WTH George Zimmerman’s Attorneys: Trayvon Martin is a “Ghetto” Black Male Thug Who Deserved to Die (2536 hits)
I have argued that George Zimmerman is a murderer, one motivated by racism, an over-identification with Whiteness and White Authority, as well as a fetish for playing cop, to kill a person who was guilty of walking while Black in the “wrong” neighborhood.
At present, George Zimmerman’s attorneys are trying to defame and discredit Trayvon Martin’s character by releasing text messages and photos of him acting in a “criminal” manner.
However, there is little discussion of the following issues which would suggest that George Zimmerman has many defects of character and behavior.
George Zimmerman was arrested for domestic violence. He was apparently on mood altering drugs while pursuing an unarmed person against police instructions, and then killing said innocent person. George Zimmerman was also accused of committing s*xual assault and molesting a family member. George Zimmerman also assaulted police officers.
Thus, some questions.
How do these facts enter into the prosecution’s case? Why is the public not hearing more about George Zimmerman’s character defects? By attacking Trayvon Martin’s character–and on issues that have little if anything to do with Zimmerman’s motivations for chasing down and murdering an innocent person–are Zimmerman’s attorneys now open to an attack on their client’s questionable background?
Black youth are made into adults for purposes of incarceration, harassment, and murder by the State, as well as those overly identified with Whiteness and White Authority.
African-American adults are infantilized by those who want to argue that we are not worthy of citizenship, are stuck on a “plantation,” and seek to disenfranchise us at the polls. This paradox typifies African-American life during Jim and Jane Crow and through to the post civil rights era.
A one sided attack on Trayvon Martin when George Zimmerman’s character and motivations have not been equally scrutinized is a function of that same dynamic.
How Trayvon Martin is guilty as opposed to being presumed innocent, and the burden of proof is on his family and attorneys to prove Trayvon Martin’s right to live when confronted by the murderous machinations of a vigilante killer, are more proof that African-American life remains cheap in the Age of Barack Obama–and how African-American’s lives are (quite literally) in some ways less valuable than they were centuries ago.
African-American kids walking home are all black beast rapist giant Negroes in the eyes of people like George Zimmerman and those who support him. “Nig*erization” is real. Never forget that fact; do not let your kids, who may happen to be black and brown, forget that fact either.
George Zimmerman’s defense strategy of demonizing Trayvon Martin suffered a huge setback on Tuesday. Attorneys won’t be able to mention Trayvon Martin’s alleged drug use, suspension from school and past fighting during opening statements at the trial of the former neighborhood watch vigilante who fatally shot the teen, a judge ruled Tuesday.
However, Circuit Judge Debra Nelson left open the possibility that the defense could try again later during the trial if it could show relevance.
George Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 17-year-old’s killing and has pleaded not guilty, saying he acted in self-defense. He did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
In another key motion Nelson refused to allow jurors to travel to the shooting scene during trial, and rejected a defense request to delay the trial set to begin June 10.
The judge called the request to let jurors see the crime scene “a logistical nightmare.”
George Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said Nelson’s decisions would not affect how he presented his case.
“We were hoping that we would have some limitations on people commenting upon information that is not yet relevant,” O’Mara said. “So the idea that the state will have to be careful about how they present their case – and certainly we’re going be careful about how we present ours – is exactly what we were hoping for.”
He acknowledged, however, that with the judge not delaying the trial George Zimmermans defense would “have a lot more work to do than we can get accomplished between now and June 10.”
The judge also ruled that some of the Trayvon Martin’s texts and other social media statements won’t be allowed in opening statements, though it, too, could be allowed later with a ruling from the judge depending on how the case progresses.
O’Mara told the judge that Trayvon Martin’s alleged marijuana use and past fighting was central to the argument that Zimmerman used self-defense when he confronted Trayvon Martin last year at a gated community in Sanford, Fla.
“We have a lot of evidence that marijuana use had something to do with the event,” O’Mara said. “It could have affected his behavior.”
An attorney for Trayvon Martin’s family, Benjamin Crump, said the teen’s parents were pleased with the judge’s rulings on information they consider immaterial to the February 2012 shooting.
“Trayvon Martin is not on trial,” Crump said.
The judge ruled against a defense request that the pool of 500 jury candidates be sequestered during jury selection. She said jurors will be referred to by their jury numbers and prohibited their faces from being photographed. Nelson denied a prosecution request for a gag order that would prohibit attorneys from talking about the case.
O’Mara said he is concerned potential jurors could be affected by publicity the case is receiving.
The defense attorney had asked to push back the trial date because he said prosecutors had delayed turning over evidence as required. O’Mara is seeking sanctions against prosecutors, but a hearing on those sanctions was delayed until next week.
Before the judge decided to postpone the hearing on sanctions, a former prosecutor who used to work in the same office as the attorneys prosecuting Zimmerman testified he had told O’Mara about photos and text messages from Trayvon Martin’s cell phone that hadn’t yet been turned over to the defense.
Former Assistant State Attorney Wesley White resigned last year from the State Attorney’s Office that covers northeast Florida. Last week, George Zimmerman’s defense team released reputation damaging text messages and pictures taken from Trayvon martin’s cell phone, in the hope of bolstering their defense strategy.
Wednesday, May 29th 2013 at 9:28PM
DAVID JOHNSON
With 12 days remaining until George Zimmerman goes on trial for the killing of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman's lawyers are pleading for more money, insisting that they've somehow burned through almost all of the more than $300,000 in online donations the public somehow have to an alleged murderer. "We've calculated that we need another $120,000 to give George the defense he deserves. At the barest minimum, we need $75,000 to give George a fighting chance," reads the message on Zimmerman's defense fund website, which also notes that there "is less than $5,000 in the trust account." Judging from the twisted history of Zimmerman supporters — and based on the curious history of defense funds, even in the pre-Kickstarter era — that kind of request actually isn't all that out of touch with reality. Don't be surprised if one of the most hated men in Florida gets his non-Kickstarter Kickstarter coffers filled right up in time to pay his lawyers by jury selection. RELATED: Today in Trayvon: 1,000 March, Piers and Touré Rumble, and Biden Weighs In The message appears to be from Zimmerman's legal team, which promises that lead attorney Mark O'Mara and his team "have not been paid a cent for their services," even though the note does add that "some staffers work for far less than they deserve." Still, this would mean that since January 2, Zimmerman has spent a lot on a defense that has done little more legal good than court prep work and the mounting of a public smear campaign that's not even admissible in court: According to the GZ Defense Fund site, donations totaled $314,099.07 as of January 2; according to The Orlando Sentinel, Zimmerman's backers raised another $54,000 between January 2 and March 7, after putting out a call for more money on January 30. The donations, as the website stated in a January update, went toward expenses like Zimmerman's bail bond ($95,000), living expenses ($61,747.54), and security ($56,100.00). As for his legal team, the site states that $40,647.64 went to "law firm support and infrastructure" and $35,588.07 went to "case-related expenses." Yes, George Zimmerman's case is expensive, and his supporters have footed the pricey bill. RELATED: $204,000 Raised Online Won't Land Zimmerman Back in Jail, For Now Will another $45,000 really be the difference in trial? His legal team promises the next round of funding would be spent on the lodging of experts. "In the days ahead, we need to spend thousands of dollars on transcripts of crucial depositions. We need to pay experts and provide them accommodations during the time they may be needed at trial," the site states. Zimmerman was found to have misrepresented his financial assets in court back in June, but transcripts of depositions can be costly, and we imagine Florida hotel rooms can be, too. RELATED: Zimmerman's Special Prosecutor Skips Grand Jury But still, spending money at a trial is different than spending money on say, a car or a house. It's hard to quantify exactly how much better Zimmerman would do with $120,000 in his pocket as opposed to, say, $75,000 more. And you have to take into account that the people writing this, also have an incentive: they're the lawyers who say they haven't received a cent.
Wednesday, May 29th 2013 at 9:29PM
DAVID JOHNSON
Text messages sent from Trayvon Martin's cell phone the day he was killed show he had been arguing with someone on the phone and was "hostile," attorneys for George Zimmerman wrote in a recent court filing. Zimmerman's lawyers argue the texts are relevant to the case, in which the unarmed teenager was fatally shot by the neighborhood watch volunteer during a confrontation in a Sanford, Florida, neighborhood in February 2012. The texts speak to Martin's demeanor and emotional state, the Thursday filing said, and "may assist the jury in understanding why Trayvon Martin chose to hide then confront George Zimmerman rather than simply going home." The filing said the texts were mostly with "Witness 8," and the messages showed Martin and the friend were "hostile and angry with each other at various points throughout the day." A peek at Trayvon Martin's past Is the defense trashing Trayvon Martin? Get up to speed on Zimmerman trial Zimmerman lawyers fight for trial delay Martin, 17, was talking on the phone with Witness 8 when he and Zimmerman met as Martin walked to the house of his father's fiancee after a trip to a nearby convenience store. Zimmerman to argue self-defense, will not seek 'stand your ground' Also in the document, Zimmerman's attorneys say the court should also consider text messages sent before that day, because they establish Martin's marijuana use and fights he had been involved in. "This (fighting) evidence is admissible in support of Mr. Zimmerman's self-defense claim regarding the abilities and capacity of Trayvon Martin as an experienced fighter," Zimmerman's attorneys wrote. The attorney for Martin's family, Benjamin Crump, said Thursday that evidence and other details -- like the defense's assertion that Martin had removable gold tooth caps -- are "irrelevant." He predicted they would never be used at Zimmerman's trial. "Is the defense trying to prove Trayvon deserved to be killed by George Zimmerman because (of) the way he looked?" Crump asked in a statement. "If so, this stereotypical and closed-minded thinking is the same mindset that caused George Zimmerman to get out of his car and pursue Trayvon, an unarmed kid who he didn't know. The pretrial release of these irrelevant red herrings is a desperate and pathetic attempt by the defense to pollute and sway the jury pool." Two previous gag order requests by the prosecution have been denied. George Zimmerman's brother apologizes for offensive tweet Instead, he said, jurors will focus on Zimmerman's arrest for battery on a police officer, a domestic violence injunction and other issues he said demonstrate a "propensity for violence." Other items taken from Martin's phone included text-message discussions of drugs and pictures of a gun and marijuana plants. Lead defense attorney Mark O'Mara said he will try to use the evidence if prosecutors attempt to attack Zimmerman's character during his trial on second-degree murder charges, set to begin next month. Also Thursday, O'Mara filed a request that his client's trial be delayed. Much of the new evidence disclosed Thursday in filings by Zimmerman's attorneys comes from Martin's cell phone, including photos showing a semiautomatic pistol and ammunition and small marijuana plants growing in pots. In another picture, Martin is pictured making obscene gestures in an apparent self-portrait. Others show him with friends and in other settings. Gun, drug texts feature in new Trayvon Martin shooting evidence Zimmerman recently waived his right to a pretrial hearing under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force when threatened regardless of where they are. His attorneys will claim self-defense at trial. A representative of the special prosecutor handling the case did not return an e-mail message Thursday seeking comment on the evidence. Prosecutors renewed their motion for a gag order in the case Thursday because, they said, they're concerned about finding an impartial jury given the "inordinate amount of media coverage." Two previous gag order requests by the prosecution have been denied. Arrest 'solely to placate the masses," Zimmerman's mother writes In-Session's Jessica Thill and CNN's David Mattingly, Marylynn Ryan, Rich Phillips and
Friday, May 31st 2013 at 12:11PM
DAVID JOHNSON
ORLANDO -- George Zimmerman’s attorneys released a statement Sunday backtracking on what they said about a video of a fight found on Trayvon Martin’s cellphone.
In court Tuesday, defense attorney Mark O’Mara described it as the Miami Gardens teen video-recording two friends beating up a homeless man.
But in Sunday’s statement, O’Mara apologized and said it really shows Trayvon video-recording two homeless men fighting over a bicycle.
Trayvon, along with a friend, had come upon the fight and Trayvon had merely recorded it, according to the statement.
In his statement Sunday, O’Mara described his mischaracterization in court as unintentional and said he was unhappy about it.
“We have been committed to disputing misinformation in every aspect of this case, not causing it,” the statement said.
That piece of video is among evidence O’Mara’s office notified prosecutors two weeks ago that it may use at Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial, scheduled to begin June 10 in Sanford.
Natalie Jackson, an attorney for Trayvon’s family, was asked Tuesday what she knew about a video showing Trayvon video-recording his friends beating up a homeless man. She said she was not sure it existed.
Trayvon is the unarmed 17-year-old whom Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, fatally shot in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012.
Zimmerman says he acted in self-defense, that the teenager attacked him, knocking him to the ground with a punch that broke his nose and that Trayvon then climbed on top of him and began hammering his head against a sidewalk.
Prosecutors say Zimmerman profiled the black teenager, assuming he was about to commit a crime, followed and murdered him.
O’Mara has unearthed a good bit of evidence that he says shows that Trayvon took part in organized fights. Two weeks ago, he released text messages from Trayvon’s cellphone. In one, the teen wrote that in one fight he got pummeled in the first round because his opponent got him on the ground.
Also in court Tuesday O’Mara said he had found video of Trayvon refereeing a fight.
The judge ruled Tuesday that O’Mara may not talk about Trayvon fighting during his opening statement, but, if he convinces her during the trial that it is relevant and admissible, she would allow it.
On Thursday, in preparation for the anticipated release of the fight video, an Orlando Sentinel reporter drafted a story describing it, intending to publish it once the video had been made public.
A Web producer prematurely posted it Friday at OrlandoSentinel.com, but quickly took it down after discovering the video had not been released. The story correctly characterized the video. After readers found a cached version of the story online Sunday, Zimmerman’s attorneys released their statement and decided against posting the video.
George Zimmerman’s attorneys apologized Sunday for mischaracterizing evidence they said boosted their theory that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor in his fatal meeting with their client last year.
Lawyer Mark O’Mara said during a hearing last Tuesday that the defense had obtained video footage of three fights, including one in which he said two of Trayvon Martin’s friends “were beating up a homeless guy.”
But George Zimmerman’s defense team corrected that statement on Sunday, saying O’Mara had unintentionally “misstated the nature” of the footage.
In a statement posted on George Zimmerman’s website, the defense lawyers said the footage actually showed ”two homeless guys fighting each other over a bike.”
A Florida judged ruled Tuesday that George Zimmerman’s lawyers cannot mention Trayvon Martin’s suspension from school, or alleged marijuana use, text message exchanges or past fighting in opening statements when the trial begins on June 10.
George Zimmerman faces a second-degree murder charge for shooting Trayvon Martin to death after a confrontation on Feb. 26, 2012. The defense has argued that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was the aggressor and that George Zimmerman was just trying to protect himself.
By: Daniel Arkin
Monday, June 3rd 2013 at 11:51PM
DAVID JOHNSON
Thanks for the updates David. Only a few more days now. I wonder how long this trial will last.
Tuesday, June 4th 2013 at 12:29PM
Steve Williams
I've read stories where the spirit of the dead were able to bring their murderers to justice. To trouble the mind of the guilty the relatives gathered to pray at the grave site or the place where the incident happened.
Thursday, June 6th 2013 at 1:34AM
Helen Lofton
