Zimmerman Case: The Five Principles of the Law of Self Defense

[Hotdoger]

I can tell within 5 seconds of walking into a room which patients are on chronic narcotics, "disabled", or are just plain nuts, etc... Pattern recognition works. Same with police work I'm guessing.

An RN in my family says that doesn't matter in the ERs she has worked. The doctors give them the "free" pain meds anyway.

My wife has worked at a drugstore. They line up in the drive through every morning to get their "free" pain meds.

 

[Punkinhead]

I can tell within 5 seconds of walking into a room which patients are on chronic narcotics, "disabled", or are just plain nuts, etc... Pattern recognition works. Same with police work I'm guessing.

If archer52 were a doc he wouldn't have to enter the ER. He could diagnose your patients based on news reports and ethnicity.

 

[Hotdoger]

If archer52 were a doc he wouldn't have to enter the ER. He could diagnose your patients based on news reports and ethnicity.

Trends would say he would be right a majority of the time.

 

[KLB]

If archer52 were a doc he wouldn't have to enter the ER. He could diagnose your patients based on news reports and ethnicity.

This would be closer to a Psychiatrist giving an opinion based upon data without actually having talked to the patient. While it may not be 100% accurate, it would probably be pretty accurate. Experience can provide great insight into behavior.

 

[whomhead]

There had been 400+ calls to police from this neighborhood. They clearly had an issue with burglaries. If I was so unfortunate to live in a neighborhood like this I would do everything within legal means to put an end to that sort of unsafe condition in the place my family resided in, no different than GZ did.

I'm not sure why a person with 20+ years of police experience sharing their opinion on the situation has to turn into an issue of race. TM was black. Crime statistics show the overwhelming majority of gang (and gun) violence comes from black and Hispanic communities. Those are facts, not racist talking points. With that being said, someone exposed to this type of crime for 20+ years comes to understand it far better than any of us armchair quarterbacks do. I'll take his word on it. I know it's not PC to see things for what they are...I guess I'm not very PC.

 

[femurphy77]

There had been 400+ calls to police from this neighborhood. They clearly had an issue with burglaries. If I was so unfortunate to live in a neighborhood like this I would do everything within legal means to put an end to that sort of unsafe condition in the place my family resided in, no different than GZ did.

I'm not sure why a person with 20+ years of police experience sharing their opinion on the situation has to turn into an issue of race. TM was black. Crime statistics show the overwhelming majority of gang (and gun) violence comes from black and Hispanic communities. Those are facts, not racist talking points. With that being said, someone exposed to this type of crime for 20+ years comes to understand it far better than any of us armchair quarterbacks do. I'll take his word on it. I know it's not PC to see things for what they are...I guess I'm not very PC.

Damn fine first post!! Welcome aboard!

 

[NomadS]

The Jawa Report: George Zimmerman Reenactment has some good information on what probably happened that night

 

[KLB]

There had been 400+ calls to police from this neighborhood. They clearly had an issue with burglaries. If I was so unfortunate to live in a neighborhood like this I would do everything within legal means to put an end to that sort of unsafe condition in the place my family resided in, no different than GZ did.

I'm not sure why a person with 20+ years of police experience sharing their opinion on the situation has to turn into an issue of race. TM was black. Crime statistics show the overwhelming majority of gang (and gun) violence comes from black and Hispanic communities. Those are facts, not racist talking points. With that being said, someone exposed to this type of crime for 20+ years comes to understand it far better than any of us armchair quarterbacks do. I'll take his word on it. I know it's not PC to see things for what they are...I guess I'm not very PC.

Damn fine first post!! Welcome aboard!

Indeed! Rep worthy even.

 

[ghuns]

There had been 400+ calls to police from this neighborhood. They clearly had an issue with burglaries. If I was so unfortunate to live in a neighborhood like this I would do everything within legal means to put an end to that sort of unsafe condition in the place my family resided in, no different than GZ did.

I'm not sure why a person with 20+ years of police experience sharing their opinion on the situation has to turn into an issue of race. TM was black. Crime statistics show the overwhelming majority of gang (and gun) violence comes from black and Hispanic communities. Those are facts, not racist talking points. With that being said, someone exposed to this type of crime for 20+ years comes to understand it far better than any of us armchair quarterbacks do. I'll take his word on it. I know it's not PC to see things for what they are...I guess I'm not very PC.

Dude, that's like hitting a homer in your first career MLB at bat! It's clear, contains punctuation, expresses a valid point of view, contains no spelling errors, and has a higher word count than many peoples first 50 posts.

 

[whomhead]

Thanks fellas, appreciate the warm welcome!

I'm looking forward to the outcome of this trial. If he is acquitted, which I don't see how he's not, I really hope we don't have another LA riot type situation down there. You guys probably saw Jamie Foxx wore a TM shirt at some awards show this weekend...just fueling the fire.

 

[searpinski]

Thanks fellas, appreciate the warm welcome!

I'm looking forward to the outcome of this trial. If he is acquitted, which I don't see how he's not, I really hope we don't have another LA riot type situation down there. You guys probably saw Jamie Foxx wore a TM shirt at some awards show this weekend...just fueling the fire.

He will be acquitted and Hollywood will further fuel this ridiculous fire. There could possibly be riots. I feel that they will be short-lived, but GZ might have to move to Ecuador. The amount of publicity this trial is receiving is unfathomable. It should have been handled locally and dismissed. Unfortunately, most people use emotional reasoning and not factual. The worst part about this whole thing is that our president can't even separate fact from fiction ("If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."). Who benefits from all of this hilarity? The media.

 

[whomhead]

Unfortunately, most people use emotional reasoning and not factual.

Unfortunately this seems to be the rule instead of the exception.

The worst part about this whole thing is that our president can't even separate fact from fiction ("If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.").

My opinion? I think 16-17 trillion dollars of debt, multiple scandals, and trying to figure out how to sleep at night with said debt while spending 60+ million taxpayer dollars on a trip to Africa for the family would be far more pressing than getting in front of the camera and "caring." Shameful.

Who benefits from all of this hilarity? The media.

The only group in the country that can "benefit" from something like this. They are truly the bottom of the barrel.

 

[CathyInBlue]

[…] and has a higher word count than many peoples first 50 posts.

All 50 posts put together, even.

 

[Somemedic]

I can tell within 5 seconds of walking into a room which patients are on chronic narcotics, "disabled", or are just plain nuts, etc... Pattern recognition works. Same with police work I'm guessing.

You and I both know that 98% of the time your gut instincts are right but you do get thrown a curve.

You still listen to the evidence. You still reevaluate the findings. You still go through the motions in hopes of catching the one thing that puts the odds in your favor of being the most accurate. 98% is good for most things but not good enough to jail an innocent man.

Otherwise everyone in the ER is a seeker, and everyone the cops stop are guilty.

 

[whomhead]

To add a little weight to the comments posted by the retired cop, here's the mentality of the TM supporters. Pretty shocking.

Cretins gloat, pass around George Zimmerman’s Social Security number after CNN airs it | Twitchy

 

[CathyInBlue]

When he wins, he needs to counter sue for the expense of his defense, including future security needs and federal paperwork requirements for a new SSN.

 

[searpinski]

When he wins, he needs to counter sue for the expense of his defense, including future security needs and federal paperwork requirements for a new SSN.

Great comment, I would love to see that happen. Does anyone have any insight into what he could actually sue for besides the SSN debacle? Perhaps arrest and trial with no actual evidence? He can't, unfortunately, sue the media for being the media.

 

[whomhead]

Great comment, I would love to see that happen. Does anyone have any insight into what he could actually sue for besides the SSN debacle? Perhaps arrest and trial with no actual evidence? He can't, unfortunately, sue the media for being the media.

I would be very interested to know this as well.

 

[Mark 1911]

I recognized the "reasonable man" rule but the 5 rules thing is a different version of the 3 rules I have heard before , is ability, opportunity, jeapordy. Are these related? Anyone know the fine points?

 

[87iroc]

I liked this section of the article...I had never thought about it like this...but I read it like 3 times as the responsibility sunk in...

American society recognizes that there are certain circumstances in which the use of force, even deadly force, against another person may be necessary and justified. When this is so, the use of that force is deemed not a crime, and even if the state can prove beyond a reasonable doubt each and every element of, say, murder, the fact that the act was done in lawful self-defense requires an acquittal.


This is, really, a remarkable degree of autonomous power held by the individual citizen. A person who reasonably believes that they are being threatened with imminent and otherwise unavoidable death or grave bodily harm may in that instant take the life of their attacker, with absolutely no requirement for prior permission from any governmental authority. In contrast, think about how long it usually takes the government to execute someone who has been proven guilty of a capital crime with all due process of law.