Alan Dershowitz: Drop George Zimmerman’s murder charge

In the Casey Anthony case, the state failed to prove she had killed her child.

Zimmerman has admitted killing Trayvon... but he claims SELF DEFENSE... Totally different ball game.

There is NO way to compare the two cases.

 

Why do you think his hands were in the vicinity of the gun?

Page 106 for the PDF file. Another interesting aspect is there was blood on T's shirt in places it was not on his sweatshirt. The absence of blood/DNA on T's hands, cuffs, and lower sleeves helps show he was not beating on Z.

 

Because the shot was within 18 inches of Trayvon's chest.

Thanks. Very interesting pages. There was plenty of blood. The lack of a match does not prove the negative. I think it does NOT support a self-defense though. IMO, it supports the speculation that Trayvon was going after the gun. Do you happen to know if they looked for residue on Trayvon's hands?

 

Intermediate range does not have a definitive measurement due to several factors but I don't see how even the 18 inch range mandates T's hands were close to the gun.

I have not seen any definitive report of GSR tests on T's hands and have been looking.

I don't see any evidence they were wrestling over the gun. Considering the dim/dark lighting conditions, I see no reason to believe T simply saw the gun, and the Kel-Tec is pretty small compared to many 9mm handguns. If I remember correctly, the holster was also black. I think if T had seen the gun he would have screamed out loud he saw it and we would have heard it on the 911 call.

People say it doesn't make sense T was screaming for help if he was on top but that is nonsensical because people defending themselves from an aggressive stranger often cry for help while resisting their attacker. Otherwise, it means when women scream while fighting their attackers proves the women were the aggressors.

 

I just pointed this out in the PDF file thread but I would like your take on this point of gunshot distance:

Clothing: contact shot

Skin: Intermediate range

It is not plausible to believe T was pulling his own shirt away from his body.

It is not plausible to believe that when Z pointed the gun at T that the hoodie and T-shirt stopped the gun from getting closer to T's chest.

The only plausible explanation I can see is Z was pulling on T's clothes as T was trying to get away. This also helps explain why T was found face down away from Z. Once Z pulled the trigger he let go of T's clothes and T's body fell in the direction of his attempt to move away from Z. This also helps show both were standing when the shot was fired as the bullet went straight through T's chest. If T was on top, and we know he wasn't according to the last eyewitness who saw them, the bullet would have been at an angle.

I also caught an eyewitness report that was a bit puzzling. She stated she saw a neighbor asking someone who was on the ground, by himself, if he was okay and wanted 911 called. It was after this the gun was fired. Could be simply witness error but it was pretty early in the investigation when this was given. If this is correct, it means at least three witnesses saw one person on the ground by himself before the gunshot.

 

If you are looking at a specific page, please note it so I can see what you are referring to. I'd have to assume here that Trayvon's clothes were not against his body. But I would not assume someone was pulling on them. He was very skinny and wore clothes too big. Just go with the simplest explanation

Or. Trayvon was leaning forward fighting for his life. His loose clothes (as shown in the 7-11 video) fell away from him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqLOeuBwJOI Look at Trayvon's clothes at 0:15 - 0:18. They are very large and fall away from his body when he leans over slightly.

IMO, the trajectory shows that George had complete control of his weapon. He was able to aim it directly at Trayvon's heart. That does not support any claim that he was being violently beaten at the time.

I haven't seen this. It doesn't go with anything else I've seen.

 

Sorry for not giving page numbers but will do it from now on and will look up again the pages for the contact shot on the clothes.

It makes sense it shows Z was in control of his weapon when fired.

I understand T's clothes were baggy and would fall away from him but that is meaningless because his clothes could not stop Z's gun from getting closer without aide. Something had to be pulling T's shirt away from him to prevent the gun from getting closer to T's body. The entry point distances on the clothes and skin are not consistent and obviously a gun barrel would provide enough forced to push the loose clothes directly against T, unless force pulling his clothes away from his body interfering with that.

As for the eyewitness, this discovery file is the first look we have had at the actual statements. Since Austin Brown also saw one person on the ground just before the gunshot, her statement is partially verified by a different witness.

 

All the armchair experts with no clue.

 

Fortunately though, this Internet lynch mob doesn't have a rope.

 

In the Casey Anthony case, 99.999999999999% of the people were absolutely convinced that not only was Casey Anthony guilty, but that she was going to be sentenced to death for the murder of Caylee Anthony.

My advice to you, SkyStriker, 12th Man, and everyone else who seems to think that the trial is just a formality to go through before you begin to fit George Zimmerman with a rope necktie, is to wait and see what happens.

If you'll take a step back from your preconcieved notions, and look at the evidence from the viewpoint of the defense - you'll see that there is a whole lot of reasonable doubt as to what happened that night. And as I've said previously - Zimmerman doesn't need a 12-0 acquittal, all he needs is one deadlocked juror to hang the jury and have a mistrial declared.

Y'all are thinking this is going to be a slam-dunk, walk in the park for the prosecution. As I've said before -- I don't see how Zimmerman can be convicted on the evidence that exists - there's too much room for doubt.

 

You assume a great deal.. I certainly don't want GZ to be lynched.

I didn't follow the Casey Anthony case at all. In Florida this case will be tried by a six man jury.

But, remember that GZ has admitted to shooting Trayvon.. so that is NOT the issue.. The issue is was the shooting justified?

So, GZ will put on an affirmative defense.

As I see it, GZ's story is implausible.. that it didn't happen as he said it did.. but again, that will be decided by the jury based on evidence that we haven't seen.

 

I find it nearly unbelievable that anyone would fault Zimmerman or anyone for being diligent and active in their community, for going the extra mile to ensure the safety of his community, for reporting suspicious activity, and going so far as to follow a suspicious character so as to impart the characters whereabouts to the Police. I have to chalk it up(his accusers) to the slacker mentality, in that it makes the slackers look bad. And it does. Zimmerman's a good guy. I'd love to have him as a neighbor, a friend and a community member.

 

Like any lynch mob, they have to vilify their prey so the don't feel bad about their own bad behavior.

 

How is Zimmerman's story implausible? There is physical evidence on both his body and on Treyvon's body that backs up his story, and there were eyewitnesses that claim that Treyvon was seen on top of him beating him up. Hence, GZ's story appears to be quite plausible.

 

Just so long as you are not the one "looking suspicious", right?

Are you talking about how some people are trying to justify the killing because Trayvon smoked pot in the past and "dressed like a hood"?

 

The timing and distances are all off.. GZ didn't turn back to go to his truck.. and if he had Trayvon wouldn't have followed him to the north cut through back to the other street...

 

Why would it be off, T ran to his house, Z went after him but lost him, looked around, decided to go back to his truck, by then T is back down where Z is and confronts him. No problem with timing there.

 

Z did not make his neighborhood safer. Before he came along, nobody had murdered an unarmed teen in Twin Lakes Retreat. Maybe you are the kind of Stormfront fan that thinks killing young black unarmed males is keeping neighborhoods "safer." Thank GOD the majority does not agree with that level of insanity.


You are also ignoring an important part, and will continue to ignore it but maybe someone else can pick up on it. The problem isn't that Z was reporting a suspicious person. The problem is Z had already convicted T of being a criminal based on nothing but skin color.

 

Trayvon has NO REASON to follow Zimmerman... NONE

Why would Trayvon turn around and go north up the alley?

 

Once again you repeat the fantasy of T doubling back as fact. How can you guys even keep posting on this after you have been proven wrong every step of the way?

 

No fantasy, it is in Dee Dee's testimony to the prosecution. You just wish to make something else up. Nothing new there.

 

Well, of course you would know what Trayvon was thinking, you claim to have been clairvoyant through this whole thing.

 

There isn't a single eyewitness currently saying T was punching Z before the shooting.

The physical evidence does not support Z's version at all. There was no blood or DNA from Z on T's hands, cuffs, or lower sleeves. There was blood under T's fingernails but it was his own blood and none of it was from Z. There is also no evidence T ever touched Z's gun or even knew Z had it before the trigger was pulled. The inconsistent distances of the gunshot between T's clothes and skin also show a problem with the claim of self defense. In addition, there was blood on T's shirt in places that was not on his hoodie.

If you guys don't realize the significance of no DNA from Z on T's hands, cuffs, and lower sleeves, all I can say is wow. You probably shouldn't even be trying to debate the issue.

 

You think about it..

Trayvon ran away..

If GZ came into the alley looked around and turned back to go to his truck, WHY would Trayvon go after him?

 

Dee Dee never said T double backed and you know that. Like I've said before, without dishonesty, you guys wouldn't be able to defend Z at all. The embarrassing part is even using dishonesty you can't justify the shooting.