman conviction. Therefore, the state should have moved to have the venue changed.

2) They let jurors they didn’t want stay. Prosecutors tried but failed to have two jurors removed for cause. They could have had those two removed anyway by using their peremptory challenges, but instead, they let them stay on. Here’s a discussion at Slate Magazine about Juror B-37 in particular and the peculiar decision by prosecutors not to have her removed. A day after the trial she reportedly contacted a literary agent to “write” a book about the trial. But after social-media outrage, that literary agent has now decided against the deal.

3) They didn’t fight to get a single man on the jury. This, my source said, is prosecuting 101. In a fatal fight between men, you fight to get men on the jury. Men are more likely to convict.

4) Rachel Jeantel was poorly prepared. The lawyer said he’s dealt with witnesses from age 6 to 85 and has had to rely on witnesses who had no more than a second-grade education. Jeantel, a close friend of Martin, and the closest thing the state had to a star witness, was on the phone with him as he was being followed by Zimmerman. At times she seemed hostile to the questioning and her demeanor was all but certain, my source said, to turn off a jury that was reportedly five white women and a Latina. “We made ‘em into witnesses,” my source said of those folks who came with shortcomings. “That’s called preparation.”

5) Prosecutors played for the jury a television interview that Zimmerman gave to Fox News’ Sean Hannity. The defense wouldn’t have been permitted to play that tape if they’d asked, he said, “so what’s the prosecution playing it for?” Didn’t prosecutors play the tape to highlight Zimmerman’s inconsistencies? I asked. Those inconsistencies were “microscopic,” he said. He said he was taught that “if it hurts your case, let the other guy do it.” But in this case, the defense wouldn’t have been able to do it because, he said, the tape was clearly hearsay and not subject to cross-examination.

6) A Sanford police officer who was asked if he believed Zimmerman’s story of self-defense was allowed to answer yes without the prosecution objecting. Witnesses should not be permitted to offer an opinion on the credibility of other witnesses or other evidence. The next day prosecutors asked the judge to strike that portion of the investigator’s testimony, and she complied. But why did the prosecution sit quietly as the question was asked and answered?

The State of Florida let George Zimmerman literally get away with murder (or at least manslaughter). SPREAD THE WORD about how the prosecution threw the case!

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

<National Report> THIS JUST IN… George Zimmerman filed a civil suit today just before 5PM EST at the Seminole County, Florida, Courthouse. The suit alleges the parents of Trayvon Martin, failed to control their minor-age son on the evening of February 26, 2012, when Martin repeatedly assaulted Zimmerman, placing him in imminent fear for his life and resulting in the death of Martin.

The civil action specifies that Zimmerman acted in self defense resulting in the case being ruled a justifiable homicide by a jury trial that ended on Saturday with a verdict of not guilty.

Desperate state prosecutors charged the victim with 2nd degree murder though they had no evidence of a crime and hoping to stay off more violence and having Florida put to the torch at the criminal hands of rioters months before the start of the state’s tourist season. The complaint further specifies Zimmerman shares “zero-liability” in the death of Martin as he acted without malice and solely in self-defense. The amount of damages Zimmerman is seeking are unspecified.

Zimmerman, 29, was forced to move from his home soon after the incident when the domestic terrorist organization the New Black Panther Party publically announced the group was offering a $10,000 bounty for Zimmerman, dead or alive. Attorney General Eric Holder later claimed there was no evidence to prosecute anyone from the Black Panthers, a decision that angered most Americans. President Obama supported Holder’s decision ignoring cries of foul from outraged citizens.

Zimmerman has remained in hiding since the shooting nearly 18 months ago and continues to receive thousands of death threats daily.

Before the shooting Zimmerman was well known and highly respected in the community for his volunteer and charity work including organizing the Neighborhood Watch program for his gated Sanford, Florida, community.

The jury’s verdict not only clears Zimmerman as an innocent man but it also justifies the excellent work of the Sanford Police Department who acted appropriately by not charging Zimmerman and clearly citing there was never any evidence to do so.

Under mounting public pressure from the black community the police chief was let go and the department has been vilified for the last 18 months being accused of racism, corruption, incompetency and covering up the cold-blooded murder of a child.

A Brief Summary of the Jury’s Findings…

On the night of February 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted a stranger walking through his gated community and called 911 reporting the stranger appeared intoxicated and was seen prowling around several private residences in the community. Zimmerman opted to keep an eye on the person until the police arrived. Again desperate prosecutors during the trial would side with the propaganda version of events created by the Black Panthers claiming Zimmerman was pursuing Martin with intent to murder. However the jury easily spotted this turd in the punchbowl in the state’s case.

Zimmerman lost sight of the stranger and decided to return and wait in his car for police to arrive. Instead the stranger approached Zimmerman from behind and dropped him with a single “sucker-punch” to the nose. The victim fell to the ground whereupon the 17 year-old football player, now known to be Trayvon Martin, landed on the victim’s chest, held him down and repeatedly smashed his head into the pavement resulting in several head injuries.

Zimmerman, in fear for his life thankfully had a legal concealed handgun which he drew from his belt holster. The victim fired a single shot at his brutal would-be assassin; the bullet passing through Martin’s heart killing him instantly. It was Zimmerman’s 2nd Amendment right as a citizen to own and carry a handgun that clearly saved his life that night.

Zimmerman dispatched his attacker, now known to be a violent drug addled gangster-thug with a single bullet fired from his handgun. On Saturday evening the announcement came that the jury who tried the case had reached a verdict of not guilty. For obvious reasons this case will go down in the history of American jurisprudence as a true testament to the veracity of our justice system.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

(Codewit) — Five key issues factored into George Zimmerman's acquittal Saturday in last year's shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin:

1. The charges filed

Did the prosecution make a mistake in filing a second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman?

"I think the problem was they overcharged it in the very beginning," said Holly Hughes, a criminal defense lawyer who was not on Zimmerman's legal team. Had prosecutors started with the manslaughter charge, the outcome might have been different, she told CNN.

But Florida State Attorney Angela Corey said the allegations "fit the bill" for the second-degree murder charge. 

Photos: Reaction to Zimmerman verdict

Second-degree murder is defined as a killing carried out with hatred, ill will or spite, but is not premeditated. To convict Zimmerman of manslaughter, jurors would have had to believe he "intentionally committed an act or acts that caused the death of Trayvon Martin."

A verdict and more: Get caught up

Questions surfaced about whether the charge was appropriate because knowing a person's feeling during a killing is difficult to prove.

As a result, the prosecution had to rely on the evidence to tell the story of what happened and what led to the shooting, HLN's Ryan Smith said.

Without an abundance of evidence, proving the case was difficult for both sides.

Former Los Angeles County prosecutor Loni Coombs emphasized that jurors did not find Zimmerman innocent; rather, they found him not guilty. There's a difference, she told CNN's Don Lemon.

"They're not saying he's innocent, they're just saying they couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and therefore the law gave them no choice but to write 'not guilty,'" Coombs said.

2. The evidence presented

Zimmerman's account of what happened the night of the shooting was a central part of the trial. He was the only living person who witnessed the entire incident, and there wasn't much physical evidence for either team to fall back on.

Various adverse conditions played into the initial investigation that night: A dark, rainy scene isn't ideal for a homicide investigation, says HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks.

Much was made during the trial about why there was so little blood on Martin and Zimmerman, who said he fired in self defense because he was being beaten and feared for his life.

Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a former medical examiner in San Antonio and an expert on gunshot wounds, testified that the rain could have washed away and affected evidence collected from Martin's hands.

Attorney Faith Jenkins said it doesn't matter what a prosecutor believes if he or she doesn't have adequate evidence.

"Trials are not necessarily about the truth all the time," the former prosecutor told CNN. "It's about what you can prove in court."

There was so little evidence available that the defense put together an animated video to re-enact the events of that night based on witness statements, police reports and Zimmerman's account, they said.

The judge ruled against the use of the video.

3. The teen who spoke to Martin

She was on the phone with Martin moments before he was shot and was considered a key prosecution witness. But Rachel Jeantel initially resisted coming forward.

"She did not want to get involved in this in no way possible," Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters Saturday.

During two days of testimony that was at times tense and combative, Jeantel described her conversation with Martin.

When defense attorney Don West challenged her story, suggesting Martin attacked Zimmerman, she responded: "That's retarded."

Jeantel testified that Martin told her he was being chased by a "creepy-a** cracker."

"This was a disaster," criminal defense lawyer Mark Geragos told CNN's Anderson Cooper the day Jeantel testified. "This was the star witness, the star witness. The wheels came off and it was a train wreck. And there's no other — there's no way to soft-pedal it."

Analysis: The race factor

4. The voice on the call

The mothers of Zimmerman and Martin each testified that screams for help heard on a 911 call the night of the shooting were those of her son.

Whose voice was heard on the call was considered key for both the prosecution and defense in proving who was responsible for the shooting. If the screams were Martin's, as the prosecution contended, Zimmerman was the aggressor. If the screams were Zimmerman's, as the defense said, Martin was the aggressor.

On July 5, in a packed courtroom, the prosecution played the recording for Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton.

When asked if she recognized the voice, Fulton said it belonged to "Trayvon Benjamin Martin."

Hours later, the defense called Gladys Zimmerman to the stand, where she testified the voice screaming for help belonged to her son.

"I know because he's my son," she said.

As a result, there was no definitive answer for jurors.

5. Testimony

The lead detective in the case, Chris Serino, was called to the stand by the prosecution.

Serino told the court that he believed Zimmerman exaggerated the number of times he was hit that night but didn't feel any "active deception."

"Either he was telling the truth or he was a complete pathological liar," he testified.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday warned those planning to protest the acquittal of former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to commit themselves “to a respectful, responsible dialogue about issues of justice and equality.”

In a speech at the NAACP’s annual convention in Orlando, Fla., Mr. Holder said that doing otherwise through violence or the destruction of public property would not “honor the memory” of the slain teenager.

Mr. Holder said people across the country “rejected this destructive path” in the wake of Saturday night’s verdict, handed down in Sanford, Fla., less than 30 miles from where he spoke Tuesday, and proved wrong those who doubted the nation’s commitment to the rule of law.

“I hope that we will continue to approach this necessarily difficult dialogue with the same dignity that those who have lost the most — Trayvon’s parents — have demonstrated throughout the last year, and especially over the past few days,” he said. “They suffered a pain that no parent should have to endure — and one that I, as a father, cannot begin to conceive.

“As we embrace their example — and hold them in our prayers — we must not forgo this opportunity to better understand one another,” he said. “And we must not fail to seize this chance to improve this nation we cherish.”

Mr. Holder said that while it was time to “strengthen our collective resolve to combat gun violence,” it also was time to “combat violence involving or directed toward our children — so we can prevent future tragedies.” He said the country needed to confront the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and unfortunate stereotypes that serve too often as the basis for police action and private judgments.

On Tuesday, the Rev. Al Sharpton said he would lead a national “Justice for Trayvon” day in 100 cities across the country this weekend to demand that the Justice Department file civil-rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman in Trayvon’s death. He called the protests “a social movement for justice.”

While most demonstrations across the country since the acquittal was announced Saturday night generally were peaceful, one in Los Angeles on Monday erupted into violence when about 150 protesters broke off and began smashing store windows, vandalizing cars and attacking bystanders, police said.

More than 300 Los Angeles police officers were dispatched to the scene to restore order. Fourteen people were arrested.

In Oakland, Calif., protesters threw bottles and fireworks at police officers, smashed store windows and burned U.S. flags. Nine people were arrested.

“In the days leading up to this weekend’s verdict, some predicted — and prepared for — riots and waves of civil unrest across the country. Some feared that the anger of those who disagreed with the jury might overshadow and obscure the issues at the heart of this case,” Mr. Holder said. “But the people of Sanford, and, for the most part, thousands of others across America, rejected this destructive path.”

Mr. Holder told the NAACP, which also has called for federal charges against Mr. Zimmerman, that the Justice Department is investigating the case.

“This afternoon, I want to assure you of two things: I am concerned about this case and as we confirmed last spring, the Justice Department has an open investigation into it. While that inquiry is ongoing, I can promise that the Department of Justice will consider all available information before determining what action to take.”

Meanwhile, one of the jurors in the Zimmerman case told CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” she had “no doubt” Mr. Zimmerman feared for his life in the final moments of his struggle with Trayvon, and that was the definitive factor in the verdict.

Identified only as Juror B37, she said she thought Mr. Zimmerman’s “heart was in the right place” the night he shot Trayvon, but he didn’t use “good judgment” in confronting the Florida teenager.

She also noted that the jury initially voted three guilty and three not guilty but “after hours and hours and hours of deliberating over the law, and reading it over and over and over again, we decided there’s just no way, other place to go.”

“It’s a tragedy this happened. But it happened,” the juror said. “And I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into. I think both of them could have walked away. It just didn’t happen.”

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

ORLANDO, Fla. Four of the jurors at the George Zimmerman trial distanced themselves late Tuesday from statements that another juror made in a televised interview.

The four jurors issued a brief statement on court stationary saying that the opinions expressed by Juror B37 to CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday night are not representative of their views.

"The opinions of Juror B37, expressed on the Anderson Cooper show were her own, and not in any way representative of the jurors listed below," said the statement, signed by Jurors B51, B76, E6 and E40.

Juror B37 said the actions of Zimmerman and 17-year-old Trayvon Martin both led to the teenager's fatal shooting last year, but that Zimmerman didn't actually break the law.

The four other jurors said in their statement that Martin's death weighed on them.

"Serving on this jury has been a highly emotional and physically draining experience for each of us," the statement said. "The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts but in the end we did what the law required us to do."

They also made a request for privacy. The court has not released the names of the six-woman jury, which included five whites and one woman who appeared to reporters to be Hispanic.

The interview came two days after the jury acquitted Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer, of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Martin was black, and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic. Zimmerman was not arrested for 44 days, and the delay in charging him led to protests from those who believed race was a factor in the handling of the case.

While prosecutors accused Zimmerman of profiling Martin, Zimmerman maintained he acted in self-defense. He claimed Martin was slamming his head into the concrete sidewalk when he fired the gun.

In the CNN interview, Juror B37 said she didn't believe that Zimmerman followed Martin because of his race. She said Zimmerman made some mistakes, but that she believed Martin struck Zimmerman first and that the neighborhood watch volunteer had a right to defend himself.

Juror B37 said the jurors were initially divided on Zimmerman's guilt, with three jurors believing he was guilty of either manslaughter or second-degree murder, but that the jury agreed to acquit the 29-year-old Zimmerman after more closely reviewing the law.

In a part of the interview that aired Tuesday, Juror B37 said it wouldn't have made much difference if Zimmerman had testified at trial since she believes he would have gave the same story he gave investigators in videotaped police interviews that were played at the trial.

Juror B37 said at one point it appeared they might be heading to a hung jury as another juror wanted to leave. The other jurors convinced her to stay.

Juror B37 said a block of concrete that defense attorney Mark O'Mara placed in front of jurors during closing arguments made an impression, as did photos of Zimmerman's bloodied head. She also believed Martin's actions contributed to his death.

"I think George got in a little bit too deep, which he shouldn't have been there, but Trayvon decided that he wasn't going to let him scare him and get the one-over, up on him or something," she said. "I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him. "

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

Sanford, Florida (CNN) — An employee of the Florida State Attorney's Office who testified that prosecutors withheld evidence from George Zimmerman's defense team has been fired.

Ben Kruidbos had been on paid administrative leave since May 28 from his job as director of information technology for the State Attorney's Office.

A spokeswoman for Fourth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Angela Corey said Kruidbos was no longer an employee of the office.

Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, is on trial in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year.

Kruidbos testified before Zimmerman's trial began that Martin's cell phone contained images of Martin blowing smoke, images of marijuana and deleted text messages regarding a transaction for a firearm and that those images had not been given to Zimmerman's defense team.

He received the termination letter, dated July 11, on Friday, the same day jurors began deliberating Zimmerman's case. The letter states: "It has come to our attention that you violated numerous State Attorney's Office (SAO) policies and procedures and have engaged in deliberate misconduct that is especially egregious in light of your position."

Read the termination letter

Kruidbos said that, when he printed a 900-page Florida Department of Law Enforcement report from Martin's cell phone in late 2012 or early 2013, he noticed information was missing.

Concerned that attorneys did not have all the information they needed to prepare the case, he said, he reported his concerns to a State Attorney's Office investigator and later to prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda.

Kruidbos said he generated a report that was more than three times the size of the one that had been handed over.

For example, Kruidbos said that 2,958 photos were in the report given to the defense but that his report contained 4,275 photos.

Kruidbos also said that he has been told to not put specific case-identifying information into internal e-mails.

Through his attorney, Wesley White, Kruidbos informed Zimmerman's defense team that the information existed.

Did investigators blow the Zimmerman case?

In court, Kruidbos testified that he was concerned that he could be held liable if all information wasn't shared. "All the information is important in the process to ensure it's a fair trial," he said.

In a six-page dismissal letter, the State Attorney's Office, Fourth Judicial Circuit, blasted Kruidbos' assertions and motivations. Managing Director Cheryl R. Peek accused Kruidbos of having erased data from a laptop in violation of the Public Records Law and derided his concern about being held liable as "feigned and spurious" and "nothing more than shameful manipulation in a shallow, but obvious, attempt to cloak yourself in the protection of the whistleblower law."

She concluded, "Because of your deliberate, willful and unscrupulous actions, you can never again be trusted to step foot in this office. Your have left us with no choice but to terminate your employment."

But the defense said Kruidbos' testimony supports its claim that the state violated the rules of discovery.

Ex-Sanford police chief: Zimmerman probe 'taken away from us'

"When it takes me six months to get a color picture of my client, when the first one I get is a black and white, when I look at it and go, 'This is off a cell phone; cell phones don't take black-and-white pictures,' and I ask for a color copy, that takes two months," defense lawyer Mark O'Mara said Wednesday in an interview with CNN's Martin Savidge.

"And then I get a pastel-colored color copy of it, and it takes me to file a motion and have a hearing set before I get the actual .jpeg, no, that's frustrating. That should not happen. I've done this too long to make believe in my own mind that that's happenstance."

O'Mara said he learned about the missing information months after he was to have received it. "The only way that we really found out about it … and the only way that we really found out about the intensity of the failure to give us information was when a person from their own office, a whistle-blower, came forward and said, 'I gave them that information in the middle to end of January' and we didn't get it until June 4th."

He said he was "beyond" shocked. "It could have derailed the trial," he said.

The defense said it did not get the complete report until a few days before the trial. O'Mara and co-counsel Don West argued that they needed more time to go through the information found on Martin's phone and asked for a delay, which was denied.

Judge Debra Nelson said before the trial that the possibility of sanctions — requested by the defense — would be addressed after the verdict.

The defense team declined to comment Saturday.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

(Codewit) — George Zimmerman "didn't do anything unlawful" and was "justified" in shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, according to one of the jurors who acquitted Zimmerman.

The woman, known as Juror B37, spoke exclusively to CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." Part 1 of the interview aired Monday, and part 2 aired Tuesday night.

Shortly after the interview segment Tuesday, four other jurors released a statement responding to her comments.

"We, the undersigned jurors, understand there is a great deal of interest in this case. But we ask you to remember that we are not public officials and we did not invite this type of attention into our lives," they said.

"We also wish to point out that the opinions of Juror B37, expressed on the Anderson Cooper show were her own, and not in any way representative of the jurors listed below."

The jurors identified themselves only by their jury pool numbers.

Juror B37 told CNN she wanted to find Zimmerman guilty of "not using his senses," but that "you can't charge him with anything because he didn't do anything unlawful."

She said Zimmerman "started the ball rolling" and could have avoided the situation by staying in his car.

"But he wanted to do good. I think he had good in his heart, he just went overboard," the juror said.

Asked later whether she thought Zimmerman was within his rights, she was unequivocal: "He was justified in shooting Trayvon Martin."

'We can't give them the verdict that they wanted'

The woman was part of a six-person, all-female jury that found Zimmerman not guilty.

As the first juror to speak about the case, she offered insight into what happened behind closed doors.

The jury was initially split — three and three along the line of guilt — she said. Juror B37 was among those who believed Zimmerman was not guilty from the start.

There was one holdout, the juror said.

"She wanted to find him guilty of something, but couldn't because of the way the law is written. He wasn't responsible for negligible things that he had done leading up to that point," she said, stressing that she and the other jurors took their responsibility seriously.

"I don't want people to think that we didn't think about this, and we didn't care about Trayvon Martin, because we did. We're very sad that it happened to him," she said.

The juror said she cried after the verdict and before it was read.

At one point during the interview, she struggled to speak as her voice cracked.

To Martin's parents, the juror said she would tell them that she is terribly sorry for their loss.

"I feel bad that we can't give them the verdict that they wanted, but legally, we could not do that," she said.

Her emotion was echoed in the statement from the four other jurors.

"The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts, but in the end we did what the law required us to do," they said.

'I hope he gets some peace'

Just as she believes Zimmerman was guilty of not using common sense, Juror B37 thinks Martin was not without fault.

"I believe he played a huge role in his death," she said about the teenager.

"He could have … When George confronted him, and he could have walked away and gone home. He didn't have to do whatever he did and come back and be in a fight," she said.

The juror had no doubt that Zimmerman feared for his life.

She said she didn't have a strong impression of Martin.

"All we really heard about Trayvon was the phone call that he had, and the evidence they had found on him. We basically had no information what kind of a boy Trayvon was, what he did. We knew where he went to school and that was pretty much about it, and he lived in Miami," she said.

Asked about what role race might have played in the trial, which grew into a national debate about gun laws and race in America, the juror said it did not matter.

Zimmerman did not target Martin, who was African-American, because of the color of his skin, she said.

The juror believes he profiled him because of the suspicious way he acted.

"I don't think race had anything to do with this trial. I mean just because he was black and George was Spanish or Puerto Rican, I don't think it had anything to do with this trial. But I think people are looking for things to make race play a part," the juror said.

She added that she hopes Zimmerman will be able to move on.

"I hope he gets some peace," she said. "I hope his family can live a normal life after a while. I don't know how he's ever gonna do that, but I hope he can. He'll never forget, but I hope he can."

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

Juror B-37 says Trayvon Martin "could have walked away and gone home" after he was followed by George Zimmerman.

A juror who has been vocal since the acquittal of George Zimmerman said Tuesday night that Trayvon Martin "played a huge role" in his own death.

"When George confronted him . . . he could have walked away and gone home," the woman, identified only as juror B-37, said of the 17-year-old victim in an interview on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°. "He didn't have to do whatever he did and come back and be in a fight."

But she added that she and other jurors nevertheless felt a lot of sympathy for what happened to Trayvon and that she wished she could have given his family "the verdict they wanted."

"I don't want people to think that we didn't think about Trayvon Martin," she said, her voice appearing to crack with emotion. "We did."

She said that the jury deliberations were intense. She said she and others wanted to find something they could convict Zimmerman of, but there was nothing legally that they could do.

"I wanted to find him guilty of not using his senses, but you can't fault anybody," she said of Zimmerman. "You can't charge him with anything because he didn't do anything unlawful."

She said she believed the situation got out of control, partly because of what both Zimmerman and Trayvon did.

"George got in a little too deep," she said. "But Trayvon got mad and attacked him."

Late Tuesday night, a press officer with the 18th Judicial Circuit court in Florida issued a statement from four other jurors in the Zimmerman case, who said juror B-37's opinions "were her own, and not in any way representative" of their views.

"Serving on this jury has been a highly emotional and physically draining experience for each of us," the statement said. "The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts but in the end we did what the law required us to do."

Juror B-37 said earlier in the day Tuesday that she is dropping plans to write about her account of the controversial case.

The juror, still known only by her court designation as juror B-37, issued the statement less than 24 hours after her new literary agent, Sharlene Martin, had announced plans for a book co-authored by the juror's husband, who is an attorney.

Martin tweeted the juror's change of plans Tuesday and also announced that she had decided to rescind her offer of representation.

The juror said in her statement that the isolation of being sequestered "shielded me from the depth of pain that exists among the general public over every aspect of this case."

WATCH: Juror B-37 goes public on the Zimmerman verdict

"The potential book was always intended to be a respectful observation of the trial from my and my husband's perspectives solely and it was to be an observation that our 'system' of justice can get so complicated that it creates a conflict with our 'spirit' of justice," she said in the statement. "Now that I am returned to my family and to society in general, I have realized that the best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book and return instead to my life as it was before I was called to sit on this jury."

Martin, in announcing initially on Monday that she had signed the juror, said the book would deal with serving on a sequestered jury in a highly publicized murder trial and the importance of following the letter of the law.

"The reader will also learn why the jurors had no option but to find Zimmerman not guilty due to the manner in which he was charged and the content of the jury instructions," Martin had said Monday.

Martin also said at the time that the juror had approached her within 24 hours of the verdict and had been referred by a "high-ranking producer from one of the morning shows."

Juror B-37 had quickly staked out a high-profile in the case after the verdict, appearing on Anderson Cooper 360 on Monday night.

She told the CNN anchor that Zimmerman was "a man whose heart was in the right place," but he went too far and did not use good judgment.

According to notes from the jury selection process, juror B-37 is a white, middle-aged woman from Seminole County who works as a chiropractor. She is the daughter of an Air Force captain, has two adult children and has been married to a space attorney for 20 years.

Under pre-trial questioning, she described the protests that took place in Sanford, Fla., after the shooting as "rioting."

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %

0 0

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the jury rejected Trevor Dooley’s claim of self-defense under the state of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

One of the jury members said the law “did not apply to this case.” Jury foreman Walter Joss said, “The whole silly thing was over a skateboard … and it just escalated,” still not indicating how the origins of the conflict are relevant to the controversial Stand Your Ground defense.

The Tampa jury found Dooley, a 71-year-old black man,  guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of his white neighbor, 41-year-old David James, in front of James’ then-8-year-old daughter Danielle.

The Jamaican-born Dooley believes that racism played a big part in his conviction, and he is not alone. Dooley told reporters, “Do you really think that if it was the other way around and the skin color would be different we would be here today? … We wouldn’t.”

James’ daughter, who has been in counseling since the tragedy, did not remember much of the incident. She testified that she only remembered Dooley trying to go home.

The incident occurred in September 2010, when James and Dooley got into an argument over a skateboarder who had been given permission by James to skateboard on the other side of the basketball court where James and his daughter had been playing.

Dooley, who is 5-feet-7 and weighs 160 pounds, said in his testimony that he shot the 6-foot-1, 240 pound James when he felt his life was in danger because James had his hands around Dooley’s neck and was trying to reach for his gun.

The Times also reported that along with manslaughter, Dooley was also convicted of the dubious charges of improper exhibition of a weapon and open carrying of a firearm, both misdemeanors.

Dooley will remain free on bail until his sentencing by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Ashley Moody on Jan. 10.

It should be remembered that George Zimmerman’s defense argued that it was irrelevant how the encounter with Trayvon Martin began. What mattered, they said, was that Zimmerman claimed he had no other choice but to fire. For months the media speculated that Zimmerman’s defense would rest upon the Stand Your Ground law, but ultimately, this defense was never invoked. When it has been the defense of African Americans defending themselves in Florida, the defense is consistently denied. First Marissa Alexander, and now Trevor Dooley.

We have until then to SPREAD THE WORD and RAISE AWARENESS about this case!

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.

ionyclaret@gmail.com

https://www.codewit.com

Happy

0 0 %

Sad

0 0 %

Excited

0 0 %

Sleepy

0 0 %

Angry

0 0 %

Surprise

0 0 %