George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot an unarmed teenager, was released from jail about midnight Sunday, two days after a Florida judge set his bond at $150,000.
Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said in court Friday that Zimmerman would probably continue to live in hiding while he awaited his trial date, as he had done for weeks leading up to his April 11 arrest on second-degree murder charges in the slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman surrendered his passport, will be on a curfew, while wearing an electronic monitoring device.
The state of Florida attorneys wanted $1 million bond or none at all.
Now the real circus begins. Hope no one does anything stupid and lets the system grind slowly along.
Bravo, Sec. All the right people need to say the same thing and say it very publicly. It won’t end well, though. I really don’t see how it can.
This country’s criminal justice system is a joke!
On this, I agree with you, Solo. I don’t know if joke is the right word, but I can’t think of a better one right now. Someone in my family was harmed in July 2010. The trial is scheduled for January 2013. How is that for guarantee of speedy trial?
I don’t even know whose fault it is, and of course, the system is overloaded. The people who work in it seem to hate it. DAs and judges are elected instead of appointed. Lots and lots of problems.
The system RR is loaded down with petty drug offenes. Lots of poor schmucks getting busted on nickel-dime drug deals. Non-violent drug offenses make a large portions of a DA’s work load. This means it takes damn near forever for the courts to handle violent crimes. Let’s hear it for zero tolerance drug laws!
I take the libertarian view on drugs, perhaps even hard drugs. George Will has two columns in recent weeks.They are worth a read.
Should the U.S. legalize hard drugs?
The drug legalization dilemma
Zimmerman should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a Court of Law. I doubt he will be found guilty of the crime he is charged with, 2cnd degree murder. I do not think what he did was right. I listened to Tavis Smiley and Dr, Cornell West talk about this case last night, they had some very surprisingly good insight.
Unfortunatley this case has been exploited to be used as a self-service engine for many news outlets and political groups.
My heart goes out to the Martin Family and I am sure, based on listening to their interviews, the last thing they want is their son’s death as an excuse to start a riot. Those people who use this case as an excuse to riot or commit acts of violence, will dishonor the memory of Trayvon Martin.
Lets get to truth of this case, the entire truth, exposed. I feel that what Zimmerman did was wrong and he may in fact be guilty of 2cnd degree homicide. I don’t know all of the facts so I am not going to make a judgement.
The real answer is to get rid of stand your ground laws. No more self appointed vigilantes with poor judgement.
Ga6th, what does killing the SYG law have to do with keeping people from being vigilantes?
MJ, that depends on whether you believe Zimmerman’s story. I take it you don’t, but if you could grant for just a moment that his story is true and he was defending himself, then what did he do that wasn’t right?
He was legally carrying his firearm.
He had a license to drive his truck.
He lived on the property and so could drive down any of its streets or park in any of its parking places.
After the incident, he didn’t flee. He waited for the police.
He did not invoke his right not to speak.
After release, he kept police informed of his whereabouts.
I hope you answer.
He could have stayed away from the person who he felt was such a concern that he had to call 911. If I saw a person who caused such a reaction in me that I felt to call 911, I would make sure that I did everything I could to stay away from him/her. I have made it clear in all of my statements on this story that I don’t know all of the facts. I “suspect strongly” that Zimmerman could have avoided killing Trayvon Martin. Did he listen to the 911 Operator when he said that he was following Trayvon he was told clearly “We do not need you to do that.” Maybe Zimmerman feels in his heart that he did nothing wrong. It looks clear that the police did not follow the proper procedures in handling this case from the start.
At this point, there has been no evidence presented in court proving that Zimmerman continued to follow Martin after the dispatch operator said he did not need to do so. Until the prosecution can prove that Zimmerman continued to follow, this is a moot point (and even if he did, may in the end be a moot point as well.. I really do not know).
Did you watch the bail hearing? One of the lead investigators stated they have no concrete evidence to prove that Zimmerman was not returning to his car and that they have no evidence of who confronted whom. The investigator also implied there are some holes to Zimmerman’s story, so we will just have to wait and see how the trial goes.
MJ, to add to what Whitepaw said, Galbreath was specifically asked if the prosecution had evidence to refute the contention that Zimmerman turned back to his vehicle when he was told to. Galbreath could have said no. So, did he lie? You think they want to spring it on us later? I don’t think that’s how these things work.
Further, Zimmerman did not call 911. He called the non-emergency line. He simply wanted the police to check out someone he thought was acting suspiciously.
To add to my list above of the things Zimmerman was legally doing, he also had every right to walk on any of those sidewalks. He lived there.
So I want to ask you again. What did Zimmerman do that was wrong? Try hard now.
Instead of trying to draw conclusions based on one report or another, lets just say for now that Mr. Zimmerman is innocent. We can also say that Zimmerman had no other choice but to shoot and kill Trayvon Martin.
I personally feel that, perhaps, this could have been avoided with some common sense. I do not think the Zimmerman will get convicted of 2cnd degree murder. It does sound like Zimmerman was a little too “gung-ho” when he is talking to the police.
Oh, my goodness. I give up. Jou no makey mucha sense, MJ.
RR – I have tried to make my point as clear and simple as possible. I am sorry for your confusion.
He went wrong when he decided to play cop. Observe and report, observe and report; that was all that was required.
As to the rest of it; hallelujah, the courts will finally weigh in on whether Zimmerman’s decision process was correct. My only regrets are that the initial police investigation was so shoddy and that it damn near took an act of Congress to do a criminal investigation of Zimmerman.
People complain about the media circus surrounding this event. The whole affair would have barely been a one paragraph blurb in the local newspaper if local law enforcement had not botched the investigation so badly from the get-go. It took National Media attention to even get an investigation.
Unfortunately, the case, never clear in the first place, is hot mess now. Zimmerman, if he wanted to be disingenuous (a huge if to be sure ) has had enough time to color his testimony.
The media has made the possibility of a fair trial infinitely harder.
Finally, I doubt very few people will be happy with the final results. 2nd degree homicide does appear to be a stretch. If the appeal to stand your ground fails, maybe Zimmerman and the DA will work a deal for reduced charges (Negligent homicide anyone?) Who knows, the case is so murky Zimmerman just may walk from a criminal conviction. No way he walks from a civil suite though. Sigh, shaded of OJ all over again.
Play cop? How so?
I always figured negligent homicide was a more realistic charge, especially considering he was told to back off by the 911 operator yet left the vehicle and continued to stalk Tayvon.
It would sure be interesting to hear the tapes from the previous 42 911 calls he had made in the past month.
Sec, as is your way, you are wrong again. What you say is pure conjecture. And since details do matter, you should know that Zimmerman did not place a 911 emergency call. He called the non-emergency number.
I feel that what Zimmerman did was wrong and he may in fact be guilty of 2cnd degree homicide. I don’t know all of the facts so I am not going to make a judgement.
Looks like you just did.
casualobserver – Having a feeling, or feel, that someone did something that is wrong is far different than passing judgement. In other words, I think there is wrong doing on Zimmerman’s part but I do not really know. I am open to the idea that he did nothing wrong. He has been arrested so obviously other people “feel” that he did something wrong too.
OK, thanks for trying…….we are just two wildly different people.
It is interesting to me that a man who was so brave when he was packing a gun is so cowardly when it comes to so called threats on his life.I assume he and his family think this “stand your ground” law is a good thing but his parents don’t want anyone to know what they look like and he stays in hiding when out of jail.
This just supports my theory that conservatives are very fearful people.
LL, the Zimmermans may be conservatives, but that would make them conservative Democrats. They are registered Democrats.
You don’t know that carrying a weapon made Zimmerman feel brave, and taking prudent measures to keep himself and his family safe now in the face of very overt threats to their lives is not cowardice. It’s good sense. You should absolutely be ashamed for saying such a stupid, despicable thing. Really.
Hi LL — I guess I disagree with your statement above. I still think we have to wait for the facts (what they have) to come out in trial before rushing to judgment, and I do not blame Zimmerman at all for hiding based upon the threats to his life.
I also read somewhere that Zimmerman is a registered Dem, but I do not know if this is true. However, I do not think this case should be tied to any party lines. In my opinion, it is ridiculous that it has become a political issue.
Whitepaw, you are being to kind. Stop that!
Whitepaw,
In our over-heated, hyper-partisan, deeply divided zeitgeist, everything becomes political; even dog care.
LL, I don’t want anyone especially people who just happen to be the relatives or spouses to live in fear because of what their family member or spouse does, thats wrong or I don’t want liberals or conservatives to live in fear neither just because they vote a certain way. Thats not the way things are done. Its sad that his parents have to hide because of what their son has done. They should not have to live in fear, thats unacceptable and the people threatening his parents or spouse need to stop.
This just supports my theory that conservatives are very fearful people.
ROTFLMAO!………it takes a lot of courage to spout off on an anonymous message board. Tell you what…….I call your bluff…..what’s your home address?
My view is that George Zimmerman, whether found innocent, or guilty will not be living in the US. I do not believe that there is anyway (? plastic surgery ?) to guarantee his safety
Meh Senorita Bonita,
You will be surprised how quickly we as a people will be distracted by the next bright shiny object. Case in point: while John Edwards does suffer the lowest approval rating of politician ever seen; fifty percent of those interviewed had no opinion or did not know about John Edwards. 2008 was only four years ago, and half of the public quizzed had any opinion about Edwards, a man who was a major player in national politics only four years ago.
The general electorate seems to have the attention span and memory of gnats. Six months after the trial results most people will be saying “George Zimmerman? Didn’t he appear on American Idol or something?”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/23/146410/sanford-police-chief-quits-is.html
LOS ANGELES — Bill Lee Jr., who had stepped aside as police chief during the investigation of the shooting of unarmed African American teenager Trayvon Martin, has officially resigned as the top cop of Sanford, Fla., a city commissioner said Monday.
Commissioner Patty Mahany said the chief submitted his resignation over the weekend; Lee temporarily left his post last month amid complaints about how his department handled the investigation of the Feb. 26 shooting. The city commission is scheduled to hold a special meeting late Monday afternoon to discuss Lee’s severance package, Mahany said.
[Break]
I’m not particularly happy that Bill Lee Jr. got tossed under the bus. I knew that this would happen sooner or later, but the move is unwelcomed. No one will be happy about the move. It is too little too late, or is mob justice foisted on an innocent man? Pick one, either way the City of Sanford looks like a bunch of chumps.
Then the City Commission, following a heated meeting, refused to accept his resignation. Oh, Florida.
Second Suspect Arrested In Brutal Attack On Tourist In Baltimore