In the last 24 hours, there have been some new developments in the Trayvon Martin death and the case against George Zimmerman, the man who killed Martin. Simply put, the developments are amazing.
First, the photo of the back of Zimmerman's head taken three minutes after gunshots were heard on the 911 call has now become public. The photo shows big cuts on the back of Zimmerman's head with blood flowing across and down his scalp. The cuts look like serious injuries.
Without a doubt, the photo is corroboration of Zimmerman's story that Martin knocked him down and knocked his head against the concrete pavement. We know from the internal data of the I-phone on which the pictures were taken that the photo was immediately after the shooting. Since Zimmerman has consistently claimed that he was acting in self defense after he was knocked down and injured by Martin, the picture is an enormously important piece of evidence.
Why this picture has remained hidden from view until now is something I certainly cannot understand. Had none of the evidence come out before now, I could see that the state was not releasing anything. But we have seen all sorts of evidence in the past.
The reaction of the media to the picture is priceless. My favorite is the way that ABC played it. You may recall that ABC is the organization that splashed a big story across the news that video from the police station showed that Zimmerman was uninjured when he was brought in about a half hour after the shooting. ABC trumpeted that Zimmerman's story about being attacked by Martin was now shot down by the evidence. Of course, other sources then had the video tape enhanced to show detail, and the clearer tape showed two or three wounds on Zimmerman's head. ABC did not miss a beat; it mentioned that it had gotten the tape enhanced (but failed to mention that it had done so after others had first disproved the original ABC story.) With this latest photo, however, ABC said that the picture "might tend to possibly support" Zimmerman's story. In the same story, however, ABC then blamed Zimmerman for Martin's death as a result of Zimmermen "profiling" Martin. Where was the "might" or the "tend to" or the "possibly" when ABC claims racial profiling? The truth is that ABC is still trying to convict Zimmerman in the media even though the evidence is getting weaker and weaker as it becomes public.
The second development today is obviously that Zimmerman was granted bail. This is not unusual particularly for a man with no criminal record, who turned himself in when asked and who has strong ties to the community. To hear the crazies on the internet discuss it, however, the granting of bail was just racist behavior by the judge.
I have not seen all the evidence. No one in the media has seen all the evidence. One thing that I do know, however, is law. It is hard to imagine that a jury will be able to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with the new picture there in front of them. Zimmerman says Martin jumped him and beat his head against the ground. The picture confirms part of that story. Absent a witness who testifies to the contrary, there is no way that a reasonable jury could find with the required certainty that Zimmerman's story is false. Since the law in Florida would allow the use of deadly force in self defense, Zimmerman seems likely to walk.
It is sad to think that after all the manufactured outrage, we may find that the system just acquits Zimmerman after putting him through hell.
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