Zimmerman was knocked down before he fired

Which gives very good grounds for a self-defense plea. Whether he should have approached Martin in the first place is another matter but that does not affect the fact that he had a reasonable apprehension of being in great danger when he fired. Clearly, if the black teen had kept his hands to himself, he would be alive today.

An interesting wrinkle in the case is the common Leftist claim that only whites can be racist. Zimmerman is clearly Hispanic.



So the racism claims being hurled about would seem undermined by that. He could presumably get some Leftist nut to argue that he could not be racist

No one disputes that Zimmerman called police from his SUV, then left it and encountered Trayvon on foot as the teenager returned from a 7-Eleven candy run.

Before an officer arrived, Trayvon and Zimmerman got into a fight, according to police, and witnesses heard one or both calling for help, and Zimmerman shot Trayvon once with a 9 mm handgun.

Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense. Police found blood on his face and the back of his head as well as grass on the back of his shirt.

That jibes with what Cheryl Brown's teenage son witnessed while walking his dog that night. Thirteen-year-old Austin stepped out his front door and heard people fighting, he told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday.

"I heard screaming and crying for help," he said. "I heard, 'Help me.' "

It was dark, and the boy did not see how the fight started, in fact, he only saw one person, a man in a red shirt — Zimmerman — who was on the ground.

The boy said he is not sure who called for help. After a moment, his dog escaped, and he turned to catch it and a few seconds later heard a gunshot, he said.

"When I heard the shot, the screaming stopped," he said.

He then rushed inside and told his sister to call police.

Police on Tuesday turned the case over to the State Attorney's Office, saying they did not have evidence to justify George Zimmerman's arrest on a charge of manslaughter.

More here




MI: Victim shoots at suspects: "Police say one suspect got the homeowner to come into his front yard while two more entered the home through the back door. When the homeowner became suspicious of the suspect, he went back inside and interrupted the attempted burglary in progress. All the suspects fled as the homeowner got a hand gun. As the suspects were fleeing in a minivan the victim fired one shot, hitting the van in the driver's side fender."


TX: Armed Customer Chases Pawn Shop Thief: "Police are searching for the man who they say tried to rob a First Cash Pawn yesterday afternoon. The suspect was chased out of the store by employees and a customer with a licensed, concealed handgun. The robbery happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, when a man in his 20's asked to get a closer look at a $1,200 necklace. He snatched the jewelry from the clerk and ran out of the business. It was not a clean getaway as the suspect smacked his face on a glass door while running. When the suspect got to his car parked down the street, he reached for something underneath the driver's seat, and that's when the customer pulled out a handgun. No shots were fired. Instead a struggle started with the thief who decided to drop the chain and ran into the neighborhood. Officers know who the suspect is, but are not releasing his name."


SC: Self defense claim succeeds on appeal: "A jury acquitted Justin McManus, 26, of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Kendrick Blakeney, 25, Wednesday evening. Chesterfield County deputies charged McManus with killing Blakeney at a home on Tiny Grove Church Road on September 21, 2005. She says her client was trying to defuse a situation between his brother and Blakeney when things got out of control. Blakeney reached for a gun and that's when McManus grabbed a gun he saw in the home and shot Blakeney eight times in self-defense, according to McNeill. McManus initially went to trial in 2006 and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 35 years in prison. He filed what's called a post conviction relief, citing ineffective counseling during his trial and was granted a new one last July. It took the jury about three and a half hours to acquit McManus of voluntary manslaughter."