Family of Florida boy killed by Neighborhood Watch seeks arrest

[Oysters Rockefeller]

Yup.

Or where his dad lived, and I guess he was visiting. Equally as ridiculous.

[navkat]

WTF difference does that make? Don't kill people unless they come in your house and try to kill you first. Simple.

[AnnaMaeBollocks]

WTF difference does that make? Don't kill people unless they come in your house and try to kill you first. Simple.

It's Florida.
Texas was still dragging people behind pickups in 1998, and Florida makes Texas look liberal.

[Oysters Rockefeller]

Dammit...does this mean I have to stop feeling superior to Alabama? As a state, that's really all we have left.

[AnnaMaeBollocks]

Alabama isn't as metropolitan or diverse as Florida, so they have an excuse...
No, scratch that. There's NO fucking excuse.

[P3nT4gR4m]

"Neighbourhood Watch" in teh UK means residents peeking out from behind their curtains and noting down anything unusual. In this instance does "Neighbourhood Watch" mean the same thing or is it more like a private security firm?

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

"Neighbourhood Watch" in teh UK means residents peeking out from behind their curtains and noting down anything unusual. In this instance does "Neighbourhood Watch" mean the same thing or is it more like a private security firm?

Means pretty much the same thing. Except for the cultural differences...

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Neighborhood watches do not have the right to kill people. They, like any American have a right to self defense; but on a street, versus a guy with candy and iced tea... hell no.

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

Neighborhood watches do not have the right to kill people. They, like any American have a right to self defense; but on a street, versus a guy with candy and iced tea... hell no.

This is going to get real dicey, I think.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin_n_1340358.html

"In this case Mr. Zimmerman has made the statement of self defense," Lee said. "Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that, we don't have the grounds to arrest him."

Huh? Presumption of innocence has downed some fucking steroids since my last ride in a squad car.

"I was at the movies when that liquor store was robbed."
"Can you prove it?"
"Can you prove I wasn't?"

(took me a couple reads to get why that seemed off)

More facts here. Still no idea how this spells self defense...

http://www.wdbo.com/news/news/local/sanford-police-hand-over-teens-shooting-death-case/nLRZZ/

So far, 28-year-old George Zimmerman has not been charged in the death. Police reported he was bloody and appeared to have been on the ground before he fired on the teen.

Zimmerman said he was acting as a community patrol in the neighborhood and he'd just called 911 to report a suspicious person.

When police arrived the teen had been shot after neighbors called again to report some sort of fight.

They're turning it over to state investigators now.

[Oysters Rockefeller]

So this guy had a gun, initiated conversation with a minor, and calls it self-defense?

It sounds pretty close. Amazing he got out of there without some serious injury.

Well...or he's a trigger happy wannabe cop who just happened to emulate his heroes a little too closely.
Actually, that second one sounds better.

[Roly Poly Oly-Garch]

a-ha

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/13/cnn-legal-contributor-on-fl-shooting-of-trayvon-martin-stand-your-ground-law-moves-castle-doctrine-to-the-street/

...The police have said Mr. [George] Zimmerman, when he was questioned, indicated that he was acting in self-defense, that [Martin] had attacked him and that he had the right to protect himself with a weapon. And Ashleigh, I have to tell you, Florida is one of about 15 states in the United States that have something called a 'Stand Your Ground' law.... And it's very easy to assert self-defense in Florida. This law was signed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005, and it changed the law in Florida. It said basically that even if you're outside of your home, if you think you're under attack and you have to protect yourself, you can use deadly physical force if you're in fear. You don't have to run or retreat."

...even if the shooter initiated the contact?

This law is fucking begging for shit like this. You know what also says you don't have to run or retreat? Not having a law saying you have to run or retreat. Or here's a thought--write a homicide statute that includes: "Except in cases of self-defense" without the fucking laundry list of situations where it's cool to waste someone. I'm fairly sure we all know what self-defense is, and I'm quite positive it ain't some sketch-ball Neighborhood Watch fucker rolling up on a "suspicious black teenager" carrying skittles and an iced tea.

--Trip-0, you were wondering about why some laws are vaguely worded?

[kingyak]

"Neighbourhood Watch" in teh UK means residents peeking out from behind their curtains and noting down anything unusual. In this instance does "Neighbourhood Watch" mean the same thing or is it more like a private security firm?

Here it often (not always, but often) means guys who would really like the power trip that being a cop would give them, but are far too stupid/out of shape/psychologically unbalanced to actually make it through police training.

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

a-ha

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/13/cnn-legal-contributor-on-fl-shooting-of-trayvon-martin-stand-your-ground-law-moves-castle-doctrine-to-the-street/

...The police have said Mr. [George] Zimmerman, when he was questioned, indicated that he was acting in self-defense, that [Martin] had attacked him and that he had the right to protect himself with a weapon. And Ashleigh, I have to tell you, Florida is one of about 15 states in the United States that have something called a 'Stand Your Ground' law.... And it's very easy to assert self-defense in Florida. This law was signed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005, and it changed the law in Florida. It said basically that even if you're outside of your home, if you think you're under attack and you have to protect yourself, you can use deadly physical force if you're in fear. You don't have to run or retreat."

...even if the shooter initiated the contact?

This law is fucking begging for shit like this. You know what also says you don't have to run or retreat? Not having a law saying you have to run or retreat. Or here's a thought--write a homicide statute that includes: "Except in cases of self-defense" without the fucking laundry list of situations where it's cool to waste someone. I'm fairly sure we all know what self-defense is, and I'm quite positive it ain't some sketch-ball Neighborhood Watch fucker rolling up on a "suspicious black teenager" carrying skittles and an iced tea.

--Trip-0, you were wondering about why some laws are vaguely worded?

So all you have to do is have a concealed firearm, start a fight with someone, and you can get away with as many murders as you want?

[AnnaMaeBollocks]

a-ha

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/13/cnn-legal-contributor-on-fl-shooting-of-trayvon-martin-stand-your-ground-law-moves-castle-doctrine-to-the-street/

...The police have said Mr. [George] Zimmerman, when he was questioned, indicated that he was acting in self-defense, that [Martin] had attacked him and that he had the right to protect himself with a weapon. And Ashleigh, I have to tell you, Florida is one of about 15 states in the United States that have something called a 'Stand Your Ground' law.... And it's very easy to assert self-defense in Florida. This law was signed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005, and it changed the law in Florida. It said basically that even if you're outside of your home, if you think you're under attack and you have to protect yourself, you can use deadly physical force if you're in fear. You don't have to run or retreat."

...even if the shooter initiated the contact?

This law is fucking begging for shit like this. You know what also says you don't have to run or retreat? Not having a law saying you have to run or retreat. Or here's a thought--write a homicide statute that includes: "Except in cases of self-defense" without the fucking laundry list of situations where it's cool to waste someone. I'm fairly sure we all know what self-defense is, and I'm quite positive it ain't some sketch-ball Neighborhood Watch fucker rolling up on a "suspicious black teenager" carrying skittles and an iced tea.

--Trip-0, you were wondering about why some laws are vaguely worded?

So all you have to do is have a concealed firearm, start a fight with someone, and you can get away with as many murders as you want?

If you're a white guy in a gated community in a red state, yeah.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

:/