Do you think society was well served by this prosecution?
Was the enormous cost to both the state and , perhaps more importantly given the states public funding, the ruinious cost to Mr.Zimmerman, worth the public airing of the case.
By nearly every opinion of lawyers who have examined the Prosecutions case, which the jury confirmed by the verdict, this was a case that in the absence of political pressure (from the President himself) ,should not have been brought in the first place. Certainly not as a murder charge.
The prosecution attemped to with hold evidence and, watching the trial , it seemed to me, to mischaracterize the facts as subsequently shown by the defense.
Don’t lose sight of the fact Zimmerman wae not required to “have authorization” to carry a firearm. It is his legal right to do so.
Martin was a “kid” only in age. That could not have been known to Zimmerman at night,while Martin was wearing a hoddie. He was taller than Zimmerman. He could have been any age.
That Martin “got a little violent is precisely the point of self defense”. Try having your head banged against a concrete sidewalk and decide for yourself if you have fear.

All in all I thought the State appeared very political, shabby and perhaps as stated by a defense lawyer, “disgraceful”.
The question stands,”was society well served?”

I disagree with the premise you started with “Most agree that Zimmerman was racially profiling”. The 911 operator asked Zimmerman a question on the night of the shooting and he responded specifically to that question which is where the idea that he was racially profiling originates. I do not believe this should or will become a civil rights case even though many want it to become so. Zimmerman has been investigated by police and the FBI and come through with no signs of being racial in his life or in the tragic death of Martin. Most who think Zimmerman was racially motivated have not taken the time to look into his life or the facts surrounding this case.

@NinaAnakar it will definitely be interesting to see what the DOJ does with this case. If they choose to bring charges against Zimmerman again, it will spark a double jeopardy debate for sure. I personally believe Zimmerman is not 100% innocent. He never should have followed Trayvon to begin with. But that was a mistake, not murder. I believe he is innocent regarding the charges brought against him. He was acting in self defense. Also, I think the discussion that should be had, is why people think its okay to be walking around people’s houses with a hood on, at night, in the rain. It looks skeptical. You shouldn’t be walking around people’s houses. People can say that Trayvon was just going out for a pack of skittles, but lets be real here. When the police went through his house they found stolen jewelry. I bet Trayvon was looking for houses to rob that night, or perhaps scoping out the territory for future robberies. The pictures of him on the internet holding up middle fingers, smoking weed, and acting like a complete thug, combined with his criminal history, the fact that he had presumably stolen jewelry in his house, the fact that he beat up a school bus driver, leads me to believe that Trayvon Martin had a knack for bringing these types of altercations into his life. George Zimmerman chose to follow the wrong guy, and luckily he was able to defend himself. Also, he is MEXICAN. NOT WHITE. So this whole white vs black racism stuff is really quite idiotic. Its a distraction from the fact that more blacks kill blacks every day than whites killing blacks. Lets talk about that. Why aren’t blacks and all of these “civil rights” activists that love calling whites racist standing up against all of the black on black crime?

This whole case has been a joke. The fact that it even got coverage is a joke. The fact that it was actually brought to trial with the “evidence” that the prosecution had was a joke. The fact that it didn’t get dismissed mid-trial is a joke.

You can boil this entire phenomenon down to one simple element: race baiting. Major media outlets knew that low information voters (aka stupid people) would go nuts over this and they’d sell more papers, more ads, more everything. If any major consequences were to result from the verdict (rioting, looting, etc) the finger should be pointed squarely at the media.

Many black communities around the country have propelled themselves into an endless spiral of self-deprecation, gang activity, drug use, ignorance, as well as in many cases cultural and moral bankruptcy. Bill Cosby has been talking about this for years. For something tangible to improve, there has to be a massive cultural shift in the black community toward intellectualism.

Summation of rant: black people should aspire to be doctors and computer programmers instead of rappers and pro athletes.

Apparently a stupid Florida law and a twisted take on the 2nd amendment are more important than individual freedom. @brock You should get out of your little white Utopia and maybe volunteer for the poor, hungry or disadvantaged. It will do your heart some good.
If this young man was crawling out of a window I would not have a problem if Zimmerman would have shot him. But he was walking on a sidewalk, period. He was the victim! Zimmerman is not a cop, he had absolutely no right to stalk or confront this kid.
I want to believe he did not intend to kill him. That it was a mistake. The jury made
one also by not finding him guilty of manslaughter.
We as a civilized society and as Americans have to value freedom and liberty above everything else….

I’ve just recently read and researched about the Zimmerman trial. I wasn’t following it, but now after all the research, the fact that this is being made about race is absurd to me. The detectives, police, forensic psychologist, pathologist, gun expert, voice analogyst all have evidence supporting zimmerman’s claims. Now I’m not saying Zimmerman was innocent, I wasn’t there I do not know. But what I do not understand is that all I’ve seen in response to Trayvon Martin’s side, is “this happened because he was black”, “if he was white this wouldn’t have happened.”. My first reaction is who cares if he was black or white or Mexican or Iranian or what race he was, if people feel so strongly about his innocence, post the findings- the evidence, the legal reasons why a person feels that way. Why even bring race into it? and I would say exactly the same thing if a black man had shot a white kid in self defense and all the evidence that had so far been found was supporting his claim.

And it’s absolutely going to turn into a civil rights case, I think it’s stupid that it will but of course it is.

Interesting the attention this is getting from the Justice Department which seems incapable of investigating the IRS don’t you think?

@Grand-Vizier, good point. I think we can all take a step back and look at what the United States Department of Justice chooses to spend its resources investigating, anything that advances their agenda of division in America.

@HeadStrong, I completely agree with you. @Brock I actually agree with you as well regarding the low income heavily gang populated areas. But I do not believe that is representation of the entire black community. But I am willing to say that I do believe that popular culture tries to push this image of gangs, violence, sports, or fame to the black community which I think is part of the reason why so many of them fall into this lifestyle. Our culture shouldn’t be pushing this stereotype of blacks because its becomes a self fulfilling prophecy for them. If people your whole life tell you you can only be a rapper, a ball player, or a celebrity of some sort, you might see that as the quickest way to success. When in reality its not.

But I am getting off topic. @Fred I disagree with you that this is a violation of personal freedoms. Trayvon Martin had a history of fighting, stealing, etc. This probably wasn’t the first time he found himself in an altercation like this. Personal freedom includes defending yourself with your 2nd amendment rights if someone is bashing your head into the concrete MMA style.

@twocents — I didn’t include all black communities in my statement, but I apologize if there was some misinterpretation involved.

@fredh
I don’t alway find myself in agreement with Fred but he writes good stuff.
In this case”the stupid Florida law” he referrs to was not a part of this trial in any way shape or form,so commenting on it is puzzling to me.
This was a case of simple self defense using basic self defense law as written in virtually every state.
I watched the trial carefully.
I did not see Zimmerman “stalking Treyvon”
I live in a small neighborhood (gated like Zimmerman’s) and while I certainly don”t know everyone I have a general knowledge of who lives nearby and if they have kids ,how old they are etc.
If I saw a single person walking around at night in my neighborhood wearing a “hoodie” that was unfamiliar I think I would be suspicious also. Race would not enter into it.
I don’t know where you live but I bet you might have the same reaction near your house.
Think about it. If I’m wrong tell me why. ( I’ve been wrong before !)

@Brock okay your comment makes more sense if you are referring to population I was thinking of as well. @Grand-Vizier I agree with out about the small neighborhood and knowing who lives around. I often see people on my street that I don’t recognize, and I always keep an eye on them because we have had a couple break ins on my street. I watch them to make sure they do not get too close to a window or try to break in. Race never comes in to it. In fact, I usually cannot tell what race they are if it is dark or raining. I just know that my neighbors kids usually dont behave that way or wear clothing that seems to be trying to conceal their faces. That being said, I also do not follow them myself. I call my neighbors and I call the police if anything. But knowing my neighbors, when I call them they usually get their guns out, and if someone were to break in they would most definitely got shot. The difference is they would get shot while breaking in, so there is no room for speculation in the courtroom that it was murder rather than self defense.

Buy the way,everyone seems to restrict this conversation to cities.
I grew up in farm country.
If you were out walking around in the dark the farmer would definitely be out to see what you were up to.
He would not be alone. there would be a 12 gauge and probably a dog.
If you needed help he would most likely get the tractor to pull you out of the ditch,let you use his phone to call for help or fix you up himself while his wife fed you.
But if you were up to no good you’re in deep S***.

What everyone seems to be disregarding is that Trayvon Martin was straddling George Zimmerman when Zimmerman un-holstered his weapon and defended himself. Forensics and the autopsy prove this. If there was any civil rights violation in this whole tragedy it was by the prosecution, the State of Florida and the trail judge against Zimmerman.

For anyone questioning the verdict, I ask you to read the following story and decide if it is a civil rights case or not. http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_stories/490926/jury-finds-roderick-scott-not-guilty

I would ask everyone to look at the facts, not the emotion, and tell me that the Zimmerman verdict was unjust.

Tragic yes, unjust no.

@fredh First of all the 2nd Amendment is one of the foundations of this nation and the right to self protection is a natural right.

Second, the evidence that was presented, which is the only evidence that can be evaluated, not conjecture, showed that he did not stalk martin. The 911 operator, who by the way is also not a cop and thus has no authority over another citizen, asked which way Martin went which is when Zimmerman went to take a look. When Zimmerman went to go back to the car is when the confrontation occurred.

In addition, it is not illegal to follow someone. There is a difference between stalking and following. As for Martin walking on the sidewalk is a misunderstanding. Zimmerman called because he saw Martin walking around close to the houses, up under the eaves, late at night. To any reasonable person this would be considered suspicious.

@brock was correct that this was all about race baiting. They say that Zimmerman was racially profiling Martin, but if you listen to he 911 recording (not the MSNBC version) the operator asks if he could tell what color the person was and Zimmerman stated he couldn’t tell. The operator then asked specifically if the person was black and Zimmerman answered he might be.

Finally, as for Martin becoming aggressive because a man with a gun confronted him is a misnomer. The gun, according to submitted evidence, did not come out until after Martin attacked Zimmerman. So, if it didn’t come out till that point then there was no “civilized” reason for Martin to attack Zimmerman even if he was following him.

The irony is that if anyone’s civil rights have been trampled on, it is Zimmerman’s. Anyone prone on the ground with an assailant smashing their face and beating their head onto the pavement has the Natural Right to self preservation. They should be able to defend themselves by whatever means necessary. When they are found not guilty by a jury of their peers, they should have the expectation that their personal property should be returned to them. They should have the expectation that both media and elected race-baiters should keep their mouths shut since they have no idea what the specifics of the case were. The America I grew up in believed in the rule of law. I find it hard to believe that we are following the Soviet blueprint of oppression and people are content to follow blindly like sheep. Bread and circuses….