Was Trayvon A Drug Dealer???

Stand your ground law/Castle Doctrine: Florida

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0776/0776.html

Stand your ground law explained courtesy of Justia.com

Questions about SYG laws are of national importance, because in addition to Florida, twenty-three other states have comparable legislation that expressly expands the scope of a frightened individual’s right to use force in self-defense. Whether or not Florida’s SYG law will ultimately protect George Zimmerman from successful prosecution remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, I wish to raise a different question about SYG laws in this column: What vision of reality do they reflect?

The Duty to Retreat, the Castle Doctrine, and Stand Your Ground

To engage in an informed discussion of SYG laws, it is useful first to understand the “duty to retreat” and the “castle doctrine.” The “duty to retreat” is a principle of criminal law in a number of states that holds that one person may not lawfully injure or kill another person in self-defense if the would-be self-defender could have safely fled the danger (i.e., “retreated” from the assailant) and thereby avoided injury to all parties. Where it exists, the duty to retreat stems from a judgment that the life of a person who is threatening aggression is nonetheless worth sparing, if the threatened individual can protect his own safety through flight.

Even in “retreat” jurisdictions, though, one does not have to attempt risky escape maneuvers before resorting to force in self-defense. The duty to retreat requires safe retreat, where feasible, not heroism.
the rest here:
http://verdict.justia.com/2012/04/1...-visions-of-fight-or-flight-in-the-real-world

That's plausible. If Martin was a drug dealer, he could have been in competition with Zimmerman. Or Zimmerman could have been his customer. Martin could have been blackmailing him, and Zimmerman saw this as an opportunity to get rid of the evidence, and that's why he wouldn't stop pursuing him when advised to.

Have you heard about the girl in Alabama who's another victim of the SYG law? She and her friends were breaking into a vacant cabin in a fishing camp area, and she was shot by some men who heard them breaking in. She's not expected to live.

It used to be the law that you couldn't shoot someone to protect property, but now you can.

And many people have asked why the SYG law wouldn't apply to Martin when he was confronted by Zimmerman. But Martin didn't have a weapon.

I don't know what he was/is but I'm pretty dang sure he isn't the innocent young man he's being made out to be. The reason Trayvon was shot was because he attacked GZ, not because there was a dope deal gone bad. GZ has stated that he was jumped by Trayvon while he was working his way back to his vehicle.

I'm saying that Trayvon, with a recent drug possession at school, with gang alliances and with somebody posting that a "nigga need a plant" on his Facebook that Trayvon may well have been hopped up. There's a pattern. Patterns don't lie.

My scenario certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility. He's all hopped up on dope, thinking he's invincible, attacks GZ and begins to beat him up and telling him that Z was going to die.

I don't blame GZ for pluggin' the guy. It was within the law in Florida.

If somebody is beating me up, slamming my head into concrete and telling me that I'm going to die.....if I'm carrying.....I'm stopping the assault.

We don't know that Martin attacked Zimmerman. It's more plausible that Zimmerman attacked Martin since Zimmerman was the one following Martin. Martin's first words to Zimmerman as reported by the friend he was talking to at the time were, "Why are you following me?" Then Martin was shot a few seconds later.

Zimmerman could easily have totally avoided this situation. He'd already made his call to the police. That was all he needed to do, and the police would have questioned Martin.

And Zimmerman has every incentive to lie now. I'd lie too if I were in his shoes.

Given that Martin was 17 yrs old, with no arrest record & only a couple of minor school peccadilloes, he certainly does appear to be the innocent young man that has been portrayed. IF he was a criminal, or on his way to being a criminal, he'd already have an extensive police record. IF he was involved with gangs, or a hardened drug dealer, he'd probably have had a gun.

There is no evidence of gang alliances. Making that up is reprehensible.
There was no drug possession. He'd have been arrested if there was.
He can't be responsible for what others post to his FB page.
Nor does the FB statement provide anything approximating proof Martin sold or even used drugs.
These putative 'patterns' are largely figments of fevered imaginations.
That people want to convict a dead kid of crimes & misdeeds is crap.

The allegations against Martin appear to be brazen lies in a despicable attempt to excuse GZ's murderous assault. IF Martin actually was a user, a dealer & had gangsta friends, it still doesn't lend credence to GZ's improbable tale of what transpired that night. It doesn't credibly establish that GZ was merely defending himself.

Patterns? GZ has established patterns of bullying, racial profiling, violence, poor self control, bad judgment & hiring himself out (illegally) to assist others in breaking the law...Specifically to break laws against under aged drinking. How ironic that some seek only to delve into the deceased victim's pasts & behavior while ignoring the treasure trove of GZ's transgressions.

It appears that Martin was confronted by GZ, & confronted for no better reason than young, black males out walking made GZ unduly suspicious and hostile. (IF GZ was simply suspicious he would have left it in the hands of the police as the dispatcher had requested). GZ's muttered curse, 'fucking coon' also indicates GZ was hostile, aggressive & racist. The bastard profiled that poor kid, who appears to have been doing nothing but walking back from the store after purchasing iced tea & Skittles. Profiled him, stalked him, chased him down & killed him. The evidence strongly supports all of that, which in turn suggests this was murder.

Trouble, your scenario isn't beyond the realm of possibility, but it's about as likely as the statement that I WILL be elected president of the USA in the year 2013. Everything GZ has said strains credulity beyond any reasonable limit. Everything learned since then only further refutes his bs claims of an assault so vicious it would have left him drooling & in diapers.

Again, why the fuck were no toxicology tests done on GZ? It's unbelievable that it wasn't considered necessary to determine whether he was drunk or chemically impaired. IMO, GZ received preferential treatment due to his father's position as a retired Va Supreme Court Magistrate. Preferential treatment which made a bad joke of this 'investigation'. I only hope it wasn't fatally compromised. So much that could have been done, should have been done, is no longer possible. Clearly, there are officials who s/b facing charges & prison time as well as GZ.

What I'm saying is pretty clear Dave. Trayvon, as per indicators, was associated in some form with dope. Period. Traces were found in a bag. That bag prior had marijuana in it or else there would be no traces. You smoke it if you got it unless you're dealing. Period. This isn't rocket science right? Sure is funny how the dopers all come running to Martin's defense AS IF THEY WERE THERE (how many times have I heard that?)

So, you have a 6 foot 2 inch 170 pound strong and fit young man that MAY have been hopped up on drugs the night he was shot after he attacked GZ.

Speaking of which, why did Trayvon attack GZ anyway? If somebody is following you, the thing to do would be to call the police. He had a cellphone but called his girlfriend???? He's supposedly afraid for his life and instead of 911 he calls her? How VERY odd?? What the hell was she going to do???? Instead, he found GZ (who DID call the police (by the way, why call the police if you were planning on murdering somebody?)) and attacked him? Busted his nose, beat his head into the sidewalk and verbally threatened his life.

Oh sure, folks that are potheads and cry racist at the drop of a hat can sure speculate on the innocent 17 year old's innocent little Skittles trip and the big, bad Zimmerman vigilante, but the evidence does not indicate that GZ murdered Trayvon but rather, under attack, possibly from a dopehead, used force to stop the attack. Unfortunately, that use of force resulted in loss of life.

Losing one's life is always a possibility when one person attacks another. GZ didn't shoot to kill, he shot to STOP an attack. Death was a by product of his defending himself.

As I've said before, many would be extremely pleased if the headlines had read black 17 year old beats white man to death. Do you think the "New" Black Panthers would have a bounty of Trayvon's head if he went into hiding after killing GZ?

Hmmmmm?

Oh and by the by, if the prosecutor can prove his case and get a jury to convict GZ then I will gladly say that the wheels of justice have turned and found GZ guilty.

I highly doubt I'll be rioting.

Wonder if the supporters of Martin will behave the same if the verdict goes against their preconceived notion of the event and their preconceived notion of his guilt.

I read that the audio in that section is very poor and it's really unclear he said "coon". He probably said "goon". Goon is a slang word for mobsters, or gangsters.

GZ most likely figured Trayvon was a "goon" and it may well be proved in court that he WAS.

Hmmmm. Good point. Never thought of that. I suppose most dopers do call the police right before they score a baggie of marijuana.

I was watching America's Dumbest Criminals the other day and saw some guy call himself in to 911 driving while drunk. I suppose anything could have happened but implausibility strikes a chord with your scenario Dave. In my opinion of course.

LOL! Ok, you win. Gotta go.....later.

OMG...I am laughing so hard that the man and the daughter are staring at me like I'm growing horns...

Ahem. Sorry. Long day in the car with shitty music on every damned radio station and badly constructed signage that made my have to cuss under my breath in three different stores while I modified and taped it so it would work.

Dave. Rocks. And Java's post up there was pretty damned awesome too!

The volume is low, but for those with decent hearing it's very clear that what GZ muttered was, "fucking coon." I'd read claims he was saying goon, & expected the recording to be nearly incomprehensible, but it's not. GZ is unmistakably muttering coon, not goon. Unfortunately, GZ was doing waaay too much 'figuring' & not nearly enough rational thinking. Sadly, an innocent youth was sacrificed to GZ's fulminant conjectures & basely ridiculous assumptions. Fortunately, none of us are bound to fall in with GZ's insane & wholly self serving 'reasoning'.

To assert Martin was 'hopped up on dope', a gangsta & a drug dealer is a thoroughly ugly attempt to misdirect the investigation which should remain focused on GZ's reckless & deadly shooting of an innocent pedestrian. GZ has an established history of violent assaults, bad judgment, reckless disregard for others & violating the law. It's both amazing & obscene that people want to dredge make up dirt on the victim while ignoring GZ's documented history of violence & contempt for the law.

Trouble, exactly which dopers & potheads are running to Martin's defense? How did you determine they're dopers & potheads? In the interest of transparency, I never liked pot, though I tried it 4 or 5 times in my youth. The only recreational drugs I tried were pot & alcohol. I love some beer & often drink 1 or 2 before calling it a night. My chemical history is completely unrelated to my thoughts on this case. I'm nearly certain that's true of everyone all rational people. This case has NOTHING to do drug laws & dealers except in the minds of those who lack cogent arguments.

Zimmerman said "coon."

I saw one of his apologists in a comments section yesterday claiming that he had said, "It's fucking cold." Lol! Pathetic.