First, I've been thinking about Paul Saucido's victim, and I hope she continues to heal and recover.
Second, I reported the blackmail communications to the Austin Police and it appears that, with the detective's help, that whole situation has gone away. What a relief.
Third, my back is still sore. Much better than it was, thanks in part to Catherine at Myo Austin ... but I'm still not training and it's been ten days. Very frustrating though I know that's not THAT long a time.
I heard Invicta 6 was really good, but I was at work :\ Big project with a Tuesday evening deadline.
How was your weekend? What do you think of the whole George Zimmerman deal? (I have no opinion; I've intentionally tuned out and as a prosecutor I know the media often gets it way wrong, in one direction or the other.)
4 comments:
The Zimmerman situation is tough. Personally, I think he flat-out murdered Martin. That said, from what I heard in the media about the trial, I don't think that there were grounds to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution just wasn't able to make the case. Some of this was their own fault (perhaps they could have done a better job prepping witnesses) and some of it had to do with the fact that the murder investigation began more than a month after the killing occurred.
The undeniable fact is, though, that Zimmerman set into motion a series of events that ended in him killing an unarmed minor. He followed Martin for no reason other than the fact that he didn't like the cut of his jib. He followed Martin against clear instruction from the 911 responder.
The real question is as to who initiated the physical confrontation. Each side tells its own story. I think that, either way, Martin had a stronger case for the Stand Your Ground law than Zimmerman did: he was walking home after having bought candy and a strange man (with a gun) was following him. If that's not terrifying, I don't know what is.
Any way you spin it, the whole thing is an epic tragedy. A kid with his whole life ahead of him was needlessly killed, the NRA has their own potential Joe Six-pack, and a pretty ugly precedent has been set.
Yeah, nobody's really talking about the Trayvon Martin case out here either but it seems like a really sad situation however you look at it.
Just out of curiosity, is it easier to get a gun than a taser in the US? I got asked this by one of my students and I didn't know what the answer was.
I watched the whole trial, because the TV at work is close to my desk.
All I can say is I think the prosecution over-reached on the 2nd Degree Murder charge. I think if they focused on manslaughter, they probably could have gotten it.
I personally think that both Martin and Zimmerman bear responsibility for what happened. It was pretty clear from the trial that Martin was the aggressor. The dispatcher on the phone with GZ said "We don't NEED you to follow him", but then asked "whats he doing now?".
I think that GZ got out and said something like "what are you doing?" and Martin said "None of your business." From there it escalated. I think Zimmerman is a stupid wannabe cop with delusions of grandeur, but that doesn't mean he has to sit by and get his ass whooped.
I have somewhat mixed feelings, and I wouldn't have disagreed with a manslaughter conviction. It was clear to me that GZ didn't wake up that morning and say "I'm going to kill the next young black guy I see."
Bobby, yes, much much easier to get a gun than a taser here.
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