Trayvon Martin Shooting - George Zimmerman

[American Patriot]

Trayvon Martin’s parents plead with Gov. Scott’s task force to change ‘Stand Your Ground’

by Dara Kam | June 12th, 2012 Benjamin Crump, Sybrina Fulton, Jahvaris Fulton and Tracy Martin



LONGWOOD _ Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of the unarmed black teenager shot to death by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February, made an impassioned plea to change the state’s Stand Your Ground law that they say encourages vigilantism.

Zimmerman claimed he shot their son Trayvon Martin in self-defense, permissible under the state’s Stand Your Ground law that allows people to use deadly force when they feel threatened.


“I believe my son was standing his ground…He was afraid,” Fulton told reporters outside the mega-church where the public is now addressing the task force for the first time since Scott created it after a national outcry over a delay in the arrest of Zimmerman. Authorities arrested Zimmerman two months after the Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford. “They do need to review these laws. “He was afraid…This is personal. They do need to review these laws.”


The couple also delivered 375,000 online petitions collected by Second Chance on Shoot First, a national campaign co-founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.


“This is definitely personal to us. Our son has been sacrificed,” Tracy Martin said. “It’s a bad law. These laws are set up basically for the shooter to take an innocent life.”


Tracy Martin also disputed Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, saying he ignored 911 operators instructions to remain in his vehicle and not to pursue Martin.
“He was defending himself against what?” Martin said.


The law gives the message that “it’s OK to be a vigilante in our society today,” Martin said. “The public is not going to stand around for it and we certainly aren’t going to stand around for it.”

[American Patriot]

After Trayvon Martin shooting, Fla. gov.’s task force begins reviewing ‘stand your ground’ law

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 7:15 AM

LONGWOOD, Fla. — A Florida task force will hold its first public meeting just miles from where 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed to examine a state self-defense law being used by the man who shot him.


Gov. Rick Scott’s task force on Citizen Safety and Protection is scheduled to hold the first of several meetings on the “stand your ground” law at a church Tuesday. The review was prompted by Martin’s shooting, which came after an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

A previous task force organized by Democratic state Sen. Chris Smith also has looked at the law.


George Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and is in jail awaiting trial. He claims he shot the unarmed Martin in self-defense.

[American Patriot]

Geez....

Zimmerman 'does not properly respect the law,' judge says in order revoking bond


By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

11:25 a.m. EST, June 12, 2012


The judge who revoked George Zimmerman's bond did so after he determined that it was "apparent" that Zimmerman's wife had lied under oath, and clear that Zimmerman "does not properly respect the law."


Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester revoked Zimmerman's bond on June 1, but his written order was filed Monday. In it, Lester lays out his rationale.





The judge sent Zimmerman — the man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin — back to jail after prosecutors alleged that Zimmerman and his wife conspired to hide from the court about $135,000 Zimmerman had collected in donations to his website.


The Zimmermans spoke about the money "in code" during recorded jailhouse phone calls, prosecutors said. Then, Shellie Zimmerman told the judge during her husband's bond hearing that the couple was essentially destitute.


"It is apparent that [Shellie] Zimmerman testified untruthfully at the bond hearing," the judge writes in his order. "The Defendant also testified, but did not alert the Court to the misinformation."


"Had the Court been made aware of the true financial circumstances at the bond hearing, the bond decision might have been different," Lester wrote. After finding out about the discrepancy, the judge said he was left with two options: Increasing Zimmerman's bond, or revoking it.


The judge writes that his considered several factors, most of which weighed against Zimmerman.


Among them, "this is a serious charge for which life may be imposed; the evidence against him is strong; he has been charged with one prior crime, for which he went through a pre-trial diversion program, and has had an injunction lodged against him" for domestic violence.


"Most importantly, though, is the fact that he has now demonstrated that he does not properly respect the law or the integrity of the judicial process," Lester wrote.


The only factors that "heavily weigh in his favor," Lester wrote, are "that he turned himself in upon the issuance of the original warrant and has kept authorities abreast of his current location."


Zimmerman turned himself in again promptly after Lester revoked his bond. He remains in the Seminole County jail. A second bond hearing is set for June 29 in Sanford.

[American Patriot]

This from Az....

Arizona’s Trayvon Martin? Another ‘Stand Your Ground’ Killing

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New America Media, News Report, Valeria Fernández, Posted: Jun 12, 2012

LAVEEN, Ariz. -- A picture of Daniel Adkins, Jr. stares back at his father from the living room of the family’s small home. The letters RIP and “You will always be in our heart” are written on the photograph in white letters.

“It’s as if he’s asking me, ‘What are you going to do about it?’” said the senior Daniel Adkins.

It’s a question the father has been asking himself for more than two months, ever since his son was shot and killed shortly after leaving the house to take his dog, Lady, for a walk. Neither police nor the family have any doubt about who pulled the trigger – Cornell Jude, 22, has admitted to shooting Adkins, Jr. outside of a Taco Bell on April 3. Yet, Jude remains free – he told police he acted in self-defense -- while the Adkins family has been left stunned and holding out hope that justice will be served.

New America Media made several requests for an interview with Jude, to which he did not reply.

The case calls to mind another fatal shooting of an unarmed victim -- Trayvon Martin was killed on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman – under a similar “Stand Your Ground” law. Yet the story has hardly registered in national media, a far cry from the news frenzy and national protests that followed the Martin killing.

Like Jude, police did not immediately arrest Zimmerman for killing Martin, under the pretense that he had acted in self-defense – a legal justification valid in the state of Florida that is commonly referred to as a “Stand Your Ground” law. Only after the killing prompted protests across the country by people angry at what they perceived as a racist act and equally racist legal outcome – Martin was a young black man – was Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder.

Like Florida, Arizona has a law on the books stating that an individual does not have to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense.

The fatal encounter between Jude and Adkins, a 29-year-old man described by his mother as having the mind of a 13-year-old, lasted only a few seconds.

According to the police report, Jude was in his car with his girlfriend placing an order at Taco Bell, and was told to drive to the front window to pick up the order. As he pulled away from the drive-through, he nearly ran over Adkins – Jude said he had to step on the brakes – as he was walking his dog.

Adkins cursed loudly at Jude and approached the passenger window of his car. Jude and his girlfriend said they then saw Adkins swinging something that resembled a bat. At that point, said Jude, he shot Adkins with a pistol that he had on his lap, then called 911.

Jude told the police he was not aware that the shot to Adkins was fatal. Responding to the 911 call, police discovered Adkins lying on the asphalt, his right hand still clutching his dog’s leash.

Jude told police that he fired at Adkins because he “feared for his life, as well as for the lives of his girlfriend and their unborn baby.” Jude also told police that, “he was unable to drive away because the dog was in the way, and that he had not thought of any other options.”

But Jude also told police he didn’t believe that Adkins would have killed both of them if he had not been shot. Neither did police find evidence of a bat or any other object on the scene. When they questioned Jude and his girlfriend about it, they said Adkins might have been waving his arms, or that it they could have mistaken the dog leash for a bat.

Detectives assigned to the case recommended a charge of second-degree murder to the Maricopa County Attorney Office (MCAO) just a few days after the shooting. But no formal charges have been filed, and the Adkins family has been left to wonder why it’s taken so long for officials to take action.

“The case is under review. We’re not commenting publicly on it,” said Jerry Cobb, a spokesperson for MCAO, who confirmed that a special committee created by county attorney Bill Montgomery was examining the case to determine whether or not self-defense was involved.

Cobb also said the county has requested additional evidence from the Phoenix Police Department, and “that’s part of the reason this case will take longer to review.” Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson confirmed the department is looking for the information requested by MCAO.

“We totally understand that for a victim of a crime or family member, waiting even an hour can seem too long,” he said. “We want to make sure we pursue these cases as best as possible.”

John Hurtado, a certified law student – he can practice law with the supervision of another attorney – who works at the law offices of Brian P. Moquin in California, has taken an interest in the Adkins case. After reviewing the available evidence and observing the actions taken by Maricopa County authorities, Hurtado felt compelled to take action.

He wrote a letter to county officials, asking that Jude be charged with second-degree murder for unlawful use of deadly force. Hurtado wrote in his letter that Jude provoked the incident by almost running over Adkins. Hurtado also argued that Jude was in violation of the law because Adkins could not see he was carrying a gun, and could therefore not reach the reasonable conclusion that he should leave the scene.

“They’re giving [Jude] immunity right now,” said Hurtado.

According to Arizona law, “a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.”

But, said Hurtado, there is a limit to this type of legal protection. “If it’s determined that he provoked [Adkins], he might not have the right to (claim) self-defense,” he said.

Antonio Bustamante, a criminal defense attorney in Phoenix, said cases like this are complex and outcomes can hinge on how the jury feels about guns and the use of deadly force. Often, said Bustamante, the same facts can yield completely different verdicts.

The Adkins family is hoping for a jury trial, but that will depend on whether or not charges are ever filed.

In the meantime, Adkins’ mother Antonia, a 63-year-old Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, goes back and forth between tears and indignation. In the space between her kitchen and dining room lies a model train that Daniel had been building. At a young age, she said, her son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and a number of other mental health problems.

Her dog, a Labrador named Lady, still roams the house. She said neighbors have been coming over ever since they found out about the shooting and “are surprised, because Daniel never had a problem with anyone.”

“He didn’t have a right to take my son’s life. Why didn’t he drive away?” she said. “I’m a Christian, I don’t want him to die, but I want justice.”

Daniel’s father doesn’t think race played a role in the shooting. Jude is African-American and Adkins is Hispanic. Still, he doesn’t understand why his son’s case didn’t raise the uproar that Martin’s did in Florida.

Hurtado said it’s a combination of politics and timing. He believes prosecutors are afraid of instigating a backlash from the African-American community that was already up in arms about the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Cobb denied any political motivations being behind the handling of the case.

“They don’t want what happened in Sanford to happen in Phoenix,” said Hurtado.

[American Patriot]

This from Texas:

Texas trial evokes Trayvon Martin case over stand-your-ground law

Published: Saturday, June 09, 2012, 11:54 PM Updated: Sunday, June 10, 2012, 12:01 AM

By Associated Press
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Houston ChronicleRaul Rodriguez is shown in a photo released by the Harris County Sheriff's Office.


HOUSTON -- When music at a neighbor's evening party got too loud for his liking, Raul Rodriguez showed up to complain, carrying a gun and a video camera.



As a verbal confrontation unfolded, the retired Houston-area firefighter told a police dispatcher by phone that he feared for his life and was "standing his ground," a reference that calls to mind the law at the center of the Trayvon Martin slaying in Florida in February.



The incident involving Rodriguez happened two years before Trayvon's death and will be decided under a different kind of self-defense doctrine. But it offers another example of how laws governing deadly force are tested in the nation's courtrooms and the many complex legal issues that swirl around each case.



Prosecutors call Rodriguez an aggressor who could have safely left his neighbor's driveway anytime. His attorneys say Texas law still gave him the right to defend himself, even if it meant taking a life.



In a 22-minute video that he recorded that night, Rodriguez can be heard talking to a police dispatcher after walking over to the home of Kelly Danaher to complain about the noise. Both men lived in Huffman, an unincorporated area about 30 miles northeast of Houston.



Rodriguez told the dispatcher he feared for his life. He also can be heard telling Danaher and two other men to keep the noise down. One of the men, who had apparently seen Rodriguez's gun, cursed at Rodriguez and suggested that he was going to go inside Danaher's home and retrieve his own weapon.



"Look, I will defend myself, sir. . . . It's about to get out of hand, sir. Please help me. Please help me, sir. My life is in danger now," Rodriguez can be heard saying on the recording, which was played for jurors this week. The images are mostly dark or in shadow.



"I'm standing my ground here. Now these people are going to go try and kill me."
Rodriguez, 47, eventually tells the dispatcher, "Look I'm not losing to these people anymore." A loud cackling laugh is then heard before someone appears to reach for the camera and a gun goes off. That's when the video abruptly ends.



Danaher, 36, who taught physical education at an elementary school, was killed. The two other men were wounded.



One of the wounded men, a Houston firefighter named Ricky Johnson, told jurors Friday that he and his friends were not at fault, saying Rodriguez "started the process by coming with a gun."



Prosecutor Kelli Johnson has portrayed Rodriguez, who fought fires in the Houston suburb of Baytown, as the one who was looking for a fight.



Kenneth Ellis, who lived across the street from Rodriguez, testified Friday that on the night of the shooting, he saw that Rodriguez was "agitated and angry." As he left his home, he was saying, "Shut up. Shut up."



Johnson attempted to introduce evidence showing that Rodriguez had a history of threatening neighbors by brandishing his gun. But state District Judge David Mendoza did not allow the evidence.



One of Rodriguez's attorneys, William Stradley, tried to demonstrate that his client was in fear for his life when one of the men lunged at him, and he had less than a second to respond.



The defense sought to put the burden on the three other men, saying they caused the confrontation to escalate.



"Do you take any responsibility for what happened?" Stradley asked Johnson.
"Of course I do," replied Johnson, who on the video can be seen being restrained by the two other men before the shooting.



Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law, known as the Castle Doctrine, was revised in 2007 to expand the right to use deadly force. The new version allows people to defend themselves not only in their homes but also in workplaces or vehicles. It also says a person using force cannot provoke the attacker or be involved in criminal activity at the time.



While Rodriguez was not in his own home, vehicle or business when the shooting happened, Houston criminal defense attorney Grant Scheiner said he believes the law still applies because the 2007 revision gave people wider latitude on when they can use deadly force. Rodriguez had a concealed-handgun permit.



"We are not questioning his wisdom," Scheiner said. "We are questioning whether he followed the restriction of the law."

[American Patriot]

/chuckles

[American Patriot]

Floridians Divided Over State's Stand Your Ground Laws

By GARY FINEOUT 06/11/12 05:59 PM ET













TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Nearly 6,600 emails gathered by a task force looking into Florida's self-defense laws have been filled with passionate responses to the Trayvon Martin shooting as well as caustic criticisms of the Republican-controlled state government and of those who called for the arrest of George Zimmerman.


Gov. Rick Scott set up the task force, which will hold its first public hearing Tuesday in central Florida close to where neighborhood watch volunteer Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed teenager in February. The 28-year-old has been both vilified and defended by people across the nation for his actions.


Zimmerman said after the shooting and since that he acted in self-defense and police in Sanford did not arrest him. But after weeks of protests, he was charged with second-degree murder and is back in jail because a judge revoked his bond. The shooting set off an intense national debate about self-defense laws, race and other matters, which were reflected in many of the emails sent by people from California to New York and the nation's heartland.


Florida passed the "stand your ground law" seven years ago. It allows use of deadly force to prevent "imminent death or great bodily harm," and it removed a person's duty to retreat in the face of such peril that was required in a previous self-defense law. The change was strongly backed by the National Rifle Association.


Many of the emails call on Florida to either keep the law as it is – or to repeal the "stand your ground" part. Those who oppose to the law called Florida a dangerous place to visit.


"Please repeal this terrible law that allows murderers to walk free," wrote Austin Doyle who lives in the Panhandle. "Christians shouldn't be carrying guns everywhere they go."


Micheal Rodney from Venice, Fla., blasted Scott for creating the task force and said it was premature to even look at the state's self-defense laws.


"We are a nation of laws, and the full extent of the law has not been applied in this case, and we do not know what laws, if any, have been broken," Rodney wrote in late April. "...For Governor Scott to have acted in the way he has been portrayed, without any rebuttal on his part, means that I have wasted my previous vote for his election."


W.M. Smith from Monroe County meanwhile urged the task force to "correct insane gun laws."



"My ancestors pioneered central Florida in 1830. They used guns to secure food, not for machismo. Thanks to the gun lobby, the opposite is true today," Smith wrote. "I currently feel far safer in Central America than in my native state."


Some of the emails complained about the racial overtones of Martin's killing that they said had been pushed by the national media. The case has become a racial flashpoint because the Martin family and supporters contend Zimmerman singled out the 17-year-old because he was black.


Roy Callahan of Gainesville sent to the task force a copy of a letter he sent to State Sen. Chris Smith. He sharply criticized the Fort Lauderdale Democrat for complaining that the current law is confusing.


"The only thing `controversial' and `confusing' is a Democrat and `African American' politician using the term `controversial', and `confusing' to promote an agenda," wrote Callahan. "If the liberal media, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and others of their ilk respected the rule of law the `confusion on the part of the public, law enforcement, and judicial system' you refer to would not have occurred."


John Smith, who lives in the central Florida retirement community of The Villages, argued that Zimmerman's case was not covered by the "stand your ground" law since he had been following Martin the night of the shooting in the gated community outside Orlando.


"Please leave the law as it is, or at most, better define what `stand your ground' means," wrote Smith. "I don't think it means you can be following someone on the move, and then when confronted, can use deadly force unless you are prevented from retreating."

[Malsua]

A loud cackling laugh is then heard before someone appears to reach for the camera and a gun goes off.

Determine who was cackling and you have your answer. Dead guy...good shoot.

[American Patriot]

George Zimmerman’s wife charged with perjury over finances



-/AFP/GETTY IMAGES - This booking photo provided by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office on June 12, 2012 shows Shellie Zimmerman, the wife of the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second degree murder for shooting dead an unarmed black teenager. Zimmerman was arrested herself on June 12 for giving false testimony about her husband's finances.


By Associated Press, Wednesday, June 13, 8:55 AM

ORLANDO, Fla. — The wife of the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed Trayvon Martin has been accused of lying to a judge about the couple’s finances as they sought his release on bond, leading to a felony charge against her.


On Tuesday, 25-year-old Shellie Zimmerman was charged with perjury, a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. She was released on bond herself.

Gallery

Trayvon Martin's killing by George Zimmerman: A timeline of the case: The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in a gated Florida community by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Feb. 26 has sparked protests around the country.





Earlier this month, the judge said in a sharply worded ruling that George Zimmerman and his wife had lied about how much money they had at a hearing that resulted in his release on $150,000 bond. He’s now back in jail after the judge revoked the bond.


George Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the teen’s slaying. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester ordered Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County Jail and revoked his bond June 1. He had been free since late April.


George Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara has said the couple was confused and fearful when they misled court officials about how much money they had. A call and email to him Tuesday weren’t immediately returned.


Records show that in the days before the bond hearing, Shellie Zimmerman transferred $74,000 in eight smaller amounts ranging from $7,500 to $9,990, from her husband’s credit union account to hers, according to an arrest affidavit. It also shows that $47,000 was transferred from George Zimmerman’s account to his sister’s in the days before the bond hearing.


Four days after he was released on bond, Shellie Zimmerman transferred more than $85,500 from her account into her husband’s account, the affidavit said. The affidavit also said jail call records show that George Zimmerman instructed her to “pay off all the bills,” including an American Express and Sam’s Club card.


A state attorney investigator met with credit union officials and learned she had control of transfers to and from her husband’s account.


Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said cash transactions in excess of $10,000 usually trigger a reporting requirement by the bank to multiple government agencies — including the IRS.


“If Mrs. Zimmerman intentionally structured the financial transactions in a manner to keep the offense under $10,000, not only may she have committed perjury in the state case, but she also may have run afoul of several federal statutes and could face serious federal criminal charges,” Neiman wrote in an email to The Associated Press.


George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, has maintained since the Feb. 26 killing that he shot Martin in self-defense because the unarmed 17-year-old was beating him up after confronting Zimmerman about following him in a gated community outside Orlando.
Zimmerman was arrested 44 days later and at the bond hearing, he took the stand and apologized to Martin’s parents.


At the hearing, Shellie Zimmerman testified that the couple, who married in 2007, had limited funds for bail because she was a full-time student and her husband wasn’t working. Prosecutors say they actually had then already raised $135,000 in donations from a website George Zimmerman created. They suggested more had been raised since then.


Shellie Zimmerman was asked about the website at the hearing, but she said she didn’t know how much money had been raised. Lester set the $150,000 bail and Zimmerman was freed a few days later after posting $15,000 in cash — which is typical.


In bringing a motion to have Zimmerman’s bond revoked lead prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda complained “This court was led to believe they didn’t have a single penny. It was misleading and I don’t know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie.”


The judge agreed and ordered Zimmerman returned to jail where he has been since turning himself in on June 3. He didn’t perjure himself, but Lester said he knew his wife was lying.


“Does your client get to sit there like a potted plant and lead the court down the primrose path? That’s the issue,” Lester said in revoking Zimmerman’s bond. “He can’t sit back and obtain the benefit of a lower bond based upon those material falsehoods.”


He has another bond hearing set for June 29.


De la Rionda presented to the judge during the revocation hearing a partial transcript of telephone conversations Zimmerman had with his wife from jail, days before the original bond hearing.


Zimmerman and his wife discussed the amount of money raised from the website and Zimmerman spoke in code to tell his wife how to make fund transfers, according to the transcript. The code referred to amounts of “$15” in place of “$150,000.”


In the arrest affidavit, they also spoke about small amounts when really, prosecutors said, they were referring in code to thousands of dollars that Shellie Zimmerman withdrew from her account to pay the bail bondsman.

[Malsua]

Great video at link. He was absolutely 100% in the right to shoot and kill Tray tray gripper sipper.

-----------
http://www.breitbart.com/breitbart-tv

George Zimmerman's Reenactment of Trayvon Martin Shooting



Email
"I didn't want him to keep slamming my head on the concrete so I kind of shifted. But when I shifted my jacket came up…and it exposed my firearm. That's when he said you are going to die tonight. He took one hand off my mouth, and slid it down my chest. I took my gun aimed it at him and fired." 2

[American Patriot]

When someone goes for your weapon, I'm sorry, but that becomes a life and death struggle.

[vector7]

New Black Panther Declares: We Will Hunt ‘Pink A**es’ Down, ‘Kill ’Em, Dig ‘Em Up & Kill ‘Em Again & Again & Again!’

• Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:00pm by Benny Johnson
• Comments (779)

The Blaze’s Erica Ritz contributed to this report.



“That’s our brother, brother General Taco!” the New Black Panther radio host announced.

General T.A.C.O. (Taking All Capitalists Out) of the New Black Panther Party had some less than encouraging words for white people this week. Mr. Taco, speaking on NBPP Radio on Sunday, decided to let white America know that the NBPP will “hunt” their “pink asses down.” Hunting white people down will serve to accomplish General Taco’s other stated goal of “destroying white supremacy and capitalism.”

Gen. Taco also justifies his killing of white people because of their “history” of pushing “crack, AIDS and unemployment“ on black men and women in order to ”exterminate” them.


General T.A.C.O. (middle) & Two Masked Panthers

But simply hunting and killing the white person does not satisfy Mr. Taco:

“Once [white people] die, we should dig ‘em up, and kill ‘em again, bury ‘em, dig ‘em up, and kill ‘em again, and again, and again!”

The must-hear audio below [content warning for language]

Broadcast includes other threats:

[American Patriot]

They are REALLLLLLLY stretching this now....

Woman accuses Zimmerman of child molestation

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

Updated 49m ago

• Comments
  

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A woman identified only as Witness 9 tearfully told Florida authorities investigating George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen that he molested her for 10 years, starting when she was 6, according to a new round of evidence released Monday.

• Joe Burbank, AP
  George Zimmerman enters the courtroom before he appears before Circuit Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., during a bond hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Fla., on June 29.

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Joe Burbank, AP
George Zimmerman enters the courtroom before he appears before Circuit Judge Kenneth R. Lester, Jr., during a bond hearing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Fla., on June 29.





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The woman, who was not a witness to the killing of Trayvon Martin, made her explosive statement to investigators for the state attorney in March, a month after the shooting.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon, 17, who was walking from a store to the home of his father's fiancée. The two got into an altercation that ended with the teen's death on Feb. 26.
He is out on $1 million bond. A judge had revoked his previous $150,000 bond in June when prosecutors showed that Zimmerman and his wife, Shellie, tried to hide their assets from the court.
The woman's 27-minute recorded interview is part of evidence released by prosecutor Angela Corey's office.
The woman, who said she is a relative of Zimmerman, recounts incidents that she said began when she was 6 and he was 8. She said the sexual abuse began when she and her sister went to stay with Zimmerman and his family.
She said Zimmerman assaulted her numerous times, groping her with his hands, kissing her, fondling her inside her pants and inserting his fingers in her vagina.
"I wanted to make it stop, but I didn't know how," the woman tearfully told investigators. She said she never said anything about the alleged abuse because she was scared.
Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, had argued that the interview should not be released. O'Mara wrote in a motion that the statement "is not relevant" to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and would "serve to reignite and potentially enhance the widespread public hostility toward Mr. Zimmerman."
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, said her family and Zimmerman's family were always together.
She said the last incident occurred when she was 16 and they were both in a house his family owned in Lake Mary, Fla. She said he told her to lay on a bed, then laid down next to her and tried to massage her. She said they were clothed, but she said she felt his erection. She said she ran out of the room and house.
The woman said that in 2005, when she was 20, she told her sister that "something happened," but didn't provide details. Her sister told her parents, who confronted Zimmerman. At the time, he allegedly said, "I'm sorry," but they never discussed it further, she said.
Zimmerman's family wanted to sweep everything under the rug, the woman said. The families still got together, but she said Zimmerman stopped attending many of those functions.
She said she came forward now because, "For the first time in my life, I'm not afraid of him."
Attorney Benjamin Crump, lawyer for the Martin family, said Monday "as the state attorney previously stated, she (witness 9) certainly would be a rebuttal witness very similar to that in the Sandusky trial showing that he (Zimmerman) has a history of violence and manipulation. Zimmerman's mentality is very relevant to this trial."
The woman told Sanford police in a telephone interview released in May that Zimmerman and his family are racist against blacks. In that interview, she refused to identify herself.
"Growing up he and his family always made statements that they did not like black people unless they act white," she told police.
But she said she never saw Zimmerman do anything specific that showed he was racist.
Recordings released Monday included 145 phone calls Zimmerman had while in jail.
In one conversation Zimmerman spoke with an unidentified person who told him that Zimmerman's friend and defender Frank Taaffe said that "he has an interested party" who was willing to pay for his legal defense as long as Jose Baez was co-counsel.
Baez represented Casey Anthony, the Florida woman who was tried and acquitted in the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, last summer.
Zimmerman quotes O'Mara as saying, "if you want him to be co-counsel just have him be your counsel because I will excuse myself."
Zimmerman in the recording said, "I told him no, absolutely not."

[Ryan Ruck]

George Zimmerman turned me into a newt.





I got better.

[American Patriot]

/chuckles

[Malsua]

Well, if he's a kid toucher, then the blacks can have him.

[American Patriot]

IF is the question.

But you're right, if he did something like that.....

On the other hand, look at what we're saying about the guy and we don't know that was even true.

[American Patriot]

Ok, so he isn't a "child toucher" not precisely.

Apparently they were BOTH kids according to the cousin.

Doesn't make it RIGHT but it's being blown into a "child molester" accusation now.

Witness claims George Zimmerman molested her as a child

Published July 16, 2012

FoxNews.com

A potential witness in the case against George Zimmerman has testified that the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing Florida teen Trayvon Martin molested her when they were both children.

The unidentified woman told the Duval County State Attorney’s office that Zimmerman began abusing her when she was 6 and continued until she was 16, MyFoxOrlando.com reports. Zimmerman is older than the woman by a little more than a year. The woman also told police that Zimmerman and his family do not like African-Americans.

Phone calls Zimmerman made from the Seminole County Jail were also released. A total of 140 calls made in April of this year were included in the evidence made public.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense. Defense attorney Mark O’Mara filed a motion on Friday asking that Circuit Judge Lester be disqualified from the case, claiming that the judge’s comments in a bond order led him to believe Lester is prejudiced against Zimmerman.

It remains to be seen whether the potentially damning testimony will be admitted in court at Zimmerman's trial, which is expected to begin late this year. Prosecutors would seek to admit it as evidence of Zimmerman's allegedly violent history, while defense attorneys would seek to keep it out of evidence.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/16...#ixzz20sxE7S5J

[Malsua]

If you read the Article in the Miami Herald and the same article in the Boston Herald, you'll note a striking difference. The Miami paper was the originator.

Notice the convenient edit in the Boston paper? It paints an entirely different picture. What scum bags.

Boston Herald
Despite a last-minute rush to the courthouse by the defense to keep a witness’s damaging story out of public view, prosecutors on Monday released a recorded statement from George Zimmerman’s cousin, who said Zimmerman molested her for 10 years, beginning when she was 6 years old.


Miami Herald:
Despite a last-minute rush to the courthouse by the defense to keep a witness’ damaging story out of public view, on Monday prosecutors released a recorded statement from George Zimmerman’s cousin, who said he molested her for 10 years when they were both children, beginning when she just 6 years old.

[American Patriot]

Right. I was kind of pointing that out

I heard the actual audio stuff today and they were cutting pieces of that out as well. Even FNC is being scumbags about this.