Much of the evidence in the George Zimmerman case has been released, from which we learn a few things:
1. Martin was almost certainly the aggressor, as explained to police that night by multiple witnesses, including one who identified Martin as straddling Zimmerman and punching him ‘MMA-style’. (I note that the UFC has referees to put a stop to such a beating before it becomes deadly — and also, apparently, some fighters who will wave-over a slow-moving ref. I'd kiss that guy, but I'm sure he's against the plan and I don't care to piss him off.) Also:
- When they arrived, Sanford Police Dept. (SPD) officers found Martin face-down on the ground (and turned him over to perform CPR) and that Zimmerman's back was wet and grass-stained. (Police reports here.)
- Zimmerman had a broken nose and multiple abrasions and lacerations on his face and the back of his head. I also note, from a photo taken at the station, that the back of Zimmerman's head is dented. (It's hard to explain all these injuries, nor all the screaming for help that 911 operators and eyewitnesses and that night attributed to Zimmerman, if Zimmerman was brandishing his firearm when he confronted Martin. Also, as noted at the arraignment, the prosecution can't say that Zimmerman did confront Martin rather than the other way around, only that there was a confrontation.)
- Martin had bloody and abraded knuckles (and Zimmerman apparently didn't) and significant levels of THC (a few hours old) in his system. (Zimmerman thought the guy was acting like he was on drugs, and apparently knew what he was talking about. Whether the intoxication had been from drugs or alcohol, it was worth noting.)
- One witness came forth later to say that he had seen a larger man on top of a smaller, and that, based on Zimmerman's old mugshot and pictures of a thirteen-year-old Martin, which the witness saw on TV, he concluded that the larger man was Zimmerman. But at the time of the shooting Martin was a seventeen-year-old (looked twenty to the EMT), 5'11" (according to the autopsy) football player, and Zimmerman has lost a lot of weight and was several inches shorter, so it's not clear how much ‘larger’ than Martin he would have appeared. And let's not forget that this ‘witness’ made himself known well after the incident. As witnesses go, he's not very reliable, especially compared to the people who talked to the police on that night and could speak for certain at the time. No sane prosecutor would ever put him on the stand.
2. Zimmerman's behavior when the police arrived was perfect. Yes, absolutely, tell them loudly and clearly that you're armed and let them take your gun from you. Keep your hands in the open air, preferably outward and upward! Frightened police are not your friends!
3. The iPhone photos of Zimmerman, seen online a few weeks ago, were apparently taken by an SPD patrolman who ‘responded’ to the scene. It was not clear that anyone had yet taken pictures of Zimmerman's injuries, so the patrolman made it so. Indeed, no other photos were taken of Zimmerman until he arrived a the SPD station. How they were released prematurely is, I'm sure, a matter of some investigation.
4. The Martin family's claim that they recognize Trayvon's screams on audio is not what they told SPD investigators.
5. The alleged audio-analysis experts hired by the Orlando Sentinel (who purported to determine that the screaming voice was not Zimmerman's) were also lying, either about the analysis or about their expertise to perform the analysis. The FBI's experts could not come to any such conclusion, either way; the best current technology is inadequate to the task.
6. The Washington Post is desperate, dishonest, and sloppy, but at least they're not as bad as MSNBC.
In short, Zimmerman's claim of self-defense survives deep scrutiny.
SPD Detective Serino's desire to charge Zimmerman with negligent manslaughter (not murder!) is unsurprising; it is common for the police to automatically kick such a case up to the state attorney (prosecutor) who can then decide whether to proceed. As it happened, on the night of the shooting, the prosecutor said: No. Based on the evidence to date, he was right; with or without ‘Stand Your Ground’, a person claiming self-defense must show reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person, a standard which Zimmerman has clearly, I think preponderantly, met. Further, under Florida law, the prosecutor must prove that the killer's belief was not reasonable. The burden of proof is on the state. Given the evidence above and a reasonable jury, the state's case is beyond hope. This is well past ‘reasonable doubt’.
