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The Library => The SGA => Topic started by: Townhallsavoy on May 15, 2012, 11:29:30 AM
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SANFORD, Fla. —
WFTV has learned charges against George Zimmerman could be getting more serious.
State prosecutors said Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, profiled and stalked 17-year-old Trayvon Martin before killing him, so the FBI is now looking into charging him with a hate crime.
Zimmerman admitted to killing Martin in February during a confrontation. However, he claims the shooting was in self-defense. He's facing a second-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. But if Zimmerman is charged and found guilty of a federal hate crime involving murder, he could face the death penalty.
FBI investigators are actively questioning witnesses in the retreat at the Twin Lakes neighborhood, seeking evidence for a possible federal hate crime charge.
Martin was unarmed when he was shot to death, police said, and some accuse Zimmerman of targeting the teenager solely because of the color of his skin.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said federal prosecutors would have to prove the hate crime to charge Zimmerman, though.
“What the government would have to prove is that Mr. Zimmerman acted out of hatred toward African-Americans. That's why he came into contact with him. That's why he shot and killed him," Sheaffer said.
Sheaffer said a federal hate crime murder charge could bring more serious consequences than the second-degree murder charge Zimmerman faces now.
“Mr. Zimmerman could be punished by up to life in prison or even the death penalty,†said Sheaffer.
Zimmerman said he used deadly force in self-defense after Martin punched him, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly slammed his head against a sidewalk.
As of late Monday, Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, told WFTV that he's gotten the first prosecution documents containing the evidence against his client. O’Mara said he's gotten a redacted witness list with 22 witnesses listed only as numbers.
O’Mara said he believes there are recorded interviews and some documents, but he said he hasn't even opened it yet.
Prosecutors are required to release information to the defense and the public
However, O'Mara, wants Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. to keep some of the key evidence, especially witness statements, out of the public eye by writing a motion to keep it sealed.
O'Mara posted a statement on Zimmerman's website that said, "We doubt any of them (witnesses) enjoy the scrutiny they are under due to the coincidence of their involvement in such a high-profile matter."
In the meantime, a photograph recently surfaced which is said to show Zimmerman's mother in the arms of her grandfather, who is black.
Zimmerman's mother testified at his bond hearing that she has met the black child whom he mentored and even risked his safety in a dangerous neighborhood to do it, because he didn't want to abandon the child.
State prosecutors said Zimmerman gave several inconsistent statements to Sanford police, which is, in part, their basis for charging him with second-degree murder.
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/fbi-seeks-charge-george-zimmerman-hate-crime/nN5pR/
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Obama is a motherfucker.
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This news comes as no surprise to me given the current regime.
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Good, he should be.
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Good, he should be.
Zimmerman deserves it. Racist bastard.
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Good, he should be.
(http://www.tom-baker.co.uk/assets_cm/files/image/tom_stoking_fire.jpg)
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What about the black panthers? Are they gonna go after them for hate speech or hate crimes?
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What about the black panthers? Are they gonna go after them for hate speech or hate crimes?
No, cause if they are Obama’s friends the Police dept would be acting stupid.
If they got hurt or killed they could have been Obama’s kid.
So just leave them alone, they aren’t hurting anyone. :taunt: :taunt: :taunt: :taunt:
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No, cause if they are Obama’s friends the Police dept would be acting stupid.
If they got hurt or killed they could have been Obama’s kid.
So just leave them alone, they aren’t hurting anyone. :taunt: :taunt: :taunt: :taunt:
I guess the video of them threatening to beat down "crackers" who don't vote for Obama with billy clubs outside a voting precinct in November 2008 wasn't enough to justify a hate crime.....
(http://conservativepapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/black-panther-thugs-2.jpg)
A former Justice Department attorney who quit his job to protest the Obama administration’s handling of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case is accusing Obama Administrations and Attorney General Eric Holder of dropping the charges for racially motivated reasons.
J. Christian Adams says he and the other Justice Department lawyers working on the case were ordered to dismiss it by Holder.
“I mean we were told, ‘Drop the charges against the New Black Panther Party,’†Adams told Fox News, adding that political appointees Loretta King, acting head of the civil rights division, and Steve Rosenbaum, an attorney with the division since 2003, ordered the dismissal.
Asked about the Justice Department’s claim that they are career attorneys, not political appointees, Adams said “obviously, that’s false.â€
“Under the vacancy reform act, they were serving in a political capacity,†he said. “This is one of the examples of Congress not being told the truth, the American people not being told the truth about this case. It’s one of the other examples in this case where the truth simply is becoming another victim of the process.â€
Adams claimed an unnamed political appointee said if somebody wants to bring these kinds of cases, “that’ not going to be done out of the civil rights division.â€
Adams also accused Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of lying under oath to Congress about the circumstances surrounding the decision to drop the probe.
The Justice Department has defended its move to drop the case, saying it obtained an injunction against one member to keep him away from polling stations while dismissing charges against the others “based on a careful assessment of the facts and the law.â€
But Adams told Fox News that politics and race was at play in the dismissal.
“There is a pervasive hostility within the civil rights division at the Justice Department toward these sorts of cases,†Adams told Fox News.
Adams says the dismissal is a symptom of the Obama administration’s reverse racism and that the Justice Department will not pursue voting rights cases against white victims.
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Adams says the dismissal is a symptom of the Obama administration’s reverse racism and that the Justice Department will not pursue voting rights cases against white victims.
Make Adams black and the case is white racism the MSM would be shouting this from the highest mountain top and breaking in with "breaking news" every 5 minutes.
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Autopsy of Trayvon Martin reportedly shows fatal bullet fired from 'intermediate range'
Published May 17, 2012
FoxNews.com
A leaked autopsy reportedly shows that the bullet that killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin was fired from "intermediate range," which one forensics expert said means anywhere from one to 18 inches away.
The autopsy, conducted by the medical examiner in Volusia County, Fla., also showed that 17-year-old Martin had one small abrasion on his left ring finger below the knuckle, according to the news report. The report could back the account of George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old neighborhood watch captain accused of killing Martin, who has said he fired into Martin's chest in self-defense as the youth was straddling and pummeling him.
The autopsy report was reviewed by NBC News, but not made available to the public. A spokesman for Volusia County, Fla., told Fox News the report was not made public and was leaked by someone other than the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office. He noted attorneys for both Zimmerman and Martin had copies of it. He said the report will not be released while an active investigation of the Feb. 26 shooting remains underway.
Dr. Michael Baden, the former New York City medical examiner, said "intermediate" in such cases is defined as the muzzle of the gun being one to 18 inches away from the entry point when fired.
"If the muzzle is right against the skin, that’s a contact wound," Baden said. Anything beyond 18 inches is considered "distant" range in coroner's parlance, Baden said.
The autopsy results surface as court records indicate that Zimmerman sustained multiple injuries. Zimmerman, who is claiming self-defense in the fatal shooting on Feb. 26, had a pair of black eyes, a fractured nose and two cuts to the back of his head, according to a medical report prepared by his personal physician.
Some legal experts say the report on Zimmerman's injuries, first reviewed by ABC News, may bolster his claim that he shot Martin in self-defense.
Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Neighborhood Watch volunteer, has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge in the shooting of Martin outside a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman, who is free on $150,000 bail and is living in an undisclosed location, claims he only fired his handgun because Martin attacked him.
The case has become a national racial flashpoint because the Martin family and supporters contend Zimmerman singled Martin out because he was black. It has also sparked renewed debate over "stand your ground" laws pushed by the National Rifle Association.
The police investigation into Martin's death also has been roundly criticized by his family and others. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the police investigation into the fatal shooting was riddled with missteps from the beginning, making it a difficult case to pursue. Police reportedly took only one cellphone photo at the scene of Zimmerman's injuries, and they did not test him for any alcohol or drug use that night. Local authorities were also unable to protect potential evidence at the scene -- like blood -- from getting washed away by the rain, according to the newspaper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/17/autopsy-reportedly-shows-trayvon-martin-died-from-single-gunshot-wound-fired-at/#ixzz1v9UkuIVo
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WTF is he still doing alive? He hasn't been hung yet?
BTW who the fuck calls 1" to 18" intermediate range? That seems pretty close range to me.
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WTF is he still doing alive? He hasn't been hung yet?
BTW who the fuck calls 1" to 18" intermediate range? That seems pretty close range to me.
I thought exactly the same thing.
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Didn't read where it said what happen to his skittles and tea? It was so important earlier.
I bet that Zimm guy ate them while inflicting those wounds to himself.
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WTF is he still doing alive? He hasn't been hung yet?
BTW who the fuck calls 1" to 18" intermediate range? That seems pretty close range to me.
Agree.
Me thinks the intermediate lingo is being used on purpose.
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The autopsy report was reviewed by NBC News, but not made available to the public.
NBC report on Autopsy: NBC has concluded that Trayvon Martin was shot from a range further than 1â€. NBC also concludes that it is possible that MR. Zimmerman stepped on Trayvon hands after the shooting. Mr Zimmerman has gone into hiding after several peaceful rallies simply asked for Justice and many Hollywood types even helped via tweeter. As always we feel the police dept is incompetent even though we were not there.
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Little Trayvon was also high.
Gonna bury that part if they can.
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Also trying to advance the notion that Trayvon was "justified" in going on the offensive because Zimmerman got out of his truck and followed him. They have to do this because Zimmerman had real, provable injuries. If this tactic works, it would turn "self defense" and "stand your ground" laws on their ears. Under that theory, if I'm at a bank ATM and you pull up and get out of your car and walk towards me, I can attack you out of fear, and if you shoot me, it's your fault, you started it.
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Also trying to advance the notion that Trayvon was "justified" in going on the offensive because Zimmerman got out of his truck and followed him. They have to do this because Zimmerman had real, provable injuries. If this tactic works, it would turn "self defense" and "stand your ground" laws on their ears. Under that theory, if I'm at a bank ATM and you pull up and get out of your car and walk towards me, I can attack you out of fear, and if you shoot me, it's your fault, you started it.
You wouldn't be able to shoot me. Your aim would be off due to your gun being intoxicated.
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You wouldn't be able to shoot me. Your aim would be off due to your gun being intoxicated.
Oh God...here we go.
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Oh God...here we go.
Hey, those intoxicated guns are the worst. People start with just one and the next thing you know, they've slammed back a six pack of .38s, downed a couple of berettas and are tying into an AK-47.
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You wouldn't be able to shoot me. Your aim would be off due to your gun being intoxicated.
My guns smoke dope and eat skittles, they're good guns, cute even, they do no wrong.