That is basically the argument against stand your ground laws. The only reason states passed them was prosecutors were overreaching in cases like this, charging people anytime they used a gun even though it was clearly self-defense. Prosecutors seem to believe a person is supposed to take whatever beating some thug is dishing out. Now if it is a cop getting beaten and they use their weapon, generally it is viewed in a whole other light, unless of course it was some minority and the race hustlers smell money.
Reminds me when a guy in Denver was leaving a bar and pulling his car out his parking spot. A cop yelled "stop" but he almost clipped the cop with his bumper. Three cops unloaded every round in their guns on the guy (killing him, of course). No charges, it was self defense.
what did the kid do wrong to be followed? what was the kids rights in this position? there was a man with a gun following him isn't zimmerman the attacker. you keep missing the fact the kid was doing nothing wrong but walking back to his dads gf's home.
i don't think zimmerman is a bad person and i don't think he wanted to hurt anymore. the problem is he made a choice to confront someone and he was wrong about the kid. he turned himself into a criminal by his poor decision making skills. the dispatcher told him not to chase the kid because what he was doing was not smart.
"Wrong" is probably a bad choice of words. He happened to be in a neighborhood that had recently had multiple burglaries. If I were doing a watch and didn't recognize him I'd probably followed him as well. He had many, not the least of which is the right to keep moving and ignore Zimmerman. NOT necesarily, merely following someone or being legally armed is neither a crime, provocation or an attack And you keep ignoring the fact that this is irrelevant. AND worse you keep ignoring that most of what little evidence and eyewitness accounts there are all point to Trayvon assaulting Zimmerman. Making Trayvon the attacker and the criminal in this case. Albeit a dead one.
so Trayyon's crime was punching a guy chasing him with a gun? so if this kid had a gun and shot zimmerman for chasing him with a gun isn't that standing your ground too?
1) if Trayvon punched Zimmerman first then yes according to the law Trayvon is the first to have commited a CRIME 2) you seem to be assuming he was being "chased" that's not the same thing as being followed. Not as I understand the law it's not. Following someone is not threatening someone. IF it was I could drive downtown tonight and shoot every punk ass bitch gang banger that appeared to be following me and never even get arrested. At least not until the race hustlers and bleeding hearts started howling over it.
I believe if zimmerman verbally threatened martin to "cap his black ass" and flashed his gun.., Martin would be justified under the spirit of the stand your own ground law to take zimmerman's life. i still think he'd have been arrested and charged for murder and would have to prove his innocence. Problem with convicting zimmerman is reasonable doubt as only zimmerman's side and account of events will be heard... not to mention he's the son of a retired judge.
If someone flashed a pistol at you and threatened to shoot you would you then attack them bare handed? I doubt it. Anyone but the stupidest would most likely try to get away from that person as fast as possible. Martin was less than a block from home and since he had a big lead on Zimmerman he should have been able to get there unless he decided to stop or turn back and confront the person following him. And, if Zimmerman had flashed his pistol, how did he wind up on his back with Martin banging his head into the ground/cement without him having the pistol in his hand? All of that is speculation anyway. The only thing that will matter is what the witnesses saw, what the 911 tape says and what Zimmerman said that matches up with the other two. Unless the prosecutor found another witness that saw the fight begin or forensic says the shot was fired from several feet away and in the back or something similar turns up that we don't know about, this case is closed. Simple self-defense.