Martin death won't go to grand jury

I note that the media is still using pictures of Martin as a 12 year old.  A more blatant effort to bias the case is hard to imagine.

A grand jury decides if there are grounds for prosecution

A special prosecutor says she will not take the Trayvon Martin shooting death before a grand jury.  Angela Corey says she is continuing to investigate the case. A grand jury had been set to meet on Tuesday in Florida.

The unarmed teen was killed on February 26 during a confrontation with neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in a gated community.

The case has led to protests across the US and spurred a debate about race. Martin was black; Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

Zimmerman has claimed self-defence. Florida's self-defence law gives wide leeway to use deadly force and eliminates a person's duty to retreat in the face of danger.

Corey said on Monday her decision to skip the grand jury shouldn't be considered a factor in determining whether charges will be filed against Zimmerman.

The announcement means the decision on charges now rests solely with Corey, who had a reputation for not presenting cases before grand juries if it wasn't required.  Under Florida law, only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries.

Corey took over the case last month after the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford recused himself.  That prosecutor, Norm Wolfinger, had originally called for the case to be presented before a grand jury.

"From the moment she was assigned, Ms Corey noted she may not need a grand jury," said a statement from Corey's office.

Source




MO: Woman shoots one of two robbers: "Police say two young men, in their teens knocked on the woman’s door and asked to see a man. When the woman at the house in the 5800 block of Garfield told the men he wasn’t there, police say the men forced their way in, pointed a gun at the woman’s head, and put her in a closet. While they rummaged through her house, the woman, who is in her 20s says she found the gun that she hides in the closet.  She stepped out of the closet and shot one of the men.  He stumbled out of the house, into the yard, and collapsed in the front yard, where a neighbor found him.  The woman told police the other man, who was dressed in an orange shirt, ran from the scene.  Police have not released the name of the victim. They say charges are not likely since it appears the woman acted in self-defense."


FL:  Stand Your Ground law helps keep shooter out of jail:  "A man who shot and killed his fiancee's brother was not arrested by Lake County detectives because of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.  Just like George Zimmerman, the admitted shooter Jakob Penrod hasn't been charged in this case. But the big difference is several witnesses, including some of the deceased's relatives, say Penrod did all he could to get away from the situation.  Detectives say Penrod wanted the man to move out of the home, and by 9 o'clock that night the argument escalated to the point where Penrod got a gun. Detectives say it was only for the protection of him and his pregnant fiancee.  “He had taken her back into the bathroom, literally barricaded themselves, holding the door shut against Gayle's efforts to push the door in and gain entry into the bathroom,” Lake County Sheriff's Detective John Herrell said. Authorities say once Gayle got in, he bloodied Penrod's lip and gave him a black eye, so Penrod shot his unarmed soon to be brother-in-law, killing him. Deputies initially put Penrod in the back of a patrol car, but eventually let him go."


TX: 3 teens arrested in home invasion:  "A man was shot during a home invasion committed by three teenagers, investigators said.  All three robbers, an 18-year-old male, a 15-year-old male and a 15-year-old female, were armed with guns, detectives said.   Investigators said the robbers demanded money and the two male teenagers started carting electronics out of the house. The female robber put her gun on a coffee table and the resident picked it up and shot her, officials said.  Deputy constables said that when the two male robbers ran back into the house and shot and beat the resident.  Investigators said the resident suffered a total of five gunshot wounds. He was hospitalized in critical condition.  The three robbers ran off, but they were arrested a few hours later when they went to a hospital to get help for the female suspect, investigators said."