#TEAMJUMPOFF would like to announce that thejumpoffpodcast.com has a new featured blogger!!! We would like to welcome Ronnie Pettiford to the team! Ronnie will bring a independent/conservative feel to his entries that is well needed for balance in our society and in #TEAMJUMPOFF Below is his first entry detailing his feelings on the murder of Treyvon Martin. So get to reading and keep coming back for more from R. Pettiford. Check out more of his work at www.realityheights.blogspot.com and right here at www.thejumpoffpodcast.com If you want to become a blogger for #TEAMJUMPOFF email us at thejumpoffpodcast@yahoo.com THE JUMP OFF...IT ALL STARTS HERE!!!
Race Motivation or Race To Judgement
by R. Pettiford
As we all may agree, there are three sides to every story. There's one side, the other side, and The TRUTH. So in the tragic shooting death of an unarmed 17 year old in Sanford, Fla, what is the truth? That is a question being asked by the world right now.
Let's look past the media circus and political posturing for a second and take a look at the actual evidence as it stands, and attempt to create a time line that will recreate the tragic incident with as much accuracy as currently, and humanly possible with it. Evidence such as:
The 911 recordings
Eyewitness testimony
Martin's phone call to his girlfriend
Martin Family's testimony
Zimmerman's Testimony
We can start with the 911 phone call Zimmerman made when he initially spotted Martin. In it, Zimmerman described Martin as looking suspicious and behaving strangely. During this phone call with police he described Martin as wearing a hoody and jeans or sweat pants, and stated that Martin approached him and was “checking him out” while he appeared to reach in his waistband where he seemed to have been in possession an unknown object. (This turned out to be a bottle of tea and a bag of skittles, but there was no way of Zimmerman knowing that at the time.) After Martin walked away he seemingly began to flee and Zimmerman began to pursue him. The operator recognized that Zimmerman was breathing heavily and asked him if he was pursuing the suspect, Zimmerman said yes and the operator advised against it by telling him that they didn't need him to do that. Zimmerman seemed to ignore the advise of the operator, while making comments like, “They always get away” in a way that seemed to display a somewhat malicious intent.
Meanwhile Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend. During this conversation he stated to her that he was being followed and that he was nervous. Even with this information in hand, the remainder of that specific conversation has yet to be revealed. Specifics such as what was said before and after that specific statement, and what was said just before they both hung up.
Next you have the 911 call from the neighbor whose house the incident occurred near. In the panicked call, not only does the neighbor report that someone outside her home is screaming for help,but you can actually clearly hear the distinct desperate cries for help in the background. And the ensuing gunshot, after which she frantically hides upstairs. This important piece of evidence suggests that there was some sort of confrontation and maybe even struggle, but who where the desperate cries coming from? Martin's father was allowed to hear a recording of the call and stated that it was not his son's voice that was heard in the background crying out for help. That would only leave one possibility, that being ,the voice heard frantically calling for help was that of George Zimmerman.
This piece of evidence would co op with Zimmerman's testimony that there was a violent encounter and Martin was pounding his head into the concrete. And it would also help confirm another key piece of evidence, that being the now 3 or more eyewitnesses that have stated that Martin approached Zimmerman and an altercation ensued in which Martin had the distinct upper hand. Leaving Zimmerman in what he may very well have perceived was a fight for his life, giving him no choice but to defend it, in desperation, the only way he knew how.
In this tragic turn of events other important questions may arise. One being, could George Zimmerman have initially handled the situation better? The answer, Yes. Did Zimmerman display a profound lack of good Judgment? Absolutely. Is George Zimmerman the cold blooded murderer portrayed on the news? Well let's look at the actual incident that the family and community want tried in the courtroom, that's the act of the tragic shooting. No matter who was the initial attacker the fact remains that the defense of “self defense” is limited to a number of factors and scenarios.
Even if Zimmerman attacked Martin first, (which goes against the evidence provided), and Martin felt his life was in danger and was fighting for his life; Once you begin to defend yourself and successfully fend off your attacker and subdue them until the point that can no longer defend themselves and is no longer a threat, it is at that point you should stop. (Even in self defense classes you are taught to subdue your attacker and back off into a defensive position.) Any use of force past this point is seen in the eyes of the law as excessive, and now renders the initial “victim” as the attacker at this point, and the initial “attacker” is now the victim. Given the fact Zimmerman was essentially unable to defend himself as viewed by eyewitnesses and heard on the neighbor's 911 phone call during the altercation.
Therefore if I were selected to the jury to this trial, and given the current evidence, as it stands, I as a juror would find that Mr. George Zimmerman is NOT GUILTY BY WAY OF SELF DEFENSE.
There may be more evidence that comes out later that may change my mind. And the investigation is not yet complete. But as it stands today I would in all good conscience find Mr. Zimmerman as not guilty because the above reasons stated. From the evidence to the actual testimony of his own father it is clear to anyone who is honest with themselves and is really seeking the truth that the Sanford Police Dept did the right thing and reached the right conclusion.
