Zimmerman's account of events now in serious doubt

From the Huff Post:

A new trove of evidence released by the Florida state attorney prosecuting George Zimmerman for second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin reveals the extent to which law enforcement doubted Zimmerman’s early claims of self-defense.

“His actions are inconsistent with those of a person who has stated he was in fear of another subject,” an investigator wrote in an early report on the Feb. 26 shooting. “Investigative findings show that George Michael Zimmerman had at least two opportunities to speak with Trayvon Benjamin Martin in order to defuse the circumstances,” and Zimmerman twice “failed to identify himself as a concerned resident or a neighborhood watch member.”

The report also said that Martin’s and Zimmerman’s respective physical dimensions did not place Zimmerman at a disadvantage worthy of lethal force.

“Investigative findings show the physical injuries displayed by [Zimmerman] are marginally consistent with a life-threatening violent episode described by him, during which neither a deadly weapon nor deadly force was deployed by Trayvon Martin,” the report said.

The evidence released this afternoon includes a one-hour video recording of an interview between lead investigator Christopher Serino and Zimmerman at the Sanford, Fla., police headquarters, a pair of audio recordings between Serino and Zimmerman, and 29 pages of police reports and notes, including a handwritten narrative by Zimmerman recounting the events on the night of Feb. 26.

Hours after the release of the new evidence, Serino, who had expressed doubts over Zimmerman’s story and suggested that charges be filed, was reassigned to the patrol division, according to the Associated Press. The reassignment came at his own request, AP reports.

This latest Zimmerman disclosures are the latest in a series of releases of formerly sealed evidence, made public under pressure from media companies, who have argued that full disclosure of the evidence is in the public’s interest. The prosecution and the defense both objected.

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The neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in central Florida, could soon be released from custody after a judge set a $150,000 bond that will let him get out of jail while he awaits trial.

George Zimmerman apologized in court Friday to Martin’s family for shooting the 17-year-old boy in a confrontation that has riveted the nation and sparked intense discussions about race and gun control.

“I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son,” Zimmerman said in an unusual appeal directly to Martin’s family before he testified in the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford. “I thought he was a little bit younger than I was, and I did not know if he was armed or not.”

Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, said after the hearing that his client was responding to an interview in which Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she wanted to hear from the man who shot her son.

“He didn’t want to defend himself, he didn’t want to discuss the facts of the case. He heard the request of the family, and he wanted to respond to it,” O’Mara said, adding that an attempt to apologize to the family in private was rebuffed.

Attorneys for Martin’s family, however, called the apology a self-serving act by a man facing a life prison sentence if convicted of the second-degree murder charge against him.

Read more at CNN…

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CBS News has confirmed that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman will be charged in the February shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.

State Attorney Angela Corey is scheduled to hold a news conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the state attorney’s office in Jacksonville, Florida related to the Martin investigation. According to a senior law enforcement official, Corey is expected to announce that Zimmerman will face state charges. The number or nature of the charges was not immediately known.

Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense after following the teenager in a Sanford gated community outside Orlando on Feb. 26. He said he was returning to his truck when Martin attacked him and that he shot the unarmed teen during the fight. He was briefly held by police but was not arrested, in part because of Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.

Read more at CBS…

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Spike Lee - Criminally Culpable for Tweeting Address of Zimmerman

By Ben Cohen: I like Spike Lee’s movies, and I generally respect Spike Lee. He sometimes wades in on sensitive race issues with thoughtless and questionable comments, but his intelligence, talent and willingness to challenge conventional stereotypes with art has, I believe, had a positive impact on debate in America. His contribution to the film industry and American culture is immense and he is rightfully regarded as an icon.

While Lee has put his foot in his mouth on occasion, he has behaved disgracefully over the killing of Trayvon Martin, re-tweeting the supposed address of the accused killer George Zimmerman. Lee got the address wrong and an elderly couple was forced to evacuate their home due to threats and continuous harassment.

For some reason, the media seems to be focusing on the fact that an innocent couple were caught up in the cross fire. This is of course, awful, and Lee is criminally culpable for putting them at risk. But worse is the fact that Lee took it upon himself to advertise the address of Zimmerman – a man who by law is innocent until proven guilty.

I have written on this topic recently, expressing sympathy for the family of Martin and the anger shown by the public. However, I don’t know all the facts behind the killing and refuse to judge Zimmerman until all the evidence has been presented. We have been overwhelmed with the narrative defending Martin, and heard far less from the other side. As it stands, I am extremely skeptical of Zimmerman’s version of events, but that could change as more evidence emerges.

The public is right to be outraged over the fact that Zimmerman was let go after he was arrested, but inciting mobs to go to his house is not the way to go about rectifying the situation. Someone could have been seriously hurt, or perhaps worse, and Spike Lee would have been liable for any crime committed against Zimmerman or whoever lived at the address he tweeted.

There should be a campaign to make sure the police properly investigate the killing of Trayvon Martin, and it should be done through peaceful protest and legal action. Spike Lee has cheapened the attempt to uncover the truth behind the tragic killing, and he should be ashamed of himself.

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The US Department of Justice has announced an investigation into the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Florida in February.

Trayvon Martin, 17, was killed by neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, 28, while walking through a gated community in a suburb of Orlando.

Mr Zimmerman says he was acting in self-defence.

Rallies were held on Monday to demand his arrest, and an online petition has more than 500,000 signatories.

Students protested in front of a court building in Sanford, the community where the shooting happened, and on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton plans a rally on Tuesday at a Sanford church.

More than 500,000 people have signed a global online petition asking for Mr Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, to be prosecuted. Read more at the BBC…

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