George Zimmerman in custody, faces second-degree murder charge

[smile72]

Updated at 6:09 p.m. ET: George Zimmerman has been taken into custody and will be charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, authorities announced Wednesday.

"We did not come to this decision lightly," Angela Corey, the special prosecutor appointed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to re-examine the case, said at a news conference in Jacksonville, Fla. Corey had previously announced that she wouldn't take the case to a grand jury, which took first-degree murder off the table.

Corey said she decided last week to seek the charge but needed several days to make sure all details were in order. She said she had informed Martin's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton. Under Florida law, Zimmerman, 28, must be taken before a judge within 24 hours of his return to Seminole County, where he has acknowledged he shot and killed Martin, 17, in the town of Sanford on Feb. 26.

Zimmerman is being represented by Mark O'Mara, an Orlando lawyer and former prosecutor, after his previous attorneys said Tuesday that they had lost touch with their client and were withdrawing from the case.

Authorities in Sanford — began preparing early in the day for public reaction to the announcement. Several counties in the region activated their emergency operations centers and were on heightened alert, NBC News' Kerry Sanders reported from Sanford, while Seminole County sheriff's deputies spent Wednesday morning setting up barricades along the booking area for new inmates at the county jail, NBC station WESH of Orlando reported.

Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Peruvian, says he shot Martin, who was black, in self-defense after following him in a gated community in Sanford. Police questioned Zimmerman but decided against pressing charges.
The lack of an arrest or charges had sparked protests nationwide, with critics alleging that Zimmerman confronted Martin because of his race. Zimmerman's supporters deny that.

A federal civil rights investigation is also under way, but U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesdaythat the Justice Department had to meet a "high bar" to bring any charges.
The main federal role is to "support the state in its ongoing investigation," Holder told reporters Wednesday morning in Washington. At the same time, he said, the Justice Department is conducting its "own thorough and parallel investigation" to try to resolve the case "in as fair and complete a way and as quickly as we can."

Finally he is arrested. Now I hope that justice can go forward whichever way it may swing.

 

[Hells Malice]

Aaah going to jail for a blatantly racist crime of killing a defenseless black kid. Jail is going to be fun. I imagine "Karma's a bitch" will be the summary of his time there.

 

[Gahars]

And see how the calm, rational approach to this case has worked out?

 

[Blood Fetish]

Aaah going to jail for a blatantly racist crime of killing a defenseless black kid

Why do you consider this act to be "blatantly racist?" It is my understanding that a hell of a lot of information about this case is unknown to the public at this time.

 

[gloweyjoey]

Aaah going to jail for a blatantly racist crime of killing a defenseless black kid

Why do you consider this act to be "blatantly racist?" It is my understanding that a hell of a lot of information about this case is unknown to the public at this time.

Listen to Zimmerman's call to police dispatch. He knew it was a kid, and was told not to follow the kid by the dispatcher, but Zimmerman followed the kid anyways becuase he thought he was "acting real suspicious" and had his "hand in his waiste", he had skittles and ice tea and was talking to his girlfriend.

right before the point in the call when the dispatcher tells him not to follow him you can hear him get out of his car and start going after him and he says something under his breath which a lot of people think it was a racial slur. He says "f*cking" then you cant hear the next word, some people think he says punk though.....

 

[Blood Fetish]

What about that is blatantly racist?

 

[Rydian]

And from what I've read some media agencies even lied about it for various reasons, and some pictures presented in initial cases weren't even of the right people.

 

[Blood Fetish]

And from what I've read some media agencies even lied about it for various reasons, and some pictures presented in initial cases weren't even of the right people.

Some media outlets have tried quite hard to make this case appear to be racially motivated, because the OJ trial was a ratings bonanza for them. The truth is incidental.

 

[gloweyjoey]

And from what I've read some media agencies even lied about it for various reasons, and some pictures presented in initial cases weren't even of the right people.

Some media outlets have tried quite hard to make this case appear to be racially motivated, because the OJ trial was a ratings bonanza for them. The truth is incidental.

The call he made to dispatch has nothing to do with any media agencies. Listen to it yourself and decide if he uses a racial slur or not.

 

[BlueStar]

And from what I've read some media agencies even lied about it for various reasons, and some pictures presented in initial cases weren't even of the right people.

You mean like this?

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/martin.asp

 

[Ethevion]

I'm glad he's finally behind bars.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

WOW I love how people want to justify the killing by finding offensive photos of the deceased.

Anyway, there's no proof to show that this was racially charged. Furthermore, the tape were George Zimmerman is supposedly saying "Coon" is not viable. The only thing we know for sure is that George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. The racial implications are just speculation as this point.

 

[Blood Fetish]

I'm glad he's finally behind bars.

Shouldn't you be glad he's facing a trial? You know, innocent until proven guilty?

 

[Hyro-Sama]

I'm glad he's finally behind bars.

Shouldn't you be glad he's facing a trial? You know, innocent until proven guilty?

Innocent of what? He killed Trayvon Martin. He's going to Jail. We're just waiting to find out if it's manslaughter or murder.

 

[Thesolcity]

I'm glad he's finally behind bars.

Shouldn't you be glad he's facing a trial? You know, innocent until proven guilty?

It seems in the face of sensationalism, people forget you have to respect others' rights.

"No, I demand you follow every letter of my rights. What? Yours? Forget about it."

Innocent of what? He killed Trayvon Martin. He's going to Jail. We're just waiting to find out if it's manslaughter or murder.

There is a court system for a reason. You wouldn't want certain individuals claiming you're a dirty software pirate and labeling you so before a fair trial, would you? Trials separate rumors from facts. We think he shot him maliciously, while testimony and the police report seem to indicate that as the truth. Now the hard part is seeing if a hate crime charge can be tacked on. I'll let the evidence talk, not the preachy Reddit/Facebook nitwits.

 

[smile72]

And from what I've read some media agencies even lied about it for various reasons, and some pictures presented in initial cases weren't even of the right people.

That was all from the right, they tried to portray Trayvon as a thug the photo you are talking about came from a neo-Nazi website.

 

[dickfour]

This whole ordeal has been foisted on the public by professional race hustlers and perpetuated by a media that covers up the thousands of black on black killings because it doesn't fit their narrative. They'll actually call a hispanic white to further their agenda. This whole thing is a construct to get blacks to he polls for obama because black unemployment is 18%. Anyway it's good to see that good old fashion race baiting is alive and well

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[smile72]

This whole ordeal has been foisted on the public by professional race hustlers and perpetuated by a media that covers up the thousands of black on black killings because it doesn't fit their narrative. They'll actually call a hispanic white to further their agenda. This whole thing is a construct to get blacks to he polls for obama because black unemployment is 18%. Anyway it's good to see that good old fashion race baiting is alive and well

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[Jugarina]

Can someone direct me to where I would be able to uptain a copy and/or photograph online of Trayvon's death certificate. I need proof of death like this or similar documents or pictures related If someone knows where I could find them. Thanks.

 

[dickfour]

This whole ordeal has been foisted on the public by professional race hustlers and perpetuated by a media that covers up the thousands of black on black killings because it doesn't fit their narrative. They'll actually call a hispanic white to further their agenda. This whole thing is a construct to get blacks to he polls for obama because black unemployment is 18%. Anyway it's good to see that good old fashion race baiting is alive and well

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