Trayvon Martin tape made me sick

This is the most disturbing tape I've ever heard. The screams are unbearable, I think George told Trayvon that he was going to shoot him before he did it.

Dude he was asking for it. He was wearing a Hooded Sweatshirt on a rainy night.

The leason from this "Perception is reality" *FACE FUCKING PALM*

What are you talking about?

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

What are you talking about?

An african american kid got shot in Florida. The guy who shot him claimed self defense. It wasn't. Killer got no jail time.

@DonChipotle: Don't forget that the police are ignoring that the kid only had some candy and a cup of tea on him, and that phone calls from the neighbors record the kid screaming for help for about ~30 seconds.

congratulations, video games have not desensitized you to real violence.

also, I'm not a religious man, but I hope there's some sort of special hell reserved for the fuck who murdered him.

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

What are you talking about?

An african american kid got shot in Florida. The guy who shot him claimed self defense. It wasn't. Killer got no jail time.

It was fucking sad to hear the kid screaming for help for a gooooood while before he was killed. Hopefully somebody finds that motherfucker and kicks his face in. Race Riots Part II: Race Rioter.

Black kid wearing a hoodie = criminal

White guy with a shotgun = patriot

Ignorance and prejudice is fucked up

Black kid wearing a hoodie = criminal

White guy with a shotgun = patriot

Ignorance and prejudice is fucked up

Florida! (Sorry Florida)

@ImmortalSaiyan said:

What are you talking about?

A neighborhood watch captain in a gated community was following this kid around in his car and called 911, saying he was following a suspicious person and calling him racial epitheths while on the line and disobeying the dispatchers orders to cease following him. A little while later, the kid was dead, when he ran away from the man, and the man proceeded to shoot him.

This man has yet to go to jail.

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

Illinois is by far the most corrupt state in America, though it's a kind of corruption that only affects local government and rarely affects national politics (aside from getting JFK elected). Florida isn't corrupt so much as it's just full of racist hillbillies.

I find it crazy that a law as crazy as the "Stand Your Ground" is allowed to be past just through a state, it should be a nation wide thing.

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

The whole thing seems absolutely crazy. I feel like there must be something I'm missing because I flat out do not understand how this is allowed to happen.

Can somebody link to the tapes, please?

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

COUGHCOUGHREPUBLICANSCOUGHCOUGH

Strong first post.

@CL60 said:

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

@Slaker117 said:

The whole thing seems absolutely crazy. I feel like there must be something I'm missing because I flat out do not understand how this is allowed to happen.

This is what happens when politically-extreme-yet-financially-powerful lobbyist groups like the NRA (among many others, it happens just as often on the other side of the aisle) are allowed to run roughshod over the entire legislative branch of American government.

Fuck Geraldo Rivera for putting any blame what so ever on a clothing item for the murder of a young man. Next are you going to tell me that the clothes women wear are just to blame for them being raped?

@DonutFever said:

Can somebody link to the tapes, please?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/21/trayvon-martin-911-tape-racial-slur_n_1368905.html

I think that has the audio. I didn't check because I don't want to hear it, makes me sad :(

@DonutFever said:

Can somebody link to the tapes, please?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/21/trayvon-martin-911-tape-racial-slur_n_1368905.html

I think that has the audio. I didn't check because I don't want to hear it, makes me sad :(

@CL60 said:

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

What exactly about the law bothers you the most? I don't have a concrete opinion on it yet because I've only done a little reading. I would like to hear your opinion.

In all honesty, I don't think Trayvon's murderer would have an adequate defense with it. I think the intention of law is good, but just like any law, the guilty are going to twist it to suit their purposes. Thankfully, the FBI have gotten involved and hopefully Trayvon's family will see justice.

@Rawrnosaurous: Yeah but depressingly blaming women for being raped is pretty much par for the course from certain segments of society. "Oh, the bitch was wearing a short skirt, she was asking for it!" You know when a woman is asking for it? When she says something along the lines of "lets fuck". If she looks "slutty" & yet somehow says she doesn't want to have sex with man A, & man A still forces himself on here, there's one person to blame there & it's man A.

There's enough stigma on rape victims as it is, enough pressure on them to come forward & be incredibely brave & hope that just for once the justice system won't be completely fucking useless without these asshole talking heads on TV & radio trying to blame women for getting raped. Few things make me angrier with humanity

@CL60 said:

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

The stand your ground law is completely irrelevant to this case, even the creator of the law is in agreement of that. Stand your ground is when somebody is assaulting you, not running away from you.

@Rawrnosaurous said:

Fuck Geraldo Rivera for putting any blame what so ever on a clothing item for the murder of a young man. Next are you going to tell me that the clothes women wear are just to blame for them being raped?

that is pretty much fox's viewpoint on that, actually, yeah http://jezebel.com/5884760/women-in-the-military-should-just-expect-to-be-raped-says-fox-news-asshole

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

This. This story is totally nuts though. Wasn't the shooter like some kind of half assed like neighborhood watch guy?

also. I believe the self defense law in FLA is "Retreat to the Wall". as in deadly force is only authorized (again as a defense to first degree murder) in the instance where there are NO other means of escape, or more practically if you are in your home or something.

@RenMcKormack said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

This. This story is totally nuts though. Wasn't the shooter like some kind of half assed like neighborhood watch guy?

Yeah. He is a total idiot who failed the police academy, and called the police dozens of times in the last year for non-incidents. Basically a total Barney Fife wannabe.

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

This kind of shit makes me sick.

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CL60 said:

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

The stand your ground law is completely irrelevant to this case, even the creator of the law is in agreement of that. Stand your ground is when somebody is assaulting you, not running away from you.

Which is why it's bullshit. It's successfully being used in cases where it shouldn't be. Some guy shot a bunch of people because he "thought they were gang members." and he got off because of "stand your ground." Another case, a guy seen somebody stealing from his car, so logically, he chased the guy down multiple blocks and stabbed him to death, got off on "stand your ground."

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

Illinois is by far the most corrupt state in America, though it's a kind of corruption that only affects local government and rarely affects national politics (aside from getting JFK elected). Florida isn't corrupt so much as it's just full of racist hillbillies.

@CL60 said:

@allworkandlowpay said:

@CL60 said:

That "Stand your ground" law is complete bullshit.

The stand your ground law is completely irrelevant to this case, even the creator of the law is in agreement of that. Stand your ground is when somebody is assaulting you, not running away from you.

Which is why it's bullshit. It's successfully being used in cases where it shouldn't be. Some guy shot a bunch of people because he "thought they were gang members." and he got off because of "stand your ground." Another case, a guy seen somebody stealing from his car, so logically, he chased the guy down multiple blocks and stabbed him to death, got off on "stand your ground."

Given that he has not been charged with anything, much less had a trial, the law is irrelevant here.

Stand Your Ground simply means that if somebody breaks into your house and you shoot them, you're not criminally liable because you didn't try to run away first. Forget that. It's the most just defense law out there.

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

@ptc said:

You're both forgetting about a little state known as Rhode Island.

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

Illinois is by far the most corrupt state in America, though it's a kind of corruption that only affects local government and rarely affects national politics (aside from getting JFK elected). Florida isn't corrupt so much as it's just full of racist hillbillies.

maybe I'm being presumptive here but I think the issue is more that Florida still has severe racism issues.

I don't even understand how this happened. How is it that neighborhood watch guys can be armed with guns? Are they at all connected to the police? Do they get training from police? Do they have any real authority? Because they're neighborhood watch they're allowed to stalk people and potentially open fire on them? This all seems completely insane to me.

@FengShuiGod said:

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

Not enough evidence? There's audio of the kid crying out for help, and Zimmerman himself saying he's the one following the kid, even after the police told him not to. Also the fact that I have a hard time believing a adult with a gun was acting in self defense against a teenager with a bag of skittles.

@bonorbitz said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

COUGHCOUGHREPUBLICANSCOUGHCOUGH

HAHA

@FengShuiGod said:

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

But the burden of proof would be on him to prove he tried to escape from danger. With this law, that burden is no longer there, making it easier for guys like him to get away with this shit. Given the facts of this case, I don't think in a million years he'd be able to convince a prosecutor that he sincerely tried to escape (from a confrontation he instigated, I might add). But he doesn't have to prove it now, thanks to this law.

@CL60 said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

Not enough proof? There's audio of the kid crying out for help, and Zimmerman himself saying he's the one following the kid, even after the police told him not to. Also the fact that I have a hard time believing a adult with a gun was acting in self defense against a teenager with a bag of skittles.

All of this is irrelevant. All that matters is what happened in the seconds before the shooting, which only two people saw, one of whom is now dead. The shooter can claim the kid threatened him and approached him in a way that justified his use of deadly force, which he has.

@FengShuiGod said:

@CL60 said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

Not enough proof? There's audio of the kid crying out for help, and Zimmerman himself saying he's the one following the kid, even after the police told him not to. Also the fact that I have a hard time believing a adult with a gun was acting in self defense against a teenager with a bag of skittles.

All of this is irrelevant. All that matters is what happened in the seconds before the shooting, which only two people saw, one of whom is now dead. The shooter can claim the kid threatened him and approached him in a way that justified his use of deadly force, which he has.

that's fucked up, dude.

@FengShuiGod said:

@CL60 said:

@FengShuiGod said:

@Kevin_Cogneto said:

@FengShuiGod said:

This whole issue is irrelevant to the NRA, Republicans, or the stand your ground laws. Don't polarize the incident of a crazy guy wrongfully shooting a kid.

George Zimmerman himself has invoked the stand your ground law by claiming self-defense. That argument wouldn't fly at all if not for that law, because in most other states he would've been expected to prove that he first attempted to flee from danger before being able to claim that he had the right to use deadly force in self-defense. The stand your ground law is the very crux of this case, and the sole reason why Zimmerman has yet to be charged with anything. To claim that the law is irrelevant is frankly ludicrous.

No. He could easily claim that he ran from danger by saying "I ran from danger." No one else was there, so the law only has what he said to go on which does not provide enough evidence to convict him of anything. If there was no stand your ground, the only way this would have played out differently is that he would have had to appear at a hearing where he would have been released because there is not enough evidence to prove he was not acting in self defense.

Not enough proof? There's audio of the kid crying out for help, and Zimmerman himself saying he's the one following the kid, even after the police told him not to. Also the fact that I have a hard time believing a adult with a gun was acting in self defense against a teenager with a bag of skittles.

All of this is irrelevant. All that matters is what happened in the seconds before the shooting, which only two people saw, one of whom is now dead. The shooter can claim the kid threatened him and approached him in a way that justified his use of deadly force, which he has.

You're only proving the other side's point. The only reason he can claim that it was justified because of the stand your ground law! Without that law, this line of logic would not be enough to legally justify deadly force!

@bonorbitz said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

Question to Americans is Florida the most corrupt State in America? I mean that whole Election rigging in 2000 that got George Dubya into power and all these crazy gun laws.

COUGHCOUGHREPUBLICANSCOUGHCOUGH

Bullshit I am a republican and I think the guy should get jailed if not an injection. He murdered some teen kid because well.... because he just wanted to. He needs to go to jail bare minimum. The stand your ground law does not cover what he did because he had no reasonable reason to feel threatened. What was the kid gonna do, take him out with his skittles and green tea cup?

Shouldn't the obligation be on the guy who took the shot to prove beyond any doubt that he had no other choice? you know, under a legal system that made sense.

Maybe it's because I come from a place where no one owns a gun, but I feel like if you're going to own a gun and use it then that burden should definitely fall on you.