Archived Story
Calls for justice shouldn’t alter or influence it
Published 9:56am Friday, April 13, 2012For weeks, a Florida community — and the entire nation — have been captivated by the tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, all while the cries for an arrest in the case grew exponentially.
On Wednesday, 29-year-old community watch volunteer George Zimmerman was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the case that started as a disagreement of some sort and became something far worse.
The important thing to remember is that Zimmerman is innocent until proven guilty and the public outrage shouldn’t overpower the facts of the case.
Florida prosecutors certainly feel they have enough evidence to charge him with second-degree murder, but you have to wonder if the national attention influenced the decision to go with a charge that could be very difficult to prove under Florida law. It remains to be seen if prosecutors can prove the shooting wasn’t in self defense.
This is certainly a tragedy and our hearts go out to the grieving families. But we cannot lose sight of the due process afforded to every American under the U.S. Constitution.
Zimmerman hasn’t been found guilty by a jury of his peers yet but he has already essentially been convicted in the court of public opinion.
Right now, no one knows exactly what happened on that Florida street. Only after all the facts come out should we make a judgment.
The concealed carry law in Ohio was changed and holders of a concealed carry license no longer have to expose the weapon in a motor vehicle. That was a stupid requirement put in the original law by the highway patrol.
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As far as guns in vehicles. One of my summer jobs was flagging traffic on Lawrence county roads, amazing how many guns in front seats of vehicles in plain view. Fort Hood texas base parking lot, many vehicles locked up but handguns laying in seat, although perfectly legal in Texas I think.
Today; probably ak 47′s and uzi’s behind the truck seat.
With all these guns out there I hope the good guys outnumber the bad guys.
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The first time I heard about this situation was on the radio which indicated that Obama was going to find out if this was a ‘race related’ shooting. Really? The president of the U. S. is sticking his nose in some obsure shooting in Florida? Is this standard procedure? Does the Whitehouse get involved in every shooting when a minor is involved or just CERTAIN minors? And now Florida is allowing a mob to dictate justice. WOW, the power of media. Can anyone in the US get their way by creating a lynch mob or is it just for a CERTAIN populations or CERTAIN areas of the US as dictated by the Whitehouse? We need to know more about this — maybe if all of Lawrence County got together and marched in the streets yelling and making a**es out of ourselves we might get something we want while the justice system cowers in their office.
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Just wait for the riots when Zimmerman is found not guilty… I bet there’s going to be a lot of conceal carry permits obtained before the trial gets done.
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Jeez, so much misinformation out there… Zimmerman was going to the store. He had a conceal-carry permit which allows him to carry at all times… Nothing wrong with that, my co-workers do the same. He wasn’t driving around being a “watch captain” He called the police when he spotted an individual he wasn’t familiar with and was supposedly acting suspicious. This gated community had 8-9 break-ins during the past year. He lost sight of Trayvon and got out of his truck to see where he went so he could let the police know where he went. He got all the way to the main road and when the 911 dispatcher asked him if he was following, and he said yes, the dispatcher said he didn’t need to do that (not an order which dispatchers are allowed to give anyway). Zimmerman was on his way back to his truck when he met up with Trayvon (who could have easily just gone to his dad’s GF house). It was Trayvon who allegedly punched Zimmerman in the nose and knocked him to the ground and started pounding his head against the pavement. If that part is true (and supposedly the police department documented the bloody nose and injuries to his head) then Zimmerman was justified in shooting him. However, if Zimmerman wasn’t attacked then Zimmerman should go to prison for a long time.
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If Zimmerman had waited for the police we would have both sides of the story more or less. This is going to be a tough one if not impossible to get to the truth and satisfy everyone.
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If Zimmerman waited for the police, Trayvon would have been long gone… I myself have followed somebody that I believed was breaking the law. I called the police gave them directions, followed that person, kept the dispatcher appraised of where I was at until the police showed up and pulled the suspected drunk driver over.
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Tribune Editorial Staff; My compliments on an excellent article. Lynch mobs are still in existence, only in different form, or maybe not so different.
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The problem is from what I can gather is:why was a neighborhood watch person carrying a weapon. Aren’t they only suppose to call in and report to police?
Zimmerman has put a anti-gun gift right into the laps of the liberals, and is also putting pressure on Florida governor to look again at “stand your ground” laws.
Havn’t read the law so not sure how far it goes.
I for one am a believer in calling the police, even when in doubt. Officers of the law’s presence most of the time puts a damper on tempers. Not a perfect world, but most of the time,that is best option.
As far as protecting one’s self and family and home from harm is a different matter. Whether Zimmerman was persued or attacked, I don’t know, but not being trained or having the authority to apprehend makes for complicated questions. Taking the advice of the 911 operator would have saved a life and Zimmerman would not be in such a situation.
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Opps meant should not have been confronted based on the 911 call.
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Seems there so many views on this issue and being a concealed gun carrier it seems that the Obama anti-gun view is trying to make this into an anti-gun ploy. I do not think that this kid should have been confronted as it was clear from what the 911 operator asked him not to follow and allow the police to handle the manner so have to agree he needed to be picked up and arrested. Let’s just not allow this to turn into an anti-gun agenda by the liberals that seem intent on taking away guns from the law biding citizens. It is shown that the states that have conceal carry there are fewer crimes.
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