NV:  Self-defense ruled in  backyard shooting:  "A Summerlin resident acted in self-defense and will not be charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed backyard intruder last month, officials at the Clark County district attorney’s office determined.  The shooting happened the morning of March 20 in the 2100 block of Spurs Court, near Hualapai Way and Sahara Avenue. The resident, who called 911, told Metro Police he fired shots at a backyard intruder, later identified as 19-year-old Demarcus Carter, who the resident believed was trying to break into his home.   The Clark County coroner’s office determined Carter died from multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.  Owens said evidence — including that Carter was shot on the front of his body — supported the resident’s claim that he felt threatened by the suspect. The resident, whose identity has not been released, said Carter continued attempting to enter the home after the two made eye contact, Owens said.  Carter was on probation after a December conviction of burglary, possessing a stolen vehicle and grand larceny, Owens said."


TN:  Shooting Of Home Intruder Was Self-Defense:  "Police said a Nashville man acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a convicted felon who forced his way into his apartment in south Nashville.  Police said 35-year-old Michael Shane Martin was killed late Wednesday night at the Brentridge apartment complex off Bell Road.  Investigators said Michael Moffitt and his girlfriend, Caycee Albright, heard a knock at their door around 11 p.m. and Moffitt found the door peephole was covered. He told Albright to call police while he got an AR-15 rifle and opened the door once he saw it was uncovered.  Police said Martin charged in with a semi-automatic pistol and wearing a mask and gloves. Moffitt was shoved into an interior wall and opened fired, killing Martin."


TX:  Woman shoots back but it was info from her that caught the crooks:  "Dayna Cooper and a 65-year-old man were shot at her home around 2 a.m. Thursday when two suspects burst in with guns blazing.  Cooper reportedly had been robbed before, so this time, she was ready and fired back with her own weapon.  But she was shot in the neck and the arm, and the suspects got away with a safe and some jewelry.  Dayna Cooper was able to give investigators information on her attackers, and police tracked the two suspects down at a Motel 6 in Humble Friday morning.  They arrested 29-year-old Adrian Nathaniel Comstock and 56-year-old Patricia Lynn Hickmann at motel.  Family members said Dayna Cooper had known Hickmann for some time, and that Hickmann took advantage of her.  Investigators believe the suspects broke into the home thinking there was a large amount of insurance money inside. But the family says that’s simply not the case."


George Zimmerman's bloody head photo supports self-defense claim:  "A cell phone photo of George Zimmerman’s bloody head has been turned over to authorities by a reluctant photographer who took the picture three minutes after Trayvon Martin was shot.   The photo, taken by the witness who saw Martin on top of Zimmerman prior to the deadly shot, shows two gashes in the back of Zimmerman’s head.  The photo supports Zimmerman’s contention that Martin was bashing his head against the sidewalk prior to the deadly gun shot."

NM: Would-be carjacker gets bullet in chest:  "DA determines  shooting justified.  Nathan Velasquez admitted to Hobbs police he shot an unarmed man but said he had good reason: the man was trying to steal his car and endangered his life.  "When police got here they found Cristobal Carrizoza suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, and the individual Velasquez, who we later learned had done the shooting," Hobbs Officer Mike Stone said.  Velasquez, 20, told police he went to get into his car and found someone trying to steal it.   "Carrizoza was getting into his vehicle, and he said, 'No. What are you doing in my vehicle? That's mine,'" Stone said.  At that point, police said Velasquez reached into his car and pulled out a gun, but Carrizoza, 25, fought to get it.  That's when Velasquez told police the gun went off shooting Carrizoza in the chest.   Carrizoza's record with Hobbs police dates back to 2005 and includes robberies, domestic disputes and drug activity. He was also a suspect in a rape case in 2010."


TX:  Man with gun thwarts robbery before sheriff's detectives arrive:  "Dr. Craig Burnside was just finishing a call with his wife and about to get out of his car in a parking lot in Downtown Waco late Friday night when two suspicious men approached him.... The robber was Juan Martinez, 41, but little did he know he had picked the wrong man to rob.  Burnside dropped his phone and grabbed the handgun that he had in his car. According to Burnside he then jumped out of his car and yelled at the man to leave.  Martinez did not have time to run away however, because within seconds two sheriff's detectives who had been watching the situation escalate close by jumped out of their cars."


CA: Armored car guard shoots  robber:  "Sacramento County Sheriff's officials say an armored car guard opened fire and wounded a suspect in a department store parking lot after the man tried to rob him.  The incident outside a Sacramento Walmart occurred around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The suspect allegedly hit the guard with a stun gun while the guard was leaving a store with bags of money.  Sheriff's deputies say the guard fell, but got up and began pursuing the suspect, shooting him in the leg. The unidentified suspect allegedly continued running and got into a vehicle that drove toward the guard, prompting him to open fire again.  The vehicle fled. Deputies say the suspect was found a short time later hiding in a dumpster and arrested.  He was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening wound."


AZ: Brewer vetoes bill allowing guns on public property:  "Gov. Jan Brewer rebuffed gun-rights advocates by vetoing for a second time a bill to allow guns on public property, and sent a strong message that such a proposal would need wider support from police, cities and the public before she would sign it. Brewer's veto of the bill, which could have let guns into city halls, police stations, county courts, senior centers, swimming pools, libraries and the state Capitol, was the latest setback for a push to expand the right to carry guns in public places in Arizona."

Iowa:  No charges after man and woman exchange shots; Man dies:  "Des Moines County prosecutors will not seek charges in connection with last month's South Central Avenue shooting death of a Macomb, Ill., man, ruling the incident as justifiable homicide or self defense. The shooter, Jacqueline Renee Williams, 28, also of Macomb, who also was shot to the head, survived her injuries and reportedly is back at home. According to the report, Terrell Robert Miller, 22, and Williams were visiting friends at 165 S. Central Ave. on March 16.   That evening, the pair, who were in a relationship, argued on the home's front porch. Detectives said Miller had a handgun during the argument and shot Williams once in the forehead. A struggle ensued, and Williams managed to take the gun away from Miller, whom she shot six times in the head.   Burlington emergency medical crews and police officers who responded to the scene shortly after 10 p.m. found Miller dead on the front porch."


CO: Aggressive man finally gets his due:  " Andre Manzanares had a long history of fighting his neighbors, deputies and even his own mother, court records show.  And on April 1, Manzanares lost his final fight when a stranger he confronted shot him three times, killing him on Main Street just at the edge of Brighton in Adams County.  After reviewing the evidence, Adams County District Attorney Don Quick declined to file criminal charges against Jones.... "When Jones reached his car, he opened the front passenger side door, turned around and witnessed Mr. Manzanares rounding the corner of the building approximately 20 yards away and running toward Mr. Jones," the letter says. "Jones grabbed his pistol from under the passenger seat, racked the slide ejecting a live round onto the ground."  Jones told authorities he warned Manzanares he had a gun.  "I don't give a ---- what you got," Manzanares said back, Jones told investigators.  Jones then fired his gun, killing Manzanares, the letter says."


NEBRASKA: Governor Signs Two Pro-Second Amendment Bills into Law:  "LB 807, introduced by state Senator Scott Lautenbaugh (18), clarifies that only individuals who have been criminally convicted of a felony, misdemeanor crime of violence or state laws pertaining to firearms and drug related offenses, would be disqualified from receiving a Nebraska Concealed Handgun Permit. By clarifying the current law, LB 807 ultimately helps streamline and expedite the Concealed Handgun Permit application process by not unnecessarily denying lawful citizens from obtaining a Concealed Handgun Permit in the Cornhusker State. On April 5, LB 807 was amended with floor Amendment 2382 by state Senator Russ Karpisek (32), which allows for seized firearms that were not used in the commission of a crime to be returned to their lawful owner or sold at public auction, instead of being unnecessarily destroyed. This amendment passed by a 27 to 0 vote. Gun owners were victorious last week as well. On April 11, Legislative Bill 804, civil immunity legislation, was signed into law by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. This important self-defense reform will go into effect on July 18, 2012."


Zimmerman judge replaced in Trayvon Martin case:  "Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. Wednesday was assigned to take over the case of a neighborhood watchman who killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.  Lester was randomly assigned to the case in Seminole County Court after Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself because of a conflict of interest, the Orlando Sentinel reported.  Lester will preside at Zimmerman's bond hearing Friday, the newspaper said. A separate petition brought by several news organizations challenging the sealing of normally open court records is also set for Friday.  Wayne Klinkbeil, an assistant public defender in Lester's courtroom in 1997, told the Sentinel he is "very in control of his courtroom, very straightforward."

1912 Titanic Disaster: Was Racism To Blame?

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, new shocking evidence has surfaced that a racist vendetta was at the epicenter of the disaster.

NBC News is about to release a mostly unedited Morse Code transcript of messages between the Newfoundland Emergency Operator and the Titanic's Captain, George White, moments before the fatal altercation:

Operator: Newfoundland SOS, what is your emergency?

Titanic: This is George White, skipper of the Titanic. I'm on neighborhood watch in the North Atlantic. It's dark out and I think I see an iceberg.

Operator: An iceberg? Can you describe it?

Titanic: It's big.... there's no moon out tonight... It looks black!

It is believed the enraged White, who happened to be white, pursued the iceberg instead of turning the ship to avoid it as the operator suggested. The situation deteriorated quickly and within hours, the Titanic had sunk taking with it thousands of passengers, many of them wealthy people who deserved it.

White's defenders will probably argue that it is almost impossible to turn a large vessel quickly and the confrontation was unfortunate but unavoidable. However, the historical record indicates White was driving the ship too fast and was in an area it shouldn't have been in to begin with, as other neighborhood watch craft in the area had broadcast iceberg sightings earlier in the evening.

It is likely that White, harboring deep-seated hatred for ice, deliberately sought out a large iceberg in an attempt to provoke a quarrel and incite violence.

Experts fear the new revelations will lead to an anti-ice backlash and warn against citizens refusing ice in their drinks or defrosting refrigerators too often in a display of disrespect to the iceberg community.

More here




FL: Attempted robbery suspect shot, killed:  "An attempted robbery suspect was shot dead by his intended victim late Monday, Orlando police said.  The suspect, Tavish Lee Mathews, was attempting to rob Terrance Lamar Taylor in the 2000 block of W. Jackson Street when the shooting occurred, said police spokesman Officer Dave Allmond.  Taylor pulled out a gun and shot Mathew numerous times. He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he later died.  Investigators have determined the shooting was justified and Taylor will not be charged, Allmond said."


Detroit Robbers shot :  "Two men were shot, one fatally, during an apparent botched robbery on Detroit's east side this afternoon, police said.  The shooting occurred after two men met two other men to purchase merchandise from them in the 19300 block of Lumpkin, according to Detroit police. Police said one of the men who was said to be selling the merchandise pulled a gun and demanded money from the buyers. Police did not say what the merchandise was.  It appears that as one of the buyers, 19, began removing items from his pockets, the man with him, 29, pulled out a weapon and began firing shots, police said.  One of the apparent robbers, 19, was killed and the other, also 19, was critically injured, police said."


CA: Robber chased off by gunfire:  "Enshrah Ayesh, whose family owns the store, said she and several family members were working when a tall man dressed in a puffy jacket whom she had never seen before walked into the store ... She said the man then demanded money. Her mother was behind the counter at the register and started reaching for the money, but the man began hitting her, Ayesh said.  The man then fired a shot that grazed her mother's cheek, Ayesh said.  Her father and her brother then came running from the back. Her father, who was armed with a gun, began shooting at the man, who grabbed her brother as a shield, she said.  "Of course my father stopped shooting," she said.  The man dragged her brother out of the store, then let him go, got on a bicycle and rode off, she said. He hadn't taken anything from the store."

TX: Retired DPS trooper fatally shoots drugstore robber:  "An armed robber who took a drugstore guard hostage Monday was shot and killed when he confronted a retired Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, now a security official for the north Harris County business, authorities said.  The masked robber jumped the unarmed security guard about 2:15 p.m. inside the QVL Pharmacy at 850 FM 1960 near the North Freeway.  "At gunpoint, he forced (the guard) to open the security door going to the back of the pharmacy," said Sgt. Ben Beall with the Harris County Sheriff's Department's homicide squad.  Also inside the store, however, was a plainclothes retired DPS trooper, now working for the Dallas-based company's corporate security department. He was making a check at the store when the robbery happened.  The robber pointed his gun at the retired trooper, who pulled out his own weapon and began shooting.  He fired at least three rounds, Beall said. The robber did not fire his weapon.  The robber died at the scene, and nobody else was hurt"


Aldi Customer Who Shot Armed Robber Sues for Return of His Gun: "An Aldi customer in Milwaukee who shot and wounded an armed robber is suing police for the return of his gun.  Nazir Al-Mujaahid had a concealed weapons permit to carry the gun, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof & Hearsay. In February, prosecutors said Al-Mujaahid was within his legal rights when he shot the man who pointed a shotgun at a cashier and then at Al-Mujaahid, according to a prior Journal Sentinel story.  But police are keeping Al-Mujaahid’s gun as evidence in the case against two men accused in the robbery. Wisconsin Carry Inc., a gun rights group, is helping Al-Mujaahid in his quest for return of the gun. The suit filed last week claims a violation of Al-Mujaahid’s due process rights.  Al-Mujaahid has filed three other suits for return of guns seized in prior incidents. He won two of the cases; a third is pending."


CA: Stand-your-ground the rule in state, courts affirm:  "The stand-your-ground doctrine, which has vaulted into national prominence with the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, isn't limited to the two dozen states that have passed laws since 2005 expanding the right to use deadly force in confrontations. It's also the rule in California, by court decree. For more than a century, the state's judges have declared that a person who reasonably believes he or she faces serious injury or death from an assailant does not have to back off -- inside or outside the home -- and instead can use whatever force is needed to eliminate the danger."

The rubbishy case against Zimmerman

They are desperate to be putting up such demonstrable falsehoods

In court papers filed Thursday, prosecutors contend that Zimmerman followed and confronted Martin after being told by a police dispatcher not to do so. The “Affidavit of Probable Cause—Second Degree Murder” was prepared on the basis of statements from witnesses and police officers and a review of “recorded statements, phone records, recorded calls to police, photographs, videos, and other documents.”

The three-page brief states that following a visit by Trayvon Martin to a nearby convenience store, the young man “then walked back to and entered the gated community and was on his way back to the townhouse where he was living when he was profiled by George Zimmerman. Martin was unarmed and was not committing a crime.”

The affidavit says that Zimmerman, who was driving through the neighborhood, “assumed Martin was a criminal.” It states that Zimmerman related in a recorded call while referring to Martin: “these assholes, they always get away,” as well as “these f---ing punks.”

The brief states that Martin was on the phone with a friend at the time, who told investigators that Martin was “scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn’t know why.” (Martin’s parents say this phone witness was their son’s girlfriend in Miami.)

According to the affidavit, Martin tried to run home but was followed by Zimmerman “who didn’t want the person he falsely assumed was going to commit a crime to get away before the police arrived.” Zimmerman got out of his car and pursued Martin on foot, despite being told not to do by the dispatcher. “Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued,” the brief notes.

Witnesses reported hearing arguing and “what sounded like a struggle” and “numerous calls for help.” The brief states that “Trayvon Martin’s mother has reviewed the 911 calls and identified the voice crying for help as Trayvon Martin’s voice.”

Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest, and the medical examiner determined that Martin died from this gunshot wound. Zimmerman admitted to police arriving on the scene that he had shot Martin, and the officers recovered a gun from a holster inside Zimmerman’s waistband.

Source

Wow!  A preacher who dares to speak the truth about black crime

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm condemns the response of many black leaders to the Trayvon Martin case as "shameful." Some black pastors within the nation's largest Protestant denomination say Richard Land's comments are setting back an effort to broaden the faith's appeal beyond its traditional white, Southern base.

Land says he stands by his assertion that President Barack Obama "poured gasoline on the racialist fires" when he addressed Martin's slaying and that Obama, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton have used the case "to try to gin up the black vote for an African American president who is in deep, deep, deep trouble for re-election."

Land, who is white, said in an interview he has no regrets about his remarks. He said he understands why the case has touched a nerve among black leaders, but he also defended the idea that people are justified in seeing young black men as threatening: A black man is "statistically more likely to do you harm than a white man."

"Is it tragic that people react that way? Yes. Is it unfair? Yes? But it is understandable," he said.

The comments come as the Southern Baptist Convention is trying hard to diversify its membership and distance itself from a past that includes support of slavery and segregation.

Last year, the denomination for the first time elected a black pastor to its No. 2 position of first vice president, and the Rev. Fred Luter is expected to become the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention at this year's annual meeting in June.

When asked about the concern that Land's comments hurt the effort to attract non-white members, Luter said, "It doesn't help. That's for sure."

While SBC presidents are elected for one-year terms, as the head of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for 23 years, the outspoken Land is arguably the most powerful person in the denomination and certainly its most visible spokesman.

"I think his (Land's) statements will reverse any gains from the rightful election of Fred Luter," said the Rev. Dwight McKissic, a black pastor at the SBC-affiliated Cornerstone Baptist Church is Arlington, Texas.

McKissic said he plans to submit a resolution at the SBC's annual meeting asking the convention to repudiate Land's remarks.  "If they don't, we're back to where we were 50 years ago," he said.

Land counters that he has been working for racial reconciliation for his entire ministry.  He was one of the chief architects of a 1995 resolution by the Southern Baptists apologizing for their role in supporting slavery and racism. Since that resolution, black membership in the SBC has tripled, Land said, going from about 350,000 in 1995 to about 1 million today.

While he recognizes that his comments may hurt black membership within the SBC, he said he was not setting back the quest for racial reconciliation.  "Part of racial reconciliation is being able to speak the truth in love without being called a racist and without having to bow down to the god of political correctness," he said.

Land told The Associated Press that he has also criticized white religious leaders, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, when they behaved in ways he considered irresponsible.

And he said he thinks McKissic's resolution will fail.  "I have no doubt, based on the emails I have received, that a vast majority of Southern Baptists agree with me," he said.

Land made the comments about Sharpton, Jackson and Obama during his weekly radio show. His broader point was that there has been a rush to judgment, with many people convinced that shooter George Zimmerman is guilty even before he goes to trial.

Prominent supporters of Martin's family have included Sharpton and Jackson. Last month, Obama called the death a tragedy and said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

On his radio show, Land accused Obama of shamefully exploiting Martin's death and said Jackson and Sharpton, whom he called "racial ambulance chasers," were guilty of the same.

Jackson, in a phone interview Thursday, did not address Land's personal attacks but said that racial profiling is still a very big problem for African-Americans, not just because they are sometimes unjustly viewed as criminals, but also because they are discriminated against by banks and insurance companies.

"Any help Reverend Land wants to give to address racial profiling is welcome," Jackson said.

Jonathan Merritt, a white Southern Baptist minister whose book, "A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars" is due out this month, said Land's comments turn off not only minorities, but also many young believers who are "disappointed with culture war Christianity and want to move beyond name-calling."  "I think Land's comments reinforce, rather than rebut, the image of the SBC as a denomination of old, angry white men," he said.  [So being old is contemptible??  Not much tolerance there!]

Source




Ireland:  Shot burglar will face new 'reasonable force' law:  "GARDAI [police] are considering the case of a man shot with a legally held shotgun during an apparent attempted robbery in north Co Dublin in the light of Justice Minister Alan Shatter's new law on the use of reasonable force to defend the home.  They are waiting to interview the north Dublin man, who was injured during an apparent attempted burglary at the home of a 79-year-old farmer on Thursday evening last.  The injured man, being treated in Beaumont Hospital, has an injury to his arm believed to have been caused when the son of Richard Lowndes, Graham Lowndes, came across men he believed to be carrying out a robbery on his father's farm in Kilsallaghan, between Finglas and Ashbourne.  The injured man, who is aged 34 and from Finglas, is well known to gardai in Dublin. Graham Lowndes said he was "just defending" his father's home when he opened fire with a legally held shotgun at what he believed to be men raiding the farm."  Gardai were content to allow Graham Lowndes to travel on a pre-arranged holiday with his family to Spain on Friday and are apparently happy to interview him on his scheduled return."


At gun convention, many see rush to judgment in Trayvon Martin case:  "Gun-rights activists at a National Rifle Association convention said on Friday that protesters who demanded the arrest of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin were ignoring the U.S. legal principle of innocent until proven guilty.  hey said the protesters and the media had rushed to judge Zimmerman, a white and Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer, as guilty in the death of 17-year-old Martin, who was black, without having been convicted.  "I wish all those folks demonstrating and making the inflammatory statements would keep their powder dry," said Owen Mills, an NRA board member, who runs a firearms training facility in Paulden, Arizona. Mills said he was not speaking for the NRA as an organization.  Many in the overwhelmingly white and conservative crowd at the NRA convention blamed the media for playing up the racial aspect of the case."

IN: Apparent intruder fatally shot in Fort Wayne:  "Police in Fort Wayne say a man told them he shot and killed a man who he said kicked in the door to his apartment.  City police spokesman Officer John Chambers tells The Journal Gazette that the resident said the intruder had a gun when he burst into the first-floor apartment in a complex on the city's east side Thursday night.  Chambers says the resident shot the man, who then ran away for a short distance before collapsing. He died shortly after being taken to a hospital.  Chambers tells WANE-TV that the resident had the legal right to shoot an intruder if he acted in acting in self-defense."


GA: Man shot in the chest during argument, other man not charged:  "A Ringgold man is recuperating from a gunshot wound after being shot in the chest by another man after the two were arguing.  Robert Wilson, 37, of Ringgold, was shot in the chest Sat-urday afternoon, April 7, by a man who was doing yard work for Wilson’s next-door neighbor.  The shooter, Dustin Talley of Fort Oglethorpe, was not arrested and is not currently facing any charges.  Talley told police that he was acting in self-defense.  “The witness then stated that Wilson’s wife started walking away when Wilson began to follow her, then stopped at 63 Karen Drive and started arguing with Mr. Talley.”  The witness claims that Tally eventually dropped the weed trimmer he was holding, pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Wilson as he was walking toward him."


Big gap between races in U.S. on Trayvon Martin killing:  "Americans are deeply divided by race over the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, with 91 per cent of African Americans saying he was unjustly killed while just 35 per cent of whites thought so, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Thursday.  Fifty-nine per cent of Hispanics believe that Martin was innocent and unjustly killed six weeks ago, according to the online poll of 1,922 Americans, conducted Monday through Thursday.  In a sign of how riveted Americans have been by the case, 93 per cent of those surveyed said they were aware of the shooting, which set off heated debates over race, gun control and crime.  "African Americans have a significantly different perspective on the whole incident than white Americans or Hispanic Americans," said Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson. "This incident is one of the clearest splits we've seen between whites and blacks."

Has the Trayvon Martin incident become more about the media than the shooting?

If you’ve been following this incident at all, you know that much of what was initially reported was wrong and some of what has been reported since was false, manufactured and/or misleading.

American Thinker has a good round up of the story to this point.  In the article, Jeff Lipke outlines the “myth” as it was perpetrated by the media.

The two worst offenders in my opinion have been NBC and ABC.  NBC aired an edited 911 tape which was clearly meant to depict George Zimmerman as a racist.  They continue to try to defend it as a “mistake”.  No one with any common sense is buying that nonsense.

ABC used footage of Zimmerman’s arrival at the Sanford police station to claim that it didn’t support his claim he’d been attacked as there was no evidence of blood or contusions. Never mentioned was the fact that Zimmerman had been treated by EMTs who are not in the habit of leaving visible blood on a patient they treat.  Subsequent enhancement showed that initial claim by ABC to have been incorrect.  Additionally, ABC claimed that Zimmerman had used a racial slur when talking to the 911 operator.  Again, enhancing the audio makes it clear he didn’t and instead seems to be remarking about how cold it was that night.  In fact, for central Florida, it was a cold night.  But ABC jumped to the conclusion because it supported the desired evolving story line – it was a racial killing.

The unraveling of the myth seems to have the whole story losing steam.  That may be why Al Sharpton decided to be a no-show at this weekend’s rally.   And there have also been incidents that have done little to gain sympathy for Trayvon Martin.  HIs parents attempt to copyright his name obviously hoping to capitalize on his death. Then there was the rally for Martin by members of the school he attended which turned into a flash-mob looting of a local drug store.

But for the media, this has been anything but its finest hour.  One of the reoccurring criticism of blogs by the media is they’ll publish anything and have no editors to check them.  Yet it is the media, especially the two networks named above, who’ve seemed to fall into that category, editors notwithstanding.

Take the latest story circulating.   Supposedly “Neo-Nazis” are patrolling Sanford, FL.  The NY Daily News reports this as a fact.  But Legal Insurrection’s Professor Jacobson has actually tried to confirm it (wait, isn’t that what editors and research assistants are supposed to do in the media?).  And, according to his inquiry to the Sanford Police Department, there’s no evidence of any neo-Nazi group patrolling the city:

My initial e-mail (which included an embedded link to the Memeorandum thread):

“There are a number of reports in the media that Neo-Nazis are conducting armed patrols in Sanford.  Can you confirm or deny whether this is true, and provide any information you have on the subject? If someone is able to get back to me as soon as possible (and before Monday) that would be appreciated, since such rumors are spreading.”

Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:

“At this time the City of Sanford has not confirmed the presence of Neo-Nazis groups.”

My follow up:

“You say “not confirmed.” Is there any indication of such patrols that the Department is aware of?”

Further Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:

“We have no indication of any such patrols at this point in Sanford. The only large gathering was the children and their parents at the Easter egg hunt.”

How poorly are we being served by a media which now seems to be engaged in precisely what it criticized blogs for?  And how ironic is it that a blog is doing the work the media should be doing?  That’s not to say blogs are in the clear.  Every left wing blog of any size has been parroting the rumor as well.

But the fact remains this case, no matter how you feel about it, has shown the media in a very unflattering light.  Sensationalism, poor journalism, lousy and false editing, conclusion jumping,  and rumor mongering have all been evident in their coverage.

And the industry wonders why so many Americans don’t trust them any more?

Source




NY: Retired cop guns down suspect in armed robbery of pharmacy:  "A sharpshooting retired NYPD lieutenant coolly gunned down a gun-toting career criminal who took aim at a cop while fleeing a stickup inside a crowded East Harlem pharmacy, police said.  A moment later, suspect Wyatt (Booga) Rudolph — running about 55 feet away — collapsed from two gunshot wounds to the head. The 24-year-old gunman had $311 in his pocket, the apparent cash proceeds of the robbery.  A half-dozen customers — including an infant girl in a stroller — cowered in fear as Rudolph jumped over the counter of the RX Center Pharmacy with his gun drawn at 11:03 a.m.  He and a sidekick made very specific demands: All the cash and 30 milligram pills of Oxycontin and Percocet, said Browne.  Three minutes later, Rudolph was lying dead in a pool of blood on First Ave. The killing ended a local crime wave, with the dead man suspected in four earlier pharmacy hold-ups in East Harlem and the South Bronx, police said."


CA:  Robber shot, killed in self-defense:  "A deadly shooting Wednesday in a southwest Bakersfield apartment was deemed self-defense.  Tremelle Spain, 23, was shot multiple times off Appleblossom Drive, near Planz and New Stine roads.  Police said Thursday that Spain and 24-year-old Semaj Douglas were allegedly armed with guns when they busted into the apartment to commit robbery. The resident grabbed a gun himself and shot at both men, hitting Spain but missing Douglas.  Douglas ran away but was later caught by police. Spain died at Kern Medical Center less than an hour after the shooting.  The apartment resident was not arrested.   Police said Douglas faces possible charges of conspiracy, murder, attempted robbery, participation in a criminal street gang, prior felon in possession of a firearm, and a parole violation."

NC:  Home-invasion shooting 'clearly self-defense':  "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said Wednesday that a shooting involving a man who killed a would-be burglar who was kicking down his girlfriend’s apartment door was “clearly a case of self-defense.”   In the east Charlotte case, the shooter was alone in his girlfriend’s home on Rolling Hill Road at the time of the shooting.  Homicide detectives say the shooter had seen a car in the driveway and spotted a person walking to the back of the house. A short time later, he heard someone trying to kick in the rear door.  The man yelled that he was at home, but the intruder continued to kick at the door. At that point, the man inside fired one shot through the back door, police say, striking Anthony Michael Aykroid, 23. Aykroid was pronounced dead at the scene.   Police said Aykroid’s girlfriend, Krystina Michelle Misskelley, 25, told investigators she drove Aykroid to the home, where the couple intended to steal property."


AK: Shooter  found not guilty:  "A Juneau man accused of shooting his brother-in-law’s friend in the face in December was found not guilty Wednesday in Juneau Superior Court.  After 1 1/2 weeks of testimony and arguments, the jury only deliberated for about an hour and a half before clearing Kenneth E. Nalan of the charge.  The 36-year-old construction worker and carpenter was charged with one count of first-degree assault in connection with the Dec. 20 shooting. The victim, John D. Duran, 33, survived, but required facial reconstructive surgery.  Prosecutors argued Nalan recklessly shot Duran, while Nalan’s attorney Eric Hedland claimed it was in self-defense.  Testimony as to what happened that night differed. Nalan took the stand earlier this week to tell his side of the story. He said Duran grabbed Nalan’s .357-caliber revolver from his bedroom closet and came at him. Nalan said there was a brief struggle for the gun when Duran fell forward, the gun came loose and Nalan pulled the trigger. The defense had portrayed Duran as a violent person and an aggressor."


OH: Akron man acquitted of all charges in fatal June shooting:  "Franklin D. Conley, 24, of Treeside Drive in Akron, was acquitted of all charges after a five-day jury trial in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tom Parker’s court.  The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. June 6 at Cole Avenue and Marcy Street in southeast Akron, following an argument about a broken window on Conley’s sport utility vehicle.  After initially leaving the scene, Conley returned with co-defendant Anthony J. Board Jr., 28, to confront the man who broke his window.  Clark came out of a nearby residence, armed with an assault rifle, and began firing the weapon as Conley and Board ran from the scene.  Quinn said his client was not armed that night.  “He was guilty only of running away from a bullet,” Quinn said.  Last month, a jury acquitted Board of murder. His attorney said Board admitted to firing a weapon during the incident, but the jury found he acted in self-defense.  “It is still our belief that Conley is responsible for David Clark’s murder,” Walsh said. “Without his involvement, it is highly unlikely that David Clark would have been killed.”

Trial by lynch mob? Fears George Zimmerman is 'already convicted' in Trayvon Martin's death as his family says America is 'out for blood'

Can George Zimmerman now get a fair trial after the media hate campaign waged against him?

George Zimmerman faces one of the most high-profile legal battles in recent history after being charged with second-degree murder in the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin - and he may have already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

Zimmerman turned himself in to police on Wednesday and is being held at the Seminole County Correctional Facility, in Florida.

He is due to be arraigned on Thursday morning, but it is already being asked how he can receive a fair trial in a case that has gripped the country and provoked national hysteria since the unarmed black teenager was shot dead on February 26.

Fox News host Sean Hannity said on Wednesday night that State Attorney Angela Corey may have acted under intense pressure for an arrest.  Hannity said: ‘This has been my complaint from the very beginning here. We have members of Congress that said he was hunted down - meaning Trayvon Martin - like a rabid dog, you have people that say he was profiled - no evidence suggests that.'

He added: 'People say he was killed because he was black, you have activists, you have a bounty on someone’s head. You’ve got so much surrounding this case'.

It was Hannity who was recently contacted by Zimmerman, against the advice of his legal counsel, who later dropped Zimmerman as a client. The two had an off-the-record chat, though Hannity will not discuss the details.

Zimmerman's brother Robert, appearing on CNN hours after the charges were announced, said he was proud of his brother for 'doing the right thing'.

Robert Zimmerman told Piers Morgan: 'There was no winner in this. Our brother could have been dead. He had to save his life by taking a life, and that’s no situation that anybody wants to be in ever'.

When grilled by Morgan about the police surveillance video that appears to show Zimmerman uninjured despite what he claimed was a brutal beating from Martin, Robert Zimmerman said:

'People want to see blood, and they wanted to see blood'.  'The reality is George nor any other neighbourhood watchperson goes out and becomes a neighbourhood watchperson because they are going to be… surprise attacked, punched so hard in the nose that their nose is broken, sat on their chest using their last available breaths to call and scream for help.

In a message to Trayvon’s parents, Robert Zimmerman said: 'We're confident that the truth will come out, and George has been telling the truth the whole time'.  He added: 'In the name of peace, let the system do its job'.

Like last year’s blockbuster Casey Anthony trial, which was a daily media circus, Florida could be in store for more of the same with the Zimmerman case.

Zimmerman voluntarily turned himself in police on Wednesday - before it was announced that he would be charged with second-degree murder.  He was escorted under tight security to the Seminole County Correctional facility in Sanford on Wednesday night.  Television cameras showed black SUVs pulling into a loading area at the facility, but Zimmerman himself wasn't visible.

Many legal experts had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter, which usually carries 15 years behind bars and covers reckless or negligent killings, rather than second-degree murder, which involves a killing that results from a 'depraved' disregard for human life.

Even some legal experts were stunned by the murder charge.  'I predicted manslaughter, so I'm a little surprised,' said Michael Seigel, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Florida. 'But she has more facts than I do'.

Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Zimmerman will plead not guilty and will invoke Florida's powerful 'stand your ground' law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger.  The lawyer asked that people not jump to conclusions about his client's guilt and said he is 'hoping that the community will calm down' now that charges have been filed.

Source

Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin case

Politically she had no option.  She has just passed the buck to the jurors

GEORGE Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey announced at a news conference today.



Ms Corey [above] announced that Mr Zimmerman surrendered to authorities Wednesday local time and is in custody.

The decision to bring charges comes over 40 days after Mr Zimmerman told police he shot and killed Martin in self defense while acting as a neighborhood watchman in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.

The lengthy interval between the shooting and the charging announcement sparked a series of demonstrations across the nation by civil rights activists who claim race has been a factor in the investigation.

Source

George Zimmerman launches website

George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch captain who killed unarmed 17 year old black, has launched a website to raise money for his legal costs.

The 28-year-old has not been charged with any crime but has hired a number of lawyers to defend his reputation after the killing in February which made him a national hate figure.

The simple website opens with a message from Mr Zimmerman, where describes the night of Martin's death as a "life altering event" and said: "I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life".

He said that money from the site would be used for both his legal costs and his living expenses, which he has struggled to meet since being forced to leave his job as an insurance underwriter.

The site - entitled "The Real George Zimmerman" - is scattered with quotes including the line from British philosopher Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men doing nothing."

The link to a page called "My Race" was broken on Monday but it is thought to address the issue of Mr Zimmerman's own background. In initial reports he was usually said to be white but is now more regularly referred to as a mixed-race hispanic.

A photo album has an image of graffiti slogan on a brick wall reading: "Long live Zimmerman" and there is a link to PayPal account where contributors can make donations.

Mr Zimmerman's lawyers confirmed the authenticity of the website, saying in a statement: "George Zimmerman's family has setup a website for anyone who would like help with George and his family with their living expenses and for his defense".

The website crashed repeatedly under the weight of incoming traffic.

Source




PA: Gunman's accomplice shoots good Samaritan:  "A masked gunman identified as Edward Friedland, 26, of 15th Street near Venango in Tioga, burst into the store about 8:30 p.m., announced a robbery, and got into a gun battle with store owner Antonio Monegro, 35, after Monegro pulled his gun on the assailant.   After Friedland and Monegro exchanged gunfire, wounding each other, Friedland ran out the door, and Del Valle, a bystander, picked up Monegro's weapon and chased Friedland north on Fifth Street.  Police say Nieves then picked up the gun Friedland had discarded and ran after Del Valle, shooting him several times in the back before standing over his fallen body in the middle of Fifth Street and firing one last bullet into his head. Del Valle died at the scene.   Friedland, who turned up at an area hospital with a gunshot wound the night of the robbery, was arrested then and charged with attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and related offenses in the shooting of Monegro.


NC: Robbers Fire Shots, Victims Fire Back:  "According to investigators, a couple was moving into their new house, when the three suspects tried to rob the couple. The homeowner was shot in the hip and is now in good condition. Deputies said the homeowner opened fire at the suspects. Shots were fired from inside a white Chevy Suburban with three children inside, and shots were fired from the suspects' brown getaway car.  Sheriff Elks says the suspects tried to speed away, lost control and crashed their car into a ditch. The suspects then ran into nearby woods, where authorities found them armed and carrying drugs.  Police K-9 units were called in to search the woods for the weapons and other drugs. One gun was found in the woods, another was found at the shooting scene."


SC: No charges to be sought in fatal double shooting:  "Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said Tuesday no charges will be filed in connection with a fatal double shooting at a west-side apartment complex on Saturday.  The fatal shooting occurred at 12:10 a.m. Saturday at Lee’s Crossing Apartments, off Powell Mill Road. Douglas Williams, 29, later told deputies that he shot the two men after catching them trying to break into his apartment.  Michael Deangelo Gentry-Hill Jr., 22, of 102 Richborough Drive, died at the scene of the incident. Darren Tyree “Ty” Hill, 18, of 112 Shelby St., died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center later Saturday morning, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office.  Wright said two shots were fired during the incident, and that Gentry-Hill and Hill had single gunshot wounds to the front part of their heads.  “Douglas Williams is the victim here,” Wright said during a news conference Tuesday. “He has a right to defend himself.”  Williams has a criminal record, according to the State Law Enforcement Division"

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."

Blacks Can Murder Whites, and It Won’t Make National News

 Doug Giles

If you’re a 20-year-old black male, you can beat an 85-year-old white woman to death and pummel her 90-year-old white husband straight into ICU, and it won’t make the national news.

Yep. Tyrone Woodfork, a black male who -- much like Trayvon Martin -- looks like Obama’s son, allegedly killed Nancy Strait and broke her husband Bob’s jaw, several ribs and shot him in the face with a BB gun last month in Tulsa. 20-year-old Tyrone also raped the nearly blind 97-pound Mrs. Strait, a great-great-grandmother, before he murdered her.

Did the above monstrous crime make the national news? Are you kidding me? Why, hell no. Of course not, silly!

Why wasn’t it fit for primetime, you ask? Well, it starred the wrong races in the wrong roles, and it thus did not fit into the fairytale the Left’s trying to foist on us goobers of Obamaland.

For those of you who have not heard diddly squat about a black twentysomething’s senseless, atrocious burglary, rape, battery and murder of an elderly white couple, here are the details regarding the couple, the crime and the culprit(s):

-Bob and Nancy Strait, the victims, grew up in rural Oklahoma during the Great Depression.

-Bob and Nancy met on a blind date in 1946 and married a month later. They had 6 kids, 18 grandkids and about 50 great- and great-great grandchildren.

-The Straits just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

-Bob served in the 101st Airborne Division in WWII.

-Bob loved woodworking, and Nancy loved quilting.

-The couple used to sit on their porch and play the guitar and sing together during the warm summer evenings.

-On either Tuesday evening (3/13) or Wednesday morning (3/14) Tyrone invaded their home and stole $200 in cash as well as the Strait’s TV and Dodge Neon after raping Mrs. Strait and severely beating Mr. Strait.

- As noted, Nancy died from her injuries. Bob is in serious condition and is being treated at a nearby hospital.

-Mrs. Strait’s funeral was on Friday, March 23, 2012.

-The family has set up a fund—The Nancy Strait and Bob Strait Support Trust—to help pay for Nancy’s funeral service and Bob’s medical care.

-The Tulsa cops are looking for five more murderous morons suspected in this sick and twisted tale.

I wonder if President Obama is going to lecture the nation on this despicable act and tell us something similar to what he said regarding Trayvon’s shooting, namely:

“It is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together—federal, state and local—to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened. I think all of us have to do some soul searching to ask ourselves how does something like this happen? And that means that we examine the laws, the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.”

Will Spike Lee and the New Black Panther Party tweet Tyrone’s address and put out a bounty on the remaining pieces of crap who have yet to be arrested for killing Nancy and brutally beating Bob? Spike and his ilk are all about “justice,” correct? Or is it more about “just us”?

For two more (out of many) recent black-on-white crimes that have ranged from unreported to insanely underreported, click here and here.

SOURCE




LA:  Baton Rouge Police are investigating a home invasion that left one of the suspects in critical condition.:  "Around 7:30 pm Saturday night officers responded to a shooting at 5517 Arialo St.  When they arrived on the scene, they found that two suspects attempted to invade the home at that address. During the robbery, one of the victims fought with one of the armed suspects over the gun. The gun discharged during the struggle and hit the second suspect. Both suspects fled the scene to Baker, La. where they called 911.  Detectives along with Baker Police were able to determine that the shooting did not occur in Baker and that they were the suspects from Arialo St invasion.  The suspect that was shot was transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition. The other suspect, identified as 32-year-old Chauncy Carter of Zachary, was booked into EBRSO Prison for Armed Robbery, Attempted First Degree Murder, and Illegal use of a Weapon.

NBC producer fired over Zimmerman 911 call

NBC News has fired a producer for editing a recording of George Zimmerman's call to police the night he shot Trayvon Martin, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The person was not authorised to talk about the situation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The identity of the producer was not disclosed.

An NBC spokeswoman declined to comment.

The producer's dismissal followed an internal investigation that led to NBC apologising for having aired the misleading audio.

NBC's "Today" show first aired the edited version of Zimmerman's call on March 27. The recording viewers heard was trimmed to suggest that Zimmerman volunteered to police, with no prompting, that Martin was black: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."

But the portion of the tape that was deleted had the 911 dispatcher asking Zimmerman if the person who had raised his suspicion was "black, white or Hispanic," to which Zimmerman responded, "He looks black."

Later that night of Feb. 26, the 17-year-old Martin was fatally shot by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Though Martin was unarmed, Zimmerman told police he fired in self-defence after Martin attacked him.

Questions subsequently have arisen over whether Zimmerman was racially profiling the teen, a theory the edited version of the tape seemed to support.

Source





CA: Home invaders flee after exchange of gunfire:  "A Valley Hi resident apparently chased home invaders from his home Friday, exchanging gunfire with the would-be robbers, police reported.  The man was with his girlfriend at home in the 4000 block of Deer Cross Way at about 6:50 p.m. when three suspects forced their way into the home.  The men, described as two African Americans and a Hispanic, were wielding guns.  They demanded money and jewelry, but the victim was able to retrieve a shotgun.  No one was reported injured in the subsequent exchange of gunfire.  The intruders left driving in a silver sedan."


IL: SAF sues over public housing gun ban:  "The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Warren County, Illinois Housing Authority, seeking an injunction against the WCHA’s ban on personally-owned firearms by residents of government-subsidized housing.The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ronald G. Winbigler, a resident of Costello Terrace in Monmouth. Mr. Winbigler is a physically disabled former police officer who wants to have a handgun in his residence for personal protection."

Is Florida's "stand your ground" law the reason Zimmerman has not been arrested?

Zimmerman claims Martin knocked him down and repeatedly smacked his head against the pavement. He says his gun was exposed during the scuffle and he feared Martin would grab it, so he drew the pistol and fired. In these circumstances, a right to "stand your ground" would make no difference, since there would be no feasible way to safely escape.

Under Florida law, the crucial question is whether Zimmerman reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent Martin from killing or seriously injuring him. The same defense would have been available to him under the "duty to retreat" standard that applied in public places prior to 2005—even if Zimmerman threw the first punch.

Another change to the law seems more relevant: To arrest Zimmerman, police need "probable cause" to conclude not simply that he killed someone but also that his use of force was unlawful. Yet probable cause is the same test that applies to all other crimes, and if it has not been met so far the fault probably lies in an incomplete investigation, rather than the requirement that police have a "reasonable belief" a suspect broke the law before they charge him.

Showing probable cause, of course, is not the same as proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—something to keep in mind if, as now seems likely, George Zimmerman's claims are scrutinized by a jury.

Source




Detroit  Woman, 38, fatally shoots teen intruder:  "Police say a 38-year-old woman fatally shot a man who broke into her Detroit home.  Police say the woman on Thursday spotted the man, who was among a group breaking into her home. She got a gun and fired, killing a 19-year-old.  The other men fled and the homeowner was questioned by police. The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office was expected to review details of the shooting to determine whether charges would be filed."


WA:  Retired cop shoots, kills alleged burglar in his  home:  "A retired Puyallup police officer fatally shot a stranger armed with a crowbar who broke into his South Hill home Wednesday.   The homeowner was asleep when a noise woke him about 4:20 p.m. and he discovered several people in his house, in the 14300 block of 134th Avenue East.  “They kicked the door in and got in the house,” Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said. “They probably figured they were burglarizing an empty residence.”  The retired officer told deputies he opened fire because the person with the crowbar came at him. He called 911 to report the incident after the suspects – three men and one woman – fled in a maroon Chevy pickup.  Puyallup police were notified about 4:40 p.m. that a man had checked into the emergency room at Good Samaritan Hospital with a gunshot wound.  Officers quickly responded, believing he was one of the burglary suspects. The man, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m.  “Officers scoured the area around the hospital and located the truck in the parking garage of Good Sam,” police Capt. Dave McDonald said.  A male suspect in the truck and a female suspect who also went to the hospital were arrested."


Gun rights advocates win in Ill. court:  "The Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday to allow a challenge to Cook County, Ill.'s assault weapons ban to proceed.  The ruling reverses decisions by the lower state courts. Chicago is the county's seat. Gun rights advocates had argued the ban "violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms," Justice Mary Jane Theis said in her opinion. They also argued that the ban is too vague.  Under the ordinance ban, anyone "who prior to the enactment lawfully possessed assault weapons or large capacity magazines had 90 days from the effective date to surrender the weapons to the sheriff, to remove the weapons from the county or to modify the weapons to render them inoperable or no longer defined as an assault weapon."  Violations could bring a jail sentence of six months and a fine between $500 and $1,000.

Zimmerman family member calls NAACP ‘racists,’ says ‘there will be blood on your hands’ if George is hurt

In a letter obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller on Monday, a family member of George Zimmerman ripped Seminole County, Fla. NAACP president Turner Clayton for a rush to judgment in the Trayvon Martin case.

“It’s time for you to end the race issue in this matter and call for cooler heads to prevail,” the letter reads. “If something happens to George as a result of the race furor stirred up by this mischaracterization of George there will be blood on your hands as well as the rest of the racists that have rushed to judgment. You need to call off the dogs. Period. Publicly and swiftly.”

George, the letter adds, “has been called a racist and a bigot and there have been very few that have stood up for him.” The letter was addressed to Clayton at the NAACP’s national headquarters in Baltimore.

The family member, whose identity TheDC has confirmed but is withholding out of concern for the Zimmerman family’s safety, said George Zimmerman “has been found guilty” in the court of public opinion “until proven innocent,” adding that the details of what happened on Feb. 26 — the night Zimmerman shot Martin in what he claims was self-defense — “will not be disclosed until the police report is made public.”

“Regardless of this fact, George Zimmerman has been hiding for his life because of the death threats made against him by the black community … all of our family is in hiding and frankly scared by the threats,” the family member wrote in the letter dated March 26, but shared with TheDC on Monday.

The letter also described how Zimmerman was one of “very few” in Sanford, Fla., who spoke out publicly to condemn the “beating of the black homeless man Sherman Ware on December 4, 2010 by the son of a Sanford police officer.”

“Do you know the individual that stepped up when no one else in the black community would?” the family member wrote. “Do you know who spent tireless hours putting flyers on the cars of persons parked in the churches of the black community? Do you know who waited for the churchgoers to get out of church so that he could hand them fliers in an attempt to organize the black community against this horrible miscarriage of justice? Do you know who helped organize the City Hall meeting on January 8th, 2011 at Sanford City Hall??”

“That person was GEORGE ZIMMERMAN. Ironic isn’t it?”

Source




Many people getting tired of the media push on the Martin/Zimmerman case:  "A majority of Republicans say the media have gone overboard with their  coverage of the Trayvon Martin slaying, and 43% of whites in general say enough is enough, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.  The survey found that 56% of Republicans are fed up with the amount of coverage. By contrast, 25% of Democrats (and 33% of Democrats who identify themselves as white) surveyed say there has been too much coverage. The survey also found that 16% of blacks polled say they've had enough."


MI: Shot in air in self defense:  "A Redford Township woman accused of firing a gun in the air in downtown Birmingham claims she was only trying to defend herself.  “I did not punch a girl in the face and then shoot a gun in the air,” she said Thursday. “I had left the bar with some of my friends, and this tall girl in the middle of the street who’s really drunk is dancing and grinding against a parked car. She thought we said something to her and that’s when the whole thing started.”  What started out as a verbal argument quickly escalated into a fist fight between the two women. At that point, the Redford woman said a guy who was with the Southfield woman came over and started choking her.  “She swung on me, so I defended myself and swung back,” she said. “We’re fighting in front of my car and this guy comes over and starts choking me. My feet were off the ground and I kneed him right between the legs to get away.”  At that point she apparently reached inside her car, pulled out the .22-caliber handgun and fired one shot into the air.  “If it had just been a fight with another girl, I could deal with that,” she said. “The only reason I grabbed the gun is because the guy was choking me. All I wanted was for him to get away from me.”


WA: Shotgun chases off intruder:  "The homeowner told Bonney Lake officers he was taking a nap in his home in the 8000 block of 205th Avenue East when he heard the door bell ring just before 9:45 a.m., Green said.  He ignored the bell. The homeowner told officers he then heard what sounded like kicking at his front door, Green said.  The homeowner grabbed a shotgun and went to the front door. He opened the door and confronted the suspect.  The suspect ran to his truck and started to drive off, Green said. The homeowner told officers he fired one shot at the truck.  Officers have yet to find the truck"

More media fraud in the Martin/Zimmerman case

NBC News issued an apology Tuesday for the way it handled the broadcasting of the 911 conversation between George Zimmerman and a police dispatcher in the Trayvon Martin case.

Following reports that NBC aired audio of the call was edited in a way that implied Zimmerman was racist, the network launched an internal  investigation.

NBC's "Today" show ran the edited audio of Zimmerman's phone call to a police dispatcher, seeming to show Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good … he looks black."

A transcript of the complete 911 call shows that Zimmerman said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about."

The 911 officer responded saying, "OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?"

"He looks black," Zimmerman said.

The abridged conversation between Zimmerman and the dispatcher that NBC ran on March 27 has been blasted by media watchdog groups as misleading. Critics have said the edited version was made to suggest that Zimmerman targeted Martin because he was black -- an accusation by many that is still under investigation.

Source





GA: Man may have killed in self-defense during robbery:  "A man who shot and killed another man Wednesday morning in Athens may have been acting in self-defense during a robbery, Athens-Clarke police said.  He told police he shot 23-year-old Travis Sankwon Callaway after Callaway pulled a gun on him outside his home at Pinehurst Apartments off Tallassee Road, according to police.  Police questioned the man after the 3 a.m. shooting and later released him.  Callaway was dead when officers arrived, police said.  Investigators found evidence in the breezeway of 120 Pinehurst Court that appears to support the man’s self-defense claim.  “He was the shooter and the victim of a robbery,” Athens-Clarke police Capt. Clarence Holeman said.  Callaway has an extensive record of felony arrests and convictions."


Va.: Suspect shot in robbery pleads guilty:  "According to court documents, on Jan 3, Blake Richardson arrived to the 7-Eleven at 3908 Atlantic Avenue on his skateboard. Richardson stood outside the store for a time before entering at 1 a.m., drawing his gun and demanding money from the clerk.  The victim retrieved his own weapon and pointed it at the suspect. Fearing his life, the clerk pulled the trigger after he says Richardson made a threatening move. The clerk was not injured and immediately called 911.  Around 1:30 a.m., a man walked into a hospital with a gunshot wound. Investigators determined that he was the same person responsible for the 7-Eleven robbery."


Federal Judge: NC can’t ban guns during emergencies:  "Now, a federal court has agreed, ruling that state law can’t make a blanket ban that keeps the plaintiffs from carrying or buying guns and ammunition during an emergency. 'While the bans imposed ... may be limited in duration, it cannot be overlooked that the statutes strip peaceable, law-abiding citizens of the right to arm themselves in defense of hearth and home, striking at the very core of the Second Amendment,' Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard wrote in his order."

Republican candidates refuse to take aim at US gun laws

AS REPUBLICAN presidential candidates campaigned around Wisconsin yesterday morning, a Korean man shot dead seven fellow university classmates at a religious Californian college.

But Rick Santorum, the conservative alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney in the Republican primaries, said it was not cause to reconsider US gun laws.  "This is not a firearms issue, it is a human issue," he told CNN's Piers Morgan.

He said the right to bear arms was a crucial right for Americans, and one that could allow people to protect themselves should they find themselves caught in a mass shooting.

Last night, neither the candidates nor the President, Barack Obama, had made an official statement on the shooting.

Earlier in the day Mr Santorum boasted to supporters at a bowling alley in the town of Menasha that he enjoyed an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association. (The powerful gun lobby group ranks all politicians.)

He criticised Mr Romney for once supporting some gun control regulation in Massachusetts, where he was governor.

Mr Santorum has made his support of the liberal gun laws a key part of his campaign. Last week, at a gun club in Louisiana, Mr Santorum took time to fire a few rounds from a 1911 colt when a supporter yelled out "pretend it's Obama", prompting a brief Secret Service investigation.

For his part, yesterday Mr Romney maintained his tactic of attacking Mr Obama rather than Mr Santorum, casting himself as the presumptive candidate.

The availability of handguns did not attract political attention even as the controversy over the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin by a self-proclaimed neighbourhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, threatened to overwhelm the campaign last month. Instead, most pundits focused on the so-called "stand your ground" law Mr Zimmerman is expected to rely on should he be charged over the shooting.

Source





AL:  Robbery victim turns tables on suspect:  "Mobile police say a robbery suspect got an unexpected surprise when his intended victim started shooting at him.  It happened around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday on Chinquapin Street in Mobile. When it was all over, the suspect was the one who ended up in the hospital. Police said an armed suspect approached the intended victim and demanded his property. The robbery suspect may have thought the victim was reaching for his wallet when, in fact, he was going after his own gun.   The suspect fled and then fired back. The intended victim wasn't hit, but a bullet did flatten one of the tires on his car.  Police said they were called to Mobile Infirmary a short time later when a man showed up with a gunshot wound to the leg. Police said he'll remain under police guard until he's released from the hospital. Then he'll be charged with robbery."


IL: Slaying may have been self-defense:  "Williams opened fire on Larry Watts, 23, and Casnova P. Hobbs, 28, as they sat in a vehicle about 11 p.m. Saturday in the 1900 block of West Garden Street. In self-defense, one of the two men returned fire, striking Williams multiple times, once in the head, Brady said. 'That's a fair way to summarize it,' Brady said. 'You have the man who was killed opening fire on the two occupants of the vehicle, and one of those men shot back and killed (Williams).'"


MA: Judge rules immigrant gun law unconstitutional:  "A federal judge has ruled that a state law barring legal immigrants from possessing handguns and large-capacity weapons is unconstitutional .... 'This case presents the question of whether lawful permanent resident aliens are among 'the people' for whom the Second Amendment the United States Constitution provides a right to bear arms,' U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock wrote in his decision. 'I conclude they are.' Under state law, legal immigrants can possess rifles and shotguns but not handguns or large-capacity weapons"

Media distortion bears fruit as Harvard academic laps it up without checking

The following paragraph was written by Nancy Gertner, a retired US District Court judge, and a professor at Harvard Law School: 

"Nothing prevents the Sanford police from critically evaluating Zimmerman’s account, as police do in so many situations, and concluding that it was contradicted by the girlfriend’s account, by 911 tapes of other bystanders shortly before the killing, that it makes no sense for Martin to start a fight since Zimmerman obviously had a gun in a holster, was substantially larger than Martin, since the encounter took place close to where Martin was staying and he was moments away from safety."


She's accepted uncritically the relevance of all those pretty media pictures showing Martin when he was about 12 years old.  She really thinks that Zimmerman was the tall one  -- when in fact Martin was 6" taller than Zimmerman.  If that's what passes for proper judicial scrutiny at Harvard,  we are all in big trouble.




Detroit teenager Shot and Killed:  "Very little media interest so far in the case of an 18-year old shot and killed by a man who claims to have acted in self-defense.  It happened a few days ago in Detroit.  At about 1:30 am, Willie White claims that an intruder broke into his home and that, fearing for his life, he  had to shoot.  Prosecutors have concluded that White acted in self-defense so there will be no criminal case.  It is too soon to tell whether White will be sued civilly for wrongful death.  Relatives of the teen might hire a lawyer to argue that White had a “duty to retreat” and that he should have tried to hide in a bedroom closet instead of using deadly force.  If that happens, White will need hire a lawyer to fight the lawsuit."

The "gun free zone" fantasy unravels yet again:  "A GUNMAN opened fire at a Christian university in California today, killing at least seven people and wounding three more, authorities said.  The shooting erupted at 10.30am at Oikos University in Oakland.  Police confirmed a suspect has been taken into custody after being found in a shopping centre carpark nearby.  Witnesses report the shooter, identified by many as One Goh, walked into a Safeway after the rampage saying he had shot several people.  Witness Angie Johnson told the San Francisco Chronicle that she saw a young woman leave the building with blood coming from her arm and crying: "I've been shot. I've been shot."   The injured woman said the shooter was a man in her nursing class who got up and shot one person at point-blank range in the chest before spraying the room with bullets, Ms Johnson said."

The Double standard faced by George Zimmerman



Shawn Tyson (above) was sentenced this week for murdering two white British tourists in Florida. No rallies against violence and no charges of racism. Tyson even referred to his victims as "crackers" so it was a clear hate crime.

Terry Moore, 32, was beaten this week by a mob of black males. Again, no rallies against racism; no public outpouring of support for the victim. Such black-on-White violence is the norm and only rarely makes it to anything but local headlines.




Blacks are indeed under attack  -- by other blacks

Larry Elder

"Blacks are under attack," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, irresponsibly turning the Florida shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, at the hands of Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman into a barometer of black-white "race-relations."

President Barack Obama, three years past his inauguration as American's first black president, weighed in, too. As when he accused the Cambridge police of "acting stupidly," Obama injected race, but this time a little less directly: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

The implication, of course, is that race undoubtedly played a role in the death of Trayvon Martin. A special prosecutor as well as a Florida grand jury will examine the case, re-interview all the witnesses and go over all the evidence. Zimmerman may well be charged with murder, and a racially motivated one at that. Or the prosecutor may find the evidence insufficient to convince a jury that Zimmerman did not act in self-defense.

No matter whether Zimmerman is charged or convicted, a tragedy occurred. But is Jesse Jackson right, that the death of Trayvon Martin suggests "blacks are under attack," presumably by racist non-blacks?

True, black men, especially young ones, stand a much greater chance of being murdered than white males. But almost all murders involve a victim and a killer of the same race. Yes, instances of black-white murder -- as, for example, when James Byrd, a black man of Jasper, Texas, was dragged to his death by three white men -- do exist. But nationally, according to the Department of Justice, 53 percent of known homicide suspects in 2010 were identified as black -- although blacks comprise only 13 percent of the population. And in murders involving a single black victim and a single offender, 90 percent of the time it is a black perpetrator who murders the black victim. Similarly, 83 percent of whites are murdered by other whites.

What happened in Sanford, Fla. -- a white person killing a black person -- is extremely infrequent, occurring in 8 percent of black homicides. In saying "blacks are under attack," Jackson paints a picture of whites targeting and hunting down black males.

Look at the 2010 stats for New York City. While blacks comprise about 25 percent of the city's population, blacks accounted for two-thirds of murder victims. For black homicide suspects arrested, 85 percent of their victims were also black.

The leading causes of death for all young men ages 15 to 29, according to a 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation study, regardless of race or ethnicity, are unintentional injury (e.g., car accident, firearm or drowning), suicide and homicide. Not for young black men. The No. 1 cause of death in this demographic is murder. The homicide death rate for young (ages 15 to 24) African American men (85 per 100,000 persons) is three times the rate for young Hispanic men (30 per 100,000 population), the population group with the next highest homicide mortality rate. The rates for young Asian and young white males are 9.8 and 5 per 100,000, respectively.

In one recent Chicago weekend, 49 people were shot, 10 fatally, including a 6-year-old black girl. Did President Obama issue a statement? Black-on-black crime, like black-on-white crime, does not fit the liberal media's narrative of the continuing problem of white racism.

How selective is the outrage about interracial crime -- when the bad guy is black?

Ken Tillery, in 2002, walked down a Jasper, Texas, road. Three men offered him a ride. But the men kidnapped Tillery, driving him to a remote location. John Perazzo of FrontPageMagazine.com describes what happened: "When the terrified Tillery jumped out of the vehicle and tried to flee, the kidnappers caught up with him, beat him and finally ran over him -- dragging him to his death beneath their car's undercarriage."

Same town, a few years after the James Byrd murder, a black-white murder in the same fashion -- by dragging a man to his death -- but no story! Why? Well, Tillery was white, and the three suspects were all black. The irony alone would, one would think, guarantee lots of coverage. But how much coverage did the case get? An online search of 557 newspapers found that 22 covered the story.

In a scene from "Menace II Society," a movie about the struggles of inner-city black youth, a tough black high school teacher advises two black male students: "Being a black man in American isn't easy. The hunt is on -- and you're the prey." We hear a police siren in the background as the teacher gives his admonition -- just in case the identity of the hunter is unclear. But reality tells a very different story, one that even Jesse Jackson once acknowledged.

In 1994, in an unguarded moment while discussing urban crime, Jackson told an interviewer he's relieved when the footsteps on the street behind him belong to white -- rather than black -- feet.

Source




I love my guns:  "But, you might ask, just what is it that we (who still profess it anyway) actually love about guns? Aren't they killing machines, good only for harming others? We hear that a lot. So, why do I love my guns? Let me count the ways. To start with, about 30 years ago I was attacked and would likely have died if I had not been armed."

Trayvon Martin: Latino Silence over Zimmerman Draws Fire

Note:  In the picture accompanying the story below Martin is still shown as he was when about 12 years old  -- not as the 6'3" brute that Zimmerman encountered.  The media have a lot to answer for in this story

The shooting death of unarmed African-American teenager Trayvon Martin by a Latino man in Florida has provoked a national discussion about racism, ethnicity, and racial profiling in America—with the media referring to the shooter, George Zimmerman, as a "white Latino," a term that has been greeted with derision by some.

Now critics are questioning why prominent Latino rights groups have remained on the sidelines of the discussion of race and the case.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh tore into the National Council of La Raza on Tuesday, criticizing the group’s president, Janet Murguia, for omitting Zimmerman’s ethnicity from her commentary on the incident.

A caller had prompted the conversation wondering why the community hasn’t stood behind Zimmerman “seeing as how he is the victim, how he was assaulted.”

But advocates within the Latino community say these remarks are divisive and take away from the real issue.

“That has come out as part of the backlash, pitting people against one another,” said Lisa Navarette, a spokeswoman for La Raza. “We want a full and thorough investigation. If findings are consistent with what is being reported in the media then everybody who has played a role, regardless of race, should be held accountable.”

Leaders in the Latino community also say that as divisive as the remarks may be, they raise a issues about the way this country thinks about ethnic groups.

“We have paradigms in this country: Initially it was just black and white,” said Navarette. “This is complicated because the media tried to put it into that paradigm but it didn’t fit.”

Tweets indicate that a number of people are paying attention to his race --and questioning what a “White Latino” is. These discussions, while valid, show how little mainstream America knows about Latinos and minorities, experts say.

“This is much more complex than simply saying this guy is Hispanic and we (Hispanics) have to defend Hispanics,” said Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy. “There is a whole question going on like, ‘Are Hispanics capable of being racist?' ‘Why are they calling him a white Hispanic?’... That shows a lack of understanding about the Latino community.”

Source





MS: Suspected teen robber shot:  "A robber was shot earlier Saturday evening when he held up a barber at gunpoint in Jackson.  Jackson Police were on the scene around 5:30 at Elegante Coiffures Beauty and Barber Salon on Medgar Evers near the intersection of Rutledge Avenue.  Witnesses told WLBT  that a barber stepped outside to go to his vehicle when he was suddenly approached by a person with a gun.  Police say the 17-year old took money from the barber and attempted to take his vehicle.  Another barber in the business saw the two struggling. That co-worker then retrieved a weapon and opened fire striking the suspected robber in the face. He then ran across the street and hid in the woods.  Police later took him into custody on Hollywood Street.  The 17-year-old is being charged with armed robbery of an individual.  No word on his identity or his condition. No one else was injured."


WA: A homeowner shot and killed a man who broke into the bedroom where the homeowner and his girlfriend were hiding:  "The incident started just after 11:30 p.m. Friday night in the 300 block of SE 5th St in North Bend. A couple had been sleeping when they woke up to the sound of glass breaking.  The suspect had broken the rear sliding glass door, entered the house, and then started "trashing the house." The couple, a 46-year-old man and his girlfriend,  hid in a bedroom as they  talked to  the 911 operator.  The couple told police that they could hear the suspect ransack the house.  The suspect was yelling, "Where are you?  I'm going to kill you!"  The man living at the home retrieved a handgun from his nightstand and yelled numerous times, "I have a pistol. Get out of my house!"  West said within a short time the suspect kicked the door down and at that point the homeowner fired several shots, killing the suspect.  "What's interesting in this case is that the homeowner showed incredible restraint," said Sergeant Cindi West."