George Zimmerman's attorneys apologize for mischaracterizing evidence
Source: NBC News
By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News
Attorneys for George Zimmerman apologized Sunday for mischaracterizing evidence they said boosted their theory that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor in his fatal meeting with their client last year.
Lawyer Mark OMara said during a hearing last Tuesday that the defense had obtained video footage of three fights, including one in which he said two of Martins friends "were beating up a homeless guy."
But Zimmerman's defense team corrected that statement on Sunday, saying O'Mara had unintentionally "misstated the nature" of the footage.
In a statement posted on Zimmermans website, the defense lawyers said the footage actually showed "two homeless guys fighting each other over a bike."
More at the link
Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/02/18702011-george-zimmermans-attorneys-apologize-for-mischaracterizing-evidence?lite
I think all the games are winding down and nothing good for Zimmerman is going to come of it.
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)Even Zimmerman's own lawyers know that he's hosed.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)worried than I have been...Zimmerman's defense is playing dirty tricks by knowingly releasing inadmissible evidence to the media just to poison the jury in that part of Florida...This is bad bad news!!
SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)This is NOT "desperation" it is dirty tricks to poison the jury pool!!! Zimmerman's attorney's are knowingly releasing things to the media they know are inadmissible just so it poisons the jury there in Florida...Zimmerman may not get convicted due to these stunts.
I would not count on anything being a done deal...This is far from a done deal!!
Drale
(7,932 posts)or Rod Blagojevich and its not going to work for Zimmerman either.
BVictor1
(229 posts)SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)We will see.
JI7
(89,283 posts)my guess is he might start working for Fox NEws as the legal expert who explains why all the racist andother bigoted crimes were really the fault of the victim.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)of the revised 'stand your ground' laws in this nation and it was rolling along pretty well, and it blunted the right wing agenda to rewrite laws all over the country.
Boomerproud
(7,976 posts)About 30% of them are just sickening.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Attached to their weapons should think twice about their actions. I sure hope the judge does not allow Trayvon's past history to be given in court unless they also present Zimmerman's past. Intact Trayvon should not be on trial.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Our pathetic attempt at poisoning a potential jury failed, and now we want to contain the pendulum which is swinging the other way on us.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)will change that. He meant to poison the well, and this shit is out there. Trayon can't defend himself, so why not make him look like a bad teenager. O'Mara is paid to get Zimmerman off any means necessary.
dmr
(28,352 posts)The damage is done.
I don't understand why there isn't a gag order.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)and texts on Trayvon's phone, and video tapes (which the lawyers admit were not what they had claimed earlier) in court is a sort of gag order. Its the best we can hope for right now. Also in that this crap has been bandied about from the second Zimmerman was taken in after the murder, a gag order would prevent the truth about the innuendo from being heard. Justice is slow and imperfect but I think Zimmerman is going to face substantial justice. He will be found guilty and he will go inside.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)the apology either way. And they won't be on the jury.
SCVDem
(5,103 posts)Then have O'Mara explain to the jury the whats and whys.
Explain yourself to the people that matter, all 12 of them!
DallasNE
(7,404 posts)"Don't do that!"
It is on tape and that trap is the one Zimmerman can't get out of. It establishes stalking and it cooks Zimmerman's goose. And when the voice experts go over the screaming voice and determine that it is not Zimmerman screaming, game - set - match.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)marew
(1,588 posts)It has NEVER been the goal of any neighborhood watch group to be vigilantes.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)...from a Jail Cell!
heaven05
(18,124 posts)going to go out on a limb here, it's pretty thick, and say he will be exonerated from all charges. I really do hope I'm wrong and the limb breaks, but I don't think so.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)the prosecuters seem fired up and so far as I know no deals been offered.
tblue
(16,350 posts)He will get the Casey Anthony/OJ treatment for the rest of his life no matter the outcome of this case.
brush
(53,968 posts)It won't be pretty if that killer goes free.
grok
(550 posts)Do it right and never apologize...
O'Mara is getting soft..
BigD_95
(911 posts)Zimmerman called 911... was told not to follow him.... but it is Zimmerman's right to follow him. .... so I can not stand when people make the argument he was told not to follow.... so what... he had every right to follow Trayvon Martin by law.... so please drop this talk... it doesnt mean anything
Now lets say Zimmerman did even in fact become concern with Trayvon because he was black..... again not against the law.
So he follows him. Went to get back in his truck and then Martin jumps him. Beating him pretty bad. Slamming his head into the road. SO Zimmerman fearing for his life shoots him.
I just dont see how Zimmermen would be found guilty. I really must be missing something. This talk that if Zimmermen would have listen when calling 911 Martin would be alive.... It does not matter. He had a right to follow Martin. There is no law that says if you suspect someone you cant follow them. Is it smart no. But that does not give MArtin the right to jump Zimmermen. Martin should have called 911 and said some guy is following him if he felt unsafe. It never gave Martin the right to jump Zimmermen.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)If Martin did hit him, it's a shame it wasn't hard enough to knock the murderous police wannabe out cold. Of course if he had, Martin would have been put in the slammer long ago, things being like they are in that locality.
BigD_95
(911 posts)Do you know that to be true? Did yell at him? call him names? Show his gun to Martin? You dont know any of this.
As a matter of fact. Zimmermen called the police. Followed him so he could tell the police where Martin was.... doesnt sound like a bully
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Let Zimmerman go (even if by hung jury), you can throw a party.
Bjorn Against
(12,041 posts)The fact is however an unarmed boy is dead and Zimmerman killed him, we know that Zimmerman was following Trayvon before the incident. When a pursuer kills the unarmed person who he was following that does not appear to me to be self defense in any way.
Pelican
(1,156 posts)They just have Zimmerman's story, his wounds and the observations of people who came after the fight had started and saw Martin on top of Zimmerman. What happened before that is the crux of the case...
naaman fletcher
(7,362 posts)I hadn't heard that.
Pelican
(1,156 posts)A quick google turns up...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/cops-witnesses-back-george-zimmermans-version/story?id=16371852
"The reports also note that two witness accounts appear to back up Zimmerman's version of what happened when they describe a man on his back with another person wearing a hoodie straddling him and throwing punches. "
naaman fletcher
(7,362 posts)samsingh
(17,602 posts)do you know that martin did not threaten to kill Martin?
BigD_95
(911 posts)we dont know. But no body knows if GZ did anything wrong either.
Witness say they saw Martin on top of Zimmerman. The wounds go with GZ story.
My point isnt if GZ is guilty. Its that nobody knows so there is no way to convict the guy
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)"nobody knows so there is no way to convict the guy"? Have you never heard of circumstantial evidence? It's used to convict a lot of people.
Your boy Zimmerman is going down, and not a minute too soon.
BigD_95
(911 posts)its better 100 guilty people walk then one innocent person found guilty.
I dont know if Zimmerman is guilty and he sure as hell aint my boy. But from what I know it does not sound like he is guilty.
Sheldon Cooper
(3,724 posts)I am amazed at the number of people who don't understand circumstantial evidence and what a role it plays in our judicial system. It's practically unpatriotic to be so unaware.
naaman fletcher
(7,362 posts)I didn't know that.
Anyway, I agree with you that Zimmerman will be exonerated (at least of the more serious charges). It's basically his word against a dead guys word, unfortunately.
samsingh
(17,602 posts)Isoldeblue
(1,135 posts)about Trayvon jumping gz, is that the only evidence for it, is from George, only. Who would say that to make himself look more favorable. But, the thing is, GZ has lied more than once. He has changed parts of what happened that night more than once.
So everything you say, is an echo of gz; with no proof.
And I think that Trayvon asked DeeDee to call 911, because some guy was following him.
tblue
(16,350 posts)I have followed this case closely. I kinda think the shooter might not be on the up & up. Doesn't matter what I think. But the facts are he shot an unarmed kid and there was no complete investigation at the time. Zimmerman has a history of violence and got caught lying to a judge in this case. I don't trust him; he has every reason to lie. And Trayvon is dead so he can't defend himself in court.
nice way to make someone sound when they are a troubled teen who fights & does drugs. I understand none of that you should die for because I was that same teen when I was young. But you are not unarmed if you are beating someone with your fist and slamming their head into the ground. Your fist become a weapon. You never heard of people getting beat up to death before? With out weapons?
At the same time if Martin did attack GZ how can you fault him from fearing for his life? If I followed someone I had concerns about and they attacked me it would be scary. I dont carry a gun or own one .... nor do I believe in them. But if MArtin "did" attack GZ I think he has blame in this also.
Martin could have kept walking away. Once he attacked GZ (if he did first ) then what happen after is sad but not a crime.
Everyone says GZ shouldnt have followed him. Maybe but that isnt against the law. If Martin attacked GZ first. That is against the law.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)Why did Zimmerman have concerns about Trayvon? He was a black kid in a hoodie. If you were "concerned" and you called the cops and the cops told you to back off and leave it to the 'professionals' why would you go confront the kid and shoot him?
Because you weren't concerned. Because you we called the cops to create a basis for "stand your ground" so if the kid did anything after you pulled your piece you could shoot him.
That's what you would do and that's what Zimmerman did. Unfortunately Trayvon didn't go without a fight and your .. I mean Zimmerman's .. little game went south.
I don't think you're as naive as you play.
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)The Zim defenders always act like they are "confubalated" over the facts of the case! This thread is bringing them out.
jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)While I disagree with winger talking points, I bloody well hate censorship.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)They alerted on the message.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)jollyreaper2112
(1,941 posts)One agreed to ban, the rest did not.
csziggy
(34,139 posts)That is what O'Mara was apologizing about - LYING about the videos he had claimed showed Martin fighting.
You said "Martin could have kept walking away." Martin DID walk away - GZ kept following him. GZ saw Martin coming into the neighborhood, drove past, stopped, waited for Martin to pass him, then continued to follow Martin in his vehicle AND on foot.
I have little in common with Martin - wrong sex, wrong age, wrong race - but if someone had done with me as GZ did with Martin, I would have been in fear. And if that person had showed up, confronting me and blocking my way home, as seems to have been the case, I would have been ready to get physical to get away.
The Stand Your Ground law seems to work in Martin's favor except for one main factor - Martin is dead and George Zimmerman gets to tell the story any way he feels like. Since GZ's story has changed and does NOT match the facts as shown by his own call to the Sanford PD (it was not a 911 call, it was a non-emergency call), I refuse to believe him.
undiegrinder
(79 posts)You "just havent followerd this story enough."
However, ignorance alone doesn't explain why you're so concerned about Zimmerman's "right to follow Trayvon Martin" (despite being told not to) and yet you're remarkably UNconcerned with Trayvon's right to walk home without being followed (and perhaps even possibly harrassed ?) by someone who had, minutes earlier, exclaimed during a 911 call, "F***ing c**ns !"
Maybe the "something" that you "must be missing" is an unbiased viewpoint ?
telclaven
(235 posts)This was actually shown to be audio manipulation by the media and not actually what was said.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Despite the lack of injuries on Martin's hands, indicating there was no beating.
Despite the lack of injuries on Zimmerman, indicating there was no beating.
But Zimmerman said Martin was a scary black man who attacked him for no reason, and you believe him. Despite the utter lack of corroborating physical evidence.
So, are you a massive racist, or is there some other reason you buy Zimmerman's story hook, line and sinker?
BigD_95
(911 posts)yet here I am being called a massive racist ... in the form of a question ..... yet the post is allowed to stay?????
marble falls
(57,425 posts)assume that you are a duck.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)How odd for a non-racist to not be able to state his non-racist reason for completely believing the white guy's story in the face of contradictory physical evidence.
marble falls
(57,425 posts)marew
(1,588 posts)GZ disobeyed the police. We have that right to ignore police directions? Link? Maybe in your world! Neighborhood watch groups are based on NOT confronting anyone. GZ was functioning as a part of a neighbor hood watch! That is just one part you are missing!
GZ is someone who desperately wanted to be a cop but was never accepted for obvious reasons.
Some looney tunes follows me at night- I'd have a problem with that also.
The lead investigator wanted to arrest GZ that same night but daddy's a judge...
BigD_95
(911 posts)and yes you can disobey police if they are telling you something that is not against the law.
Also the 911 person did tell him not to follow as a firm legal act. He said it as more of a suggestion. Go back and listen
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Zimmerman had no "right" or legal authority to follow him, Martin was not committing a crime...It's called racial profiling...I've enjoyed seeing so many supposed "liberals" on this site weave their pretzel logic to excuse this...
I'll be more than happy to guide you through the other finer points of the case you don't "get"...
debunked ??? what is there to debunk? Zimmerman is not a cop. There is no such thing as "racial profiling"
He could be a member of the clan. Its not against the law.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Thanks for telling me upfront you don't believe in such a thing as racial profiling...Lets me know exactly who I'm dealing with...
Either way, I'm dismayed you think this issue is something to laugh about...
thanks for letting me know who Im dealing with???
I never said I didnt believe in racial profiling. I said he is not on the police force. racial profiling if for people of law.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)at least one like him on the jury. That's all it takes to spring this jerk who never would have gotten out of his car without his gun.
ZRT2209
(1,357 posts)marshall
(6,665 posts)Lots of young guys are into it. They pay homeless men to beat each other up, but they don't beat them up themselves. It's posted online, sort of an Internet fad.
erpowers
(9,350 posts)Mark O' Mara did not in any way, shape, or form unintentionally "misrepresent the nature" of the videos. I think a regular person would be able to tell the difference between two people fighting over a bike and two young people beating up someone. O' Mara is a lawyer, so I would think he would be competent enough to know whether a video showed two young people beating up a homeless person or two homeless people fighting over a bike.
The real reason for putting out the information about the videos and misleading people is that O' Mara hoped he would not get caught. He probably also put the information out there for those who would not pay enough attention in order to later learn that he had misled people about the video contents. He may have also been going for the people who only get their information from anti-Trayvon Martin sources that would most likely never tell their viewers/listeners that O' Mara had misled people.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)marble falls
(57,425 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)dickwad.
Warpy
(111,417 posts)for trying a murder victim in the press and undercutting the ability of Zimmerman to get a fair trial anywhere.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,226 posts)"Did I do thatttttttt?"
Or....in the words of the great Texan Rick Perry,
"Opps!"
pokerfan
(27,677 posts)Poisoning the jury pool....
http://frederickleatherman.com/2013/06/02/llmpapa-quashes-a-lying-lawyer/
Spazito
(50,563 posts)He should be reported for a major ethics violation. He did this deliberately and it is not the first and, if he has his way, it won't be his last. He needs to be stopped, imo.
bluedeathray
(511 posts)Admitted facts in evidence? I've read lots of smoke and mirrors, but few factual admissions.
1. Did Z put a pistol in his pocket?
2. Did Z then get into his vehicle and drive in front of M's path?
3. Did Z get out of his vehicle and confront M?
4. Did this (supposed) confrontation conclude with Z shooting M in the chest?
F***ing tragedy.