Victim of perceived thug may end up in jail

[JollyRoger]

The family of a 17-year-old African-American boy shot to death last month in his gated Florida community by a white Neighborhood Watch captain wants to see the captain arrested, the family's lawyer said on Wednesday.

Trayvon Martin was shot dead after he took a break from watching NBA All-Star game television coverage to walk 10 minutes to a convenience store to buy snacks including Skittles candy requested by his 13-year-old brother, Chad, the family's lawyer Ben Crump said.

As Trayvon returned to the townhome, Sanford police received a 911 call reporting a suspicious person.

Although names are blacked out on the police report, Crump and media reports at the time of the shooting identified the caller as George Zimmerman who is listed in the community's newsletter as the Neighborhood Watch captain.

Without waiting for police to arrive, Crump said, Zimmerman confronted Trayvon, who was on the sidewalk near his home. By the time police got there, Trayvon was dead of a single gunshot to the chest.

"What do the police find in his pocket? Skittles," Crump said. "A can of Arizona ice tea in his jacket pocket and Skittles in his front pocket for his brother Chad."

http://news.yahoo.com/family-florida-boy-killed-neighborhood-watch-seeks-arrest-044537742.html

A few questions. Would perception change if the kid was armed? After all the kid could have defended himself if he was armed. If the kid had been armed and the Community Watch guy had ended up dead, would the kid be sitting in jail now? Should the cops now patrol this community and have a zero tolerance policy now that we know that the murder rate is through the roof? Should Community Watches in the area be clasified as gangs? Does the castle begin at the gate of the community? Should the race of the shooting victim be a factor in helping a self defense claim in this case?

 

[useless]

What if the kid was white? Just opining here.

 

[warpus]

How is that guy the victim? Or is that tongue in cheek?

 

[JollyRoger]

How is that guy the victim? Or is that tongue in cheek?

I'm sure the defense will be that he saw a suspicious guy in his gated community, he confronted the suscious person, the suscious person didn't take kindly to the confrontation, and he had no choice but to kill the suspicious person.

 

[flyingchicken]

I think it's tragic that poor people commit more (punishable) crimes than rich people, and that people of color are poorer in the USA. I won't fault the guy for calling 911, but going out to confront a kid he already thinks is dangerous, ending up killing him probably because he thought he was gonna pull out a piece, then maybe claim that it wasn't his fault?

That's like hanging out and drinking with your hot flirty secretary after work, ending up cheating on your wife because of the heat of the moment, then saying it wasn't your fault. YOU PUT YOURSELF THERE, BUTT CREVICE

 

[JollyRoger]

I think the cops would have least arrested the guy for infringing on their opportunity to taze the kid to death.

 

[emzie]

I'm unclear about castle doctrine here. If someone confronts another in public ground, does he still hold the right to not retreat? If castle doctrine is so liberal as to allow this guy to walk, it loses what support it had left from me.

 

[warpus]

Oh, this is a castle doctorine thing?

How could that be the case if the guy who was shot was a resident? Either way I hope they put this guy away for a long time.

We don't know what exactly went down. But either way an unarmed innocent man is dead.

 

[JollyRoger]

I think it will be more of a self defense claim than a castle doctrine claim, though the argument could be made that in a gated community, the castle starts at the gate, not the door of the home, especially when dealing with a mere guest to the community, not a resident.

 

[emzie]

I think it will be more of a self defense claim than a castle doctrine claim, though the argument could be made that in a gated community, the castle starts at the gate, not the door of the home, especially when dealing with a mere guest to the community, not a resident.

Can you claim self defence if you are the instigator?

 

[JollyRoger]

Can you claim self defence if you are the instigator?

Depends on how far your instigation went and how far the response to your "instigation" went.

 

[Takhisis]

Of course Community Watch should be classified as gangs, have you not played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City?

 

[Crezth]

Lock the murderer up and throw away the key.

 

[Yeekim]

1) This was murder, plain and simple.
2) How the hell is it possible the guy who did this was not arrested?!

 

[JohnRM]

Sounds pretty clear-cut, to me. The castle doctrine doesn't allow you to seek confrontations, first of all. It only allows you to stand your ground when confronted. The boy was obviously not armed and there is no reasonable argument for the shooter to claim that he was.

I am betting that the man confronted the boy with the intention of holding him there until police arrived. The boy became indignant over the idea and tried to get away and was shot in the process.

Most likely; Chalk it up to an overzealous wannabe cop. If he doesn't end up being charged, then I hope that the community erupts in protest.

 

[Bugfatty300]

I'd rather live in the worst crime ridden side of town and be responsible for my own safety than in some gated community were trigger happy self-appointed self-certified wanna-be cops who can't even recognize their own neighbors are allowed to confront me on the sidewalk and shoot me if I don't take too kindly to their interrogation.

Hopefully police will investigate this more closely rather than just taking the word of "victim" at face value.

 

[Cutlass]

This is premeditated homicide. The guy was intentionally looking for a chance to kill someone.

 

[LucyDuke]

It's been ten days since a guy got out of his car and shot to death a teenager on a sidewalk and he hasn't even been arrested?

i don't even

(However, rofl at the cgi fight in the video in the article.)

 

[Berzerker]

The castle doctrine doesn't allow you to seek confrontations, first of all. It only allows you to stand your ground when confronted.

so if someone breaks into my home, instead of investigating I gotta wait where I am for them to find me?

 

[Mr. Dictator]

so if someone breaks into my home, instead of investigating I gotta wait where I am for them to find me?

Breaking into your home isn't a confrontation?