Unnarmed 17 year old shot dead "in self defence"

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

And what about the restraining order against him back in 2005?

We don't know the circumstances. Was it a 3 day order, a year long order, etc? In most jurisdictions a woman can file for an emergency order and get it ok'd by a judge temporarily without the other party ever getting an opportunity to refute the claim. In those cases, a hearing is set for 30 days, and a long term, "permanent" (which lasts a year) order is either allowed or the existing order is dismissed. So a person can have a restraining order put against them without any misdoing or even a chance to defend themselves. Your going to judge him guilty of a murder on that?

Furthermore, what's a person who had a restraining order against him doing with a GUN anyways? I thought that was illegal?

That depends on the order. Even if his right to carry was suspended under the terms of the restraining order, once that order lapsed (max one year from its inception date), his right to carry would be reinstated.

How is being suspended from school even remotely equivalent with being arrested by the police for domestic assault and assault on a cop?

Its actually worse. You see - being suspended from school means not only was young Martin accused of wrongdoing, when the matter was brought before the authority of the school, he was found "guilty" and punished from breaking "school law". He has his opportunity to assert a defense, and it was found lacking. His "oh so caring" mother or father could have raised a ruckus and fought for their son if he had been innocent of the accusations leveled against him. There is no indication they did so. As a parent - I can tell you I sure as hell would go to bat for one of my kids!

On the other hand, you have Zimmerman - who has been accused of things in his past. However, the matters were either dropped before it even went to court - or he was exonerated. Given that he was accused of assualt on a cop, I can safely say its unlikely such a charge was simply dropped - DA's and cops don't let that just slide. Yet in the end - he was never found to have been guilty of anything.

Bottom line - in the world each lived in - Martin in the world of teen age school authority and Zimmerman in the much harsher world of criminal justice, Martin was "found guilty" and Zimmerman was not.

Regardless of Martin's past, its a tragedy he was killed. Regardless of Zimmerman's past (or lack thereof), he is not pure as the driven snow in this. But to want to drag up accusations against Zimmerman that were never turned into convictions - while ignoring the past actions of Martin that were deemed punishable - really stinks. It does nothing more than use the tactics of personal destruction that some (and no - not you mookie) have always tried.....

*The seriousness of the accusations outweigh the truth of the matter*

That isn't how our justice system works. Thankfully.

I have custody of my young son because of the fact that the truth matters more than the accusations. I have had untold numbers of baseless, vile accusations made against me. When it all came out in the wash, the truth was plain - and I was blessed to be granted the opportunity to give my son something he sorely needed: A stable and loving home.

If you wanted to go by mere accusation, then I should be locked up in jail while my son would be living with and learning from his mother how to defraud welfare, from his oldest brother how to live on house arrest for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, how to be ok with probation for B&E, and from his sister how to get popped for selling meth.....

If you wanted to go with truth, then I am what I am - a Father with a young man who is being successful in developing his social skills, his education, and his mental and emotional growth. No behavioral problems. He is a success - he simply needed the right environment.

Yea - I will err on the side of truth - not mere accusation.

Trayvon being dead is a tragedy - and we will never fully know what happened in detail. But it is reasonable to say that given his past, he contributed to the circumstances that got him killed. Just as Zimmerman did as well.