Part 3 – Why Did The Jury Ignore Evidence Presented At Trial?
It would require numerous pages to present all of the evidence presented at trial that the jury failed to consider. The following are eight (8) questions that addresses the most clear evidence, requiring no interpretation.
1. Why did they close their eyes to Zimmerman’s story that Trayvon saw the gun when his jacket raised, and that it was raised because Zimmerman wiggled his head off the concrete thereby removing the threat of having his head bashed on concrete?
2. Why did they close their eyes to the fact that Trayvon could not see the gun, and Zimmerman could not get to it either, with Trayvon straddled as Zimmerman described?
3. How was Zimmerman justified in killing Trayvon when he admitted to having Trayvon’s arm pinned when he unholstered his gun, aimed, and shot Trayvon in the heart? (See first video below.)
4. Why did they not pay attention to the fact that Zimmerman had blood on the collar of his jacket that was not his own, and in which Trayvon had also been excluded? Along with this, why did they not question why, in all of his statements, Zimmerman did not mention that a witness took a photograph of the back of his head before the police arrived?
5. An attorney cannot testify for his client. In her interview on AC360, juror B37 spoke of the flashlights. Did it occur to the jury that not once in any of his statements, did Zimmerman say when, where, and how he dropped either flashlight?
6. Not once in any of his statements did George Zimmerman say that he cried out in any way, or with any words, other than “help” and “help me.” Did the jury consider that the recording of the 911 call that captured screams in the background, consisted of more than just “help,” and “help me”?
7. In his statements, George Zimmerman said why he cried out for help. Not once did he say he cried out for help because he was physically hurt, nor because he feared for his life. (See second video below.)
8. George Zimmerman told investigators that when he was told “We don’t need you to do that,” that he was on “the other side” of Retreat View Circle. Zimmerman stated that he went to Retreat View Circle to get an address. Zimmerman stayed on the phone with dispatch after being told “We don’t need you to do that.” Why didn’t he give the dispatcher the address rather than asking the dispatcher if the cop could call him, and he would tell him where he was?
HAT TIP-Yahtc
HATE SPEECH
Bravo.
Here’s to the honest folks who are willing to speak the truth.
Liza, gotta love the folks at these rallies. Did you hear Zimmerman say “Fucking coons” on the audio? I know I heard “Fucking coons.”
Ametia, it sure sounds like “fucking coons” when it’s me listening.
Martin Luther King III talks Trayvon
Martin Literary Management president Sharlene Martin:
My hope is that people will read Juror B37’s book, written with her attorney husband, and understand the commitment it takes to serve and be sequestered on a jury in a highly publicized murder trial and how important, despite one’s personal viewpoints, it is to follow the letter of the law. It could open a whole new dialogue about laws that may need to be revised and revamped to suit a 21st century way of life. The reader will also learn why the jurors had no option but to find Zimmerman Not Guilty due to the manner in which he was charged and the content of the jury instructions.
http://www.businessinsider.com/george-zimmerman-juror-announces-plans-to-write-a-book-2013-7?#ixzz2Z9XoueDY)
Xena,
What do you think about the possibility of DOJ charging Zimmerman with a hate crime? I’m thinking that it probably hinges on the 911 tapes, proving that Zimmerman said “fucking coons” and proving that it was Trayvon screaming for his life to be spared for 44 seconds. I’m wondering if there is better technology out thers somewhere in the world to get more off those tapes. Other than that, I’m just not sure.
Another thing, wouldn’t it make sense for DOJ to go after those redneck Sanford lawmen given how they botched this whole thing from point zero and then let Zimmerman go without intending to charge him? Wouldn’t there be some civil rights violations in all of that?
Liza someone in Florida has to pay for Zimmerman murdering Trayvon Martin. And it’s starts with the system that is in place, and he folks who created and run it. And the systemthat let a child predator/murderer go free.
SPD fucked up royally,and they need to be held accountable.
We’re not going to be SILENCED.
Liza, I agree it hinges on the 911 tapes. Early on in the case O’Mara reported Zimmerman was afraid of more charges coming. I’m thinking he was speaking about hate crime charges for uttering “fucking coons”. We all hear it plain as the nose on Zimmerman’s ugly face.
Wow. And to think the Florida prosecutors agreed to “punks” as though this sort of thing should be negotiable. There must be plenty of circumstantial evidence out there to bolster a case for Zimmerman being a racist. And also evidence that he racially identifies as white. All I can say right now is that a black child wailing and begging for his life for 44 seconds and the killer called him a “coon” really should add up to a hate crime that could be prosecuted. Zimmerman’s lies won’t hold up.
I never liked that Judge Nelson after she ruled to exclude the State’s audio witnesses. That was wrong, Leatherman knew it, but he didn’t want us to give up hope so he tried to stay positive. Then a parade of liars is brought forth to say it just had to be Georgie screaming. So much f*ckery. Damn.
@Liza
When Judge Nelson ruled to exclude the State’s audio witnesses I was undone. I couldn’t believe my ears. The ruling was a kick in the stomach. And furthermore the prosecution didn’t put up a fight. Don’t even mention how they ALL allowed Don West to humiliate Rachel Jeantel on the stand for 6 freaking hours answering the same questions over & over.
I agree. It was shameful and wrong that the prosecutors did not intervene when Rachel Jeantel was being cross examined. I’d like to hear what the prosecutors have to say about that now. What was their excuse?
@SG2. the defense, having tortured Jeantel for 6 hours on the witness stand was insane, and the prosecution not fully preparing her inexcusable. And I heard “Fucking coons”
That was another faux pas against the defense, prosecution, and JN for not allowing expert audio in to evidence.
We need to stay on the DOJ to hold Zimmerman and the corrupt folks in FL accountable.
@Liza.
Taken from the FBI’s website;
No matter if Zimmerman said “coons” or “punks,” he used it in the plural when referring to one individual, Trayvon Benjamin Martin. That clearly demonstrates bias. That bias was against all Black teens walking in Retreat of Twin Lakes on Zimmerman’s perception that they were all “up to no good.”
Zimmerman cannot defend his bias on the basis that all the burglaries were committed by Blacks, because when Emmanuel Burgess was arrested, he was with three others, one being White. Zimmerman didn’t see Whites as criminals because he didn’t look for it. The DOJ is unlikely to focus on any alleged altercation as Zimmerman claims, because he got out of his car to follow Trayvon based on his belief that Trayvon was running to escape him.
IMHO, the DOJ will get the job done.
Thanks, Xena. Interesting about bias. Once a jury is allowed to hear expert audio witnesses exclude Zimmerman as the person screaming, his whole bulls!t story falls apart anyhow because it means he held the gun on the child for 44 seconds. That is an eternity in a crime that spanned 73 seconds from the end of Trayvon’s phone call until the gun shot. That is a long enough time to find out who the kid is and what he is doing on your lawn. It is certainly long enough to decide to wait for the police. Zimmerman killed Trayvon despite having the time to decide not to kill him. He didn’t know Trayvon, Trayvon was a stranger to him, all he knew about him is that he is black. And, as you said, he followed him because he is black. I’m hopeful about DOJ, but it takes years.
@Liza.
A law firm whose attorneys are public defenders in federal court told me that the best they can do for defendants is help them plea for less time or to avoid the death penalty. They said when the U.S. Attorney goes before the federal grand jury, they have videos, audio, witnesses, and all forensic evidence necessary to refute any defense. The feds will have all of Zimmerman’s internet usage, whatever was on the laptop he had when arrested, and probably tapped his phone. They may have had video surveillance on his every move since he was released on bail.
Zimmerman doesn’t have that unsure, paranoid look on his face for nothing.
U.S. Attorneys operate very differently than state prosecutors. If they do charge Zimmerman, there will probably not be a trial. Zimmerman will plea to avoid the needle. If there is a trial, we should not anticipate that the U.S. Attorney will follow the strategy of state prosecutors. For one, under federal law, Zimmerman cannot claim self-defense or justifiable homicide BECAUSE federal statute limits justifiable homicide to:
The killing of a felon by a peace officer in the line of duty.
The killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.
Zimmerman is not a peace officer, and Trayvon was committing no felony when Zimmerman killed him.
“Motivated in whole or in part..”
@Xena. And the Feds go about their business without corporate media’s biased celebrity trolls “analyzing” the case and orchestrating their own “public opinion” trial. If DOJ charges him, Zimmerman will finally get the legal process that he deserves. I also think that most of the pro-Zimmerman sector of the public will forget about him when their favorite media outlets such as Fox and conservative talk radio haven’t got enough to say to stoke the fire. They’ll just get back to their core hatreds and Zimmerman may find himself with fewer contributors to his defense fund. DOJ needs to get this done.
@Liza. The federal courts allow some reporters in the courtroom, but nothing is recorded. For sure, it will not be a situation of discovery released to the public. In fact, the defense might not discovery until trial. With the feds, it’s trial by abuse.
Now, I do wonder about the defense fund. Since he was found not guilty, he no longer needs a defense. Any money donated to him now is simply charity.
Xena, what was your reaction to PBO’s comment:
“I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there, but I think it’s important for people to have some clear expectations here. Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government, the criminal code. And law enforcement is traditionally done at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels.”
Is this just PBO trying to keep a lid on both sides of the public’s reactions until things calm down? What do you think about this?
@Liza.
I posted a reply, got an error message, so hope this isn’t a duplicate.
The FBI has had an ongoing investigation. It was only placed on hold during the trial. IIRC, it was back in December that Judge Nelson issued a subpoena for the feds to turn over their investigation docs to the defense. The feds responded, in certain words, to go shove it. The states have no jurisdiction to order them to do anything.
Very interesting. And thanks for all of the information, Xena. It sounds hopeful.
Xena,
you are rocking it all the way. thank you
@rikyrah. No, thank you for giving me the opportunity to present it here on 3Chics. You ladies rock!
“4. Why did they not pay attention to the fact that Zimmerman had blood on the collar of his jacket that was not his own, and in which Trayvon had also been excluded? Along with this, why did they not question why, in all of his statements, Zimmerman did not mention that a witness took a photograph of the back of his head before the police arrived?”
I would love to know the exact position of that blood on his collar in relation to the end points of the lines of blood dripping off of his head. Wouldn’t it be something if they lined up.
Then, one would have to ask why DIDN’T that blood match Zimmerman’s DNA profile??
@Yahtc.
At one time, I considered a theory that Zimmerman got blood from Trayvon’s wound and smeared it on his head. That is because Zimmerman had a reason to lie and say he spread Trayvon’s arms out after getting on his back. I suspected that Zimmerman was in a fight that Friday or Saturday that resulted in his head boo-boo’s and scratches to his face. If we look closely at them, we can see that they had already began to scalp. Picking at the scalps did not result in enough blood so more had to be added to make them look serious.
As far as his nose, I stand on the proposition it was caused by shooting the gun with one hand resulting in recoil hitting his nose, and hitting it hard enough to result in gun shoot residue bouncing to the back of the right sleeve of his jacket.
Then, someone pointed out a photo of Jonathan’s house with a red stain on the garage door that appears to be blood. There was absolutely no reason for investigators to photograph that garage door unless it contained some sort of evidence. However, it was not mentioned at trial.
There is another alternative, and the proof may lie in Koppelli’s Gym. It might be that someone at that gym beat the living daylights out of Zimmerman and being humiliated, he had to practice his grambling and MMA skills on a skinny teen who, not knowing how to counter, screamed out in pain and for help.
@Xena: “We are butterflies. The struggle to break free has given us strength to freely fly.”
The Emperor Moth and The Struggle
The emperor moth is the most majestic species among all the moths. It has wide wings spanning out majestically when it flies. Before it can become a full grown moth, it has to be a pupa in a cocoon. Now, the interesting fact about the moth’s cocoon is that the neck of the cocoon is very narrow.
In order that it become a moth, the pupa of the moth must squeeze its way out of the narrow neck.
One day a man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. He sat and watched the moth struggling to force the body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck.
Then the man being kind decided to help the moth. So he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He expected that the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. A few days later, it died.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight. Once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the emperor moth of health.
You see, the struggles of life, heartaches and pains are necessary if you want to be great. Instead of cursing them, understand them while you are experiencing them. They are part of the making of a man.
http://www.inspiring-quotes-and-stories.com/emperor-moth.html
@Ametia. Thanks so much for posting that story. I heard it in church around 1986 or so. Deniece Williams also shares it as her inspiration for the song “Black Butterfly.”
The Greek word translated “change” in the Bible’s New Testament, (as in “we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed”), is the root of the English word “metaphorphosis.” It’s not a struggle to be different, but because we have been changed through the struggle and are different; stronger, confident, free and able to reproduce future generations that also become so.
Fantastic story!
@Ametia. Absolutely! If they think for one second that we will become silent, they are so very wrong. The more they attempt to silence, the more we speak, the more others speak with us, and the more we are motivated to address the injustice.
We are butterflies. The struggle to break free has given us strength to freely fly.
I (and all whites) have not had to struggle and, therefore, lack that hard-earned strength.
A plant raised in a greenhouse goes into shock when placed outside in the heat or the cold.
@Yahtc.
I really appreciate your heartfelt, sincere comments. (Always have). Some Whites do struggle, but their struggles do not derive from oppression because of the color of their skin. Whites struggle with superficial prejudices and also gender. Our laws protecting the disabled and elderly did not come about because of race, but because those believing they are superior always seek out victims.
My maternal grandparents came over on the boat from Scotland. My maternal grandmother was a Black Scot — my maternal grandfather a White Scot. He came to the U.S. to evangelize, and was lynched by the KKK for having a Black wife. Their 4 oldest children looked like him, but they could not, and would not deny their mother. Two died before the age of 30.
Murder is a powerful force of fear. Now, it has switched from rope to hollow point bullets. The struggle is the same, (skin color) so the only thing that civilized people can do is eliminate the fear. That starts from within, first by not allowing anyone else to define who you are. What starts as a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, but that is accomplished by going internal first.
Xena,
I have read your post five times.
So much to take in …….with heart, with thought
I am going to absorb your family story in my heart before I respond. I need to go to bed (getting late) and fall asleep grasping the enormity of the tragedy and the evil that caused it….rather than writing now.
I need to look to the rest of your post and take in your wisdom as well as your understanding of psychology.
I will come back here.
(I am finally understanding how to move between different articles here to find comments posted after I have left and gone to the newer ones without using the “comment email” alert system which would just flood my email)
I am still shaken by your family’s story.
Your grandmother witnessed such horror and your great uncles had to endure so much with the hanging of your grandfather. And, then to still have to live amidst the demonic population that committed or supported that heinous evil deed. The strength that they all had to rise above that lurking fear must have reached supernatural, spiritual heights.
I cannot fathom it.
How depraved is it to control a segment of the population by means of instilling fear through killing and terrorism. Pure, savage evil….the ghoulish behavior of wild beasts…..the lowest of the low. And, then to think that these very savage beasts hid behind the mask of Southern hospitality and Southern etiquette!!
And then to do everything possible to demean beautiful people and to disempower them in so many ways…..politically, economically……
Your family’s inner strength is the pure gold that survived the furnace.
I understand you when you write that civilized people in facing such struggle is to eliminate fear. And, you say, an individual can only accomplish this by “going internal first.”
@Yahtc.
My mom was 5 years old when the klan appeared at the house and drug her father out. My grandmother separated the oldest kids, sending one to New York. My grandparents knew nothing about racial hatred in America. We’re talking the late 1880’s. My mom was born in 1911. My grandfather, separating from the Roman Catholic church, came to America to evangelize the Protestant faith. It was dangerous to live as a Protestant in Scotland at that time. Slavery in the UK was abolished long before it was abolished in America, and freed slaves in the UK were placed in “apprenticeship” where the government paid their wages. That program also operated in the British control islands.
There is more — although not prejudice based on skin color, the Irish, Scots, and British had their own prejudices against each other. As long as each group minded their own business, there wasn’t much to fight about except maybe Christian doctrine.
Little be known, Indiana was then the seat of the KKK.
I need to go internal. I need to understand the purpose behind each embedded bias within me. What quality or strength can replace the crutches of the bias? What is each sign of bias compensating for that I would lack without it?
As President Obama said the individual needs to consider his/her bias and do as much as he/she can to wring out that bias.
I vow to stay on track and move forward through self reflection and self examination each day.
Xena,
I did not know that Indiana was the seat of the KKK at that time. I do remember being surprised that Indiana was not a good place for escaped or freed slaves during the 1800’s. I can’t remember exactly what had read. I used to think of it as being a northern state, thus, my surprise.
Did your mother get out of Indiana when she was an adult or when she married?
Five years old when her father was dragged out the house and hung.What nightmares she must have had. How old were you when she told you of the horror? What nightmares you must have had!
And, then for you to be witness to are the violence of the fifties and sixties across the nation, already having the family history you possessed.
Yes, I can understand that the only way to defeat such violence was to overcome the fear of it…..to take away the shield (of instilling fear) that the Beast used in its attempt to dominate and control. The Beast was trying to stay safe with that shield.
@Yahtc.
My grandmother moved herself and the 2 youngest kids (1 being my mom) to Alabama where they had previously setup a church. My mom later moved from there to West Virginia, then Wisconsin, then Chicago.
I was 17 years old when told the whole story. It was told to me in a manner to make me fearful. Rather, it was told in a manner that conveyed survival, strength, pride, determination, equality. My parents had kept me pretty much sheltered and because of the diversity of our family (my dad was a Louisiana guishy), and where we lived in Chicago, I had not experienced racial bigotry until I completed high school. Not 18 yet, I took time to decide if I wanted to work or go to college and decided on working instead.
Of course, television exposed me to what was happening with the Civil Rights movement, but my parents convinced me that was in the south. Racial bigotry in “the north” is more covert. Racial bigots don’t use fear — they deprive Blacks of living where they can afford, employment according to their qualifications, and owning a business without being harassed by the city for purported code violations. Stuff like that.
Overall, I think Chicago was more concerned about the left-overs of Capone’s gang and corruption in the police department than they were about Blacks moving up in society. There were Whites that wouldn’t step foot in Cicero.
How wonderful that it was told to you “in a manner that conveyed survival, strength, pride, determination, equality.” What strength you must have received from your mom. And, how wise to wait until you were seventeen.
Yes, I can see Chicago, from what I know and especially from what you wrote, as being easier to live in than the more racist states. Must have been something when MLK and the Urban League called Chicago out on its covert racism.
Thanks for sharing your story, Xena.
@Yahtc.
Chicago is huge, and it can said that different organizations were involved in different parts of the city. Mostly, civil rights organizations were active on the south side of Chicago. MLK did not get a chance to really accomplish much in Chicago before he was assassinated.
Citizens to Clean Up The Courts was founded by Sherman Skolnick, a Jewish man who was paralyzed by polio. It was Skolnick who raised a ruckus at the banks not providing mortgages to Blacks. Blacks could purchase real estate, but it was on contract. After Skolnick got the ball rolling and banks began to listen, Jesse Jackson came in, and he and Skolnick failed to get along thereafter.
I met the Urban League in a head-on battle. They were suppose to identify Black and women owned businesses to develop (what we now call) a data base of businesses for local governments (towns, villages) around Chicago to do business with. At that time, I was president of a chamber of commerce in a Chicago suburb, but no one from the Urban League contacted me. When they appeared at a Village Board meeting to give their “bad news” I showed up — and spoke up. The rep with the Urban League was shocked — she never dreamed that a predominately German village would have a minority woman as president of its chamber of commerce.
IMHO, the NAACP accomplished more in Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area than any other civil rights organization.
I wish that my energy level now was as it was then, but that’s what happens when gravity does what it does. :-)
I love learning this history from you, Xena.
You have many talents……. + leadership abilities (I guess I can still try to develop some leadership talent…..must be somewhere just waiting.)
Interesting about the NAACP.
I have a wire photo + a pin from MLK’s rally in Chicago that I found on internet.
@Yahtc. Don’t give me too much credit. I simply worked 45 years. :-)
Xena,
What are some of the better known names of the Chicago AA leaders during the Civil Rights Era?
@Yahtc. The only name that I remember off hand is that of Bobby Rush. He went on into politics and last year, was reprimanded for wearing a hoodie in Congress. That doesn’t mean there weren’t others. Fred Hampton was quite the organizer on the west side.
Which goes to say that the majority of the activists who were not murdered or imprisoned by the government either went into politics, or got involved in Operation Push.
Years ago I remember reading a journalist who expressed that all of the heroes of the 60’s generation died, were killed, or put in prison, including those in music.
I just looked to see what Operation Push was up to presently and saw a Trayvon petition on their site.
Xena; you’ll get a thrill out of this MHP Show video1
LOVE IT!
B 37 needs to listen to what she says. Now Fogen is tired of the vandalism ?? So tracking down and shooting vandals is the answer.
“I think his heart was in the right place…” He doesn’t have a heart, that’s the friggin’ problem.
@racerrodig.
Yeah, wonder where she got that from? Maybe from Zidiot talk that Trayvon was suspended from school for vandalism? Without GZ knowing anything about Trayvon and why he was out that evening, juror B37 decided that Trayvon was going to paint graffiti on school lockers in the Retreat at Twin Lakes. LOL!! Have to laugh because her prejudicial judgment of Trayvon speaks volumes.
7. In his statements, George Zimmerman said why he cried out for help. Not once did he say he cried out for help because he was physically hurt, nor because he feared for his life. (See second video below.)
Georgie’s defense had the witnesses and JUROR B-37 state that outrageous LIE for him.
@Ametia. Yes. Zimmerman silenced Trayvon’s cries for help, then O’Mara and Vanilla Ice Cream West silenced experts that excluded Zimmerman’s voice as the one crying.
The prosecution raised the fact that at no time did the screams sound like the person was being smothered, as Zimmerman claims he was. The last scream was cut short by the gun-shot. But, like O’Mara told the jury, he wanted them to presume everything for the benefit of the defendant and to leave the common sense outside.
Yep……
If it sounds like shit………you must acquit !!
@racer. LOL Thanks for the Cochranism!
LOL, racer, that was a good one. I got to remember that one.
Bring it, Xena, Princess Warrior. Let me dive into this piece. Thank you, I’ve been waiting for the next installment.
@Ametia. No, thank you. 3Chics opened their blog giving me the opportunity to present this series. Mucho thanks.
A few delusional folks think that just because POTUS spoke on Friday, we’re going to wipe our hands and shut up about the Zimmerman verdict. Ummmm NOPE! Not going to happen.