Stormie's Rants: Trials and Jury Vertdicts

Have you ever sat on a jury trial for any reason whatsoever? Have you ever prepared for a trial as a defendant, victim, paralegal or attorney? Have you ever been part of the media reporting on a jury trial? Unless you have, I would suggest that you keep your opinions about someone's guilt or innocence to yourself because you would be wrong. In all cases no one knows the entire story but those involved. It is all about perspective. It is all about how someone sees the facts. It is about how the evidence is presented. It is about the expert witnesses. It is about research. It is all about who the jury believes. In the end, it is not how you or I feel at all. Remember: Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.

I watched The OJ Simpson trial and it all of a sudden was about race because he killed his ex-wife who was white. It was not about race when they got married now was it?

I have watched the George Zimmerman trial and how it became about race. He is Hispanic because of his mother and he is White because of his father. But wait - he is also Black because of his maternal grandfather. WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

“This time we’re doing it right… This time we’re not burning down our communities. This time we’re going out to Whitey’s suburbs and burning down HIS community. We’re going to make Whitey feel the pain.” Supposedly attributed to the current Black Panther Leader. Seriously? Why? You have the same choices everyone else in this country does. You can go to college and make something of your life regardless of race, creed, or religion. So this whole thing of being stomped on by the white folk is just so not real. I was never a slave owner and none of you living now was ever a slave. Get over it. If you want to be angry about being a slave be angry at several of the Arab Muslim countries who imported the most. They used them for everything, including to fill the ranks of their armies. They didn't grow in population though because all of the male slaves were emasculated before they were allowed to enter the Muslim country. The thousands that died from this because of infection, blood loss etc could be easily replaced because it was only a relatively short trip for them to get more slaves. England came next because they figured out that they could have return cargo on those empty ships that went there to trade. Black Africans sold their own. Did you you know there were free African American slave owners not just white owners? "These include individuals such as Justus Angel and Mistress L. Horry, of Colleton District, South Carolina, who each owned 84 slaves in 1830. In fact, in 1830 a fourth of the free Negro slave masters in South Carolina owned 10 or more slaves; eight owning 30 or more" (Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South, Michael P. Johnson and James L. Roak New York: Norton, 1984), p.64.) There are more listed in the book. It is worth reading.

As the late Senator Daniel Moynihan reportedly said, "[e]veryone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

So lets look at some facts on the Zimmerman Case:

1. Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, was a 17-year-old African-American high school student who lived in Miami Gardens, Florida with his mother Sybrina Fulton. In February 2012, Martin was visiting his father Tracy Martin in Sanford, Florida after receiving a ten-day suspension from Krop Senior High School. The suspension stemmed from the discovery of drug residue in Martin's book bag. His mother kicked him out of her home.

2. George Michael Zimmerman, born October 5, 1983, was a part-time student at Seminole State College and a neighborhood watch captain at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford at the time of the shooting. He is married to Shellie (Dean) Zimmerman and is the son of Robert (of German decent) and Gladys (of Black Peruvian) Zimmerman. His maternal grandfather was black. (so how does this play out in the race card?) (How did "white Hispanic come out of that?"

3. A handful of members from the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) offered a $10,000 reward for the "capture" of George Zimmerman.

4. 911 call shows Zimmerman stopped following Martin after dispatcher’s request, corroborates story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7qEcD8R-8

5. Prosecutor Angela Corey announced that she will not present the case to a grand jury. (Did she fear that it would not get to trial if she presented the evidence she had?)

6. Zimmerman's bond hearing was held. Judge Lester sets Zimmerman's bond at $150,000. During the hearing, Zimmerman apologizes to the family of Trayvon Martin for the loss of their son. A judge later had him and his wife arrested for supposedly lying about their income for the bond hearing and change the bond to 1 million dollars which he paid the 10% of by law and was released.

7. A photo of Trayvon Martin's body and George Zimmerman's school records were mistakenly released by prosecutors. Special Prosecutor Angela Corey's office issues a statement asking reporters to "please disregard and do not use the information contained in the initial e-mail. It was inadvertently attached."

8. Zimmerman sued NBC Universal for allegedly editing the 911 call he placed on the night of the tragic event. He states in the lawsuit that NBC unfairly made it appear that "Zimmerman was a racist, and that he was racially profiling Trayvon Martin".

9. Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, known as Civilian Witness 8, who was on the phone with Martin the night of his death, admits that she lied under oath when she told court prosecutors that she was in the hospital on the day of Martin's funeral.

10. Martin's parents settle a wrongful-death claim against the homeowners association of the Florida subdivision where their son was killed.

11. The jury saw multiple photos of his bloody and swollen nose, and cuts to the back of his head, showing that Martin clearly got the best of their fight before Zimmerman fired the shot.

12. Although Martin was only 17-years old in life, his stature 5'11", 175 pounds (Definitely not the 12-14 year old we were shown in the media) and Zimmerman, in contrast, seems to weigh between 170 and 175 pounds, and is between 5' 7" and 5'9"

12. Zimmerman was in trouble previously prior to this was 1. Failure to have the registration for his car, 2. Unlawful Speeding (same day as 1), (age 21) 3. Resisting arrest without violence 4. Resisting Arrest with violence/Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer on the same day as 5. He and His girlfriend at the time filed restraining orders against each other. 6. The #4 here was moved to NON Violence on a Law Enforcement officer because Zimmerman completed an Alcohol Program. Zimmerman was 20 when these occurred.

13. Martin had been suspended from school because of drugs. He also used "Lean" and did so since June 2011 per his texts. That were presented in court.

So they both were not the angels everyone claims. SO what! Are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No. A jury of his peers found him NOT GUILTY. That is how things work in this country. If you want to lynch people just because you "think" you know the entire story, please go to another country to see how that works. Some places have no trials. They kill you on the spot for an accusation. No facts. Just accusations.

More facts laid out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF-Ax5E8EJc

Something that was interesting. A black man talking about the demonstration in Akron, Mississippi. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0b7_1373822934

Weed, fights and guns: Trayvon Martin’s text messages released. http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/23/3413343/

Did Trayvon Martin Referee School Fights? http://www.wagist.com/2012/dan-linehan/did-trayvon-martin-referee-school-fights

Senseless violence after the verdict:

http://www.mrconservative.com/2013/07/21344-black-mob-beats-up-white-guy-over-zimmerman-verdict-on-tape/

http://twitchy.com/2013/07/14/kill-pigs-anti-cop-vandals-in-oakland-riot-smash-windows-burn-flags-over-zimmerman-verdict-photosvideo/

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/14/george-zimmerman-acquitted-murder-in-trayvon-martin-shooting-death/

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/07/violence_aftre_zimmerman_verdict_why_oakland.html

Perhaps all of us should understand what Martin Luther King was about. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

A jury who saw ALL the evidence made a decision. That is how the justice systems works. You do not have to like it, but you do have to live with it. No one wins in this case. The divorced Martin's lost their son. George Zimmerman and his family will forever look over their shoulders because someone is going to do something stupid. George has to live with the fact that he took someone's life.

There are far more important things that are going on this country that we all should be upset about: IRS targeting, NSA, Benghazi, Fast & Furious. countless serial killer trials that are going on now.

I am sorry that the 17 year old young man is dead. What if it had been Martin that had killed Zimmerman? Would this have gotten the media attention that it has? I think not. It would have been a Black against a Black Hispanic then. That would have gotten swept under the rug and called self defense.