Category: trayvon martin

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Politics trayvon martin

Jordan Davis’ Murder Trial Begins – Michael Dunn Claims ‘Stand Your Ground’ Defense

Jordan Davis
Michael Dunn

The trial of a Florida man accused of shooting a black teenager begins today in a case that has drawn similarities to the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case.

Jordan Davis

Michael Dunn, 47, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder after police said a November 2012 dispute with a group of teenagers outside of a Jacksonville convenience store turned deadly.

Dunn and his fiancée stopped at a convenience store on their way home from a wedding reception and pulled up next to a sport utility vehicle where Jordan Davis, 17, was sitting with friends, according to police.

Authorities said one of the teens complied when Dunn told them to turn down their music, however, Davis told him to turn down the volume again.

Dunn, who had a concealed weapons permit, then allegedly pulled out his handgun and fired several shots into the vehicle, fatally striking Davis in the back and groin.

Police said Dunn told them he feared for his life. Dunn’s attorney said he saw a gun and fired in self defense.

Jury selection for the trial began today.

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Express Yourself trayvon martin

Church’s Nativity Display Features a Dying Trayvon Martin

Claremont United Methodist Church’s annual Nativity display this year features a “dying Trayvon Martin” as the “centerpiece,” as reported yesterday at InsideLocal.

The artist, John Zachary, has previously created several such Nativity Scenes for the Claremont United Methodist Church in California, using themes such as “homelessness, war, immigration…

The Church’s website proclaims,

“As faithful disciples of Jesus and His teachings, we advocate for the full inclusion and acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons and their families in the church and community.”

This politically active church features a blog that highlights “action alerts.” Some of the items include “40 Days of Prayer for Immigration Reform,” “Safe Communities, Safe Schools, Ban Assault Weapons,” and “Protect Young Women, Immigrants, Native people and LGBTQ people from violence!”

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Featured News trayvon martin

George Zimmerman’s Girlfriend wants Case Dropped, Document Says

(CNN) — George Zimmerman’s girlfriend is asking a judge to lift an order that blocks her from seeing him and says she doesn’t want charges filed against him.

In a court document obtained by CNN Monday, Samantha Scheibe says she wants a no-contact provision against Zimmerman lifted so the couple can “talk and be together.”

“I am not afraid of George in any manner and I want to be with him,” she says.

Zimmerman was arrested on November 18 at Scheibe’s Apopka, Florida, home after the two had a heated fight. According to a police report about the incident, Scheibe said that after an argument, Zimmerman broke a table with a shotgun and then pointed it at her “for a minute.”

But in a signed affidavit filed by Zimmerman’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, Scheibe says Zimmerman “never pointed a gun at or toward my face in a threatening manner” and claims police misinterpreted her.

“I believe that the police misinterpreted me and that I may have misspoken about certain facts in my statement to the police,” she said. “I do not feel that the arrest report accurately recounts what happened.”

Zimmerman is accused of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of domestic violence battery and criminal mischief in the incident. His arraignment is scheduled for January 7.

Search in Zimmerman case turns up weapons, ammunition

He was released on $9,000 bail and has denied the accusations.

h/t – CNN

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Politics trayvon martin

Melissa Harris Perry’s Open Letter to Angela Cory – Stop Blaming The Victim – Video

Melissa Harris Perry wrote an open letter to Florida’s Prosecutor Angela Cory – the same Angela Cory who sent Marissa Alexander to jail for 20 years for firing a warning shot to scare off her abusive husband, and the same Angela Cory whose prosecution team allowed George Zimmerman to walk free after killing Trayvon Martin.

And in her letter, Perry shed some light on a little nugget that I’m sure many have missed, that Angela Cory appears to penalize the victims more than she does the perpetrators. Melissa focused her letter on Cory’s prosecution on Merissa, but her words could have very well be for Cory’s failure in finding justice for Zimmerman’s victim, Trayvon Martin.

There is nothing like being home for the holidays with your loved ones. So I can only imagine that this Thanksgiving is particularly bittersweet for Marissa Alexander, who was granted a special pre-trial release at 10:30 PM on Wednesday – Thanksgiving Eve – after spending more than 1000 days in jail, and barely seeing her youngest child who just recently turned three.

But my letter is not to Marissa. Sis, I am saving that one for when you are finally freed for good. No, my letter this week is to the woman that worked to put you in jail in the first place: Florida State Attorney for the fourth judicial circuit, Angela Corey.

Dear Angela Corey, It’s me, Melissa.

Angela, there are few times in life that we get second chances to right our wrongs. Well Angela, this is yours.

You have been called a fierce victim’s advocate, so it is way past time that you start acting like it.

Because a woman who was hospitalized in 2009 after being shoved into a bathtub and hitting her head – she is a victim.

A woman whose estranged husband has admitted to abusing all five mothers of his kids – she is his victim.

And when that woman, that victim, who has just recently given birth, fires a warning shot near the man that has cornered her in her home – she is a victim who feels she has no other recourse.

But that is part of the problem, Angela. You never saw Marissa as a victim. You saw Marissa as the aggressor and even justified why the infamous “Stand Your Ground” law was not applied in Marissa’s case.

Because, as you put it, she was not fleeing from an abuser, even though Rico Gray, her estranged husband, has admitted telling Marissa that he would kill her if she ever cheated on him.

You have said that the shot fired was not consistent with a warning shot because it was at adult head height. Marissa is three inches shorter than Rico Gray.

And according to you she didn’t have to get 20 years in jail. That also was her fault, right Angela? You said to NBC’s the Grio back in May: “She didn’t have to get 20 years, because I took into account their prior domestic history and her lack of a [criminal] record, and we offered her the three year mandatory minimum.”

Marissa is a mother of three. And she is a victim of abuse.
Any mother knows that one day away from her child is 24 hours too long.

And when you are an abuse victim, you have to believe that the courts will finally free you from the cycle of violence instead of criminalizing you for trying to protect yourself.

If nothing else, the last two years should have shown you that an aggressive prosecution is not always the best one.

So while I know Marissa is thankful this holiday to be home with her family while she awaits her new trial on March 31st, 2014, maybe you should spend this holiday being thankful that you have a second chance to right this obvious wrong.

Sincerely,
Melissa

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Politics trayvon martin

George Zimmerman Hit With a $2.5 Million Legal Defense Bill

George Zimmerman got away with murdering Trayvon Martin based on dumb arguments from his attorneys like, Trayvon Martin was armed with a sidewalk and used it to attack Zimmerman. The prosecution bringing the case against Zimmerman failed to show the absurdity of that argument, and they allow the jury to walk away thinking Trayvon really had a sidewalk in his back pocket.

Zimmerman smiled when the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, and he left the courtroom a free man. But apparently not free from the bill. According to The Orlando Sentinel, the bill from Zimmerman’s lawyers has arrived, and I doubt the check will be in the mail anytime soon.

O’Mara took on the case in April 2012, saying he would represent Zimmerman at no charge. Then he discovered that Zimmerman and his family were raising funds via a website and that money was pouring in, at least initially.

Throughout the case, even after the trial, O’Mara said he and West had not been paid a dime, although they hoped to be someday.

In an interview this week, O’Mara said Zimmerman paid them “a minute amount” after the trial.

O’Mara is still hopeful, he said, that there might someday be money he and West can collect.

In truth, they have already benefited financially from Zimmerman’s legal-defense fund. Several months ago, O’Mara reported spending $52,550 on “law firm support and infrastructure.”

O’Mara and his spokesman never provided a detailed accounting as to what that included, but they said it was such things as more computers, upgraded software, new phones and improved office security.

West and O’Mara also formed a private partnership, Timber Run Enterprises LLC, and bought the building next door to O’Mara’s Concord Street office in downtown Orlando. That building, like O’Mara’s office, is a former single-family home for which the lawyers paid $270,000.

 

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Politics trayvon martin

Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman as Halloween Costumes? SICK

A kid lost his life, gunned down by the man who stalked him through a Florida neighborhood. That man was later put on a mocked, make-belief trial where he was later freed. And this is what the family of the slain teenager gets to see online – a Halloween party with these people glorifying their son’s murder.

A pair of Florida men decided to celebrate Halloween this year by dressing up as George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, complete with blackface and blood-stained hoodie.

The image of the duo (click to enlarge) was uploaded Friday to the Facebook page of Caitlin Cimeno, a Martha’s Vineyard native who captioned the photo “Happy Halloween from Zimmerman & trayvon.” Cimeno, flanked in the photo by the two men, followed those words with a smiley face emoticon.

Greg Cimeno, 22, portrayed Zimmerman, complete with a “Neighborhood Watch” t-shirt. Cimeno lives in Cape Coral, Florida, where he appears to work for a carpentry firm.

William Filene, 25, dressed up as Martin, covering his face in black paint and donning a gray sweatshirt with a single bullet hole surrounded by fake blood. Filene, who also lives in Cape Coral, was arrested in June for felony auto theft. His rap sheet also included collars for loitering/prowling and failing to register an automobile.

In a plea deal, Filene copped to the auto theft charge during an August hearing in Lee County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to 18 months probation, and now has his own page on the Florida Department of Corrections web site (which includes this mug shot).

After Caitlin Cimeno posted the photo to her Facebook account (which she has since scrubbed), Greg Cimeno responded to comments about the image. “Anything for the laugh,” he declared. When one of Caitlin’s friends wrote that the photo was “Not too funny,” Greg replied, “Not too funny. It’s fucking hilarious!!!”

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News trayvon martin

Medical Examiner – Trayvon Martin Was Shot In The Back

Dr. Shiping Bao

Dr. Shiping Bao, was the Volusia County medical examiner in charge of handling slain-teenager Trayvon Martin’s body in February 2012. He now claims that Trayvon Martin was shot in his back.

Bao says that the Prosecution intentionally lost the case because Trayvon Martin fit the profile. According to Bao’s attorney, Willie Gary, the medical examiner’s office, the state attorney’s office and the Sanford Police’s “general attitude was that [Martin] got what he deserved.

According to the former assistant coroner, the results of Martin’s autopsy clearly showed that, despite Zimmerman’s statements regarding their altercation, there was no feasible way for Martin to have been on top of Zimmerman when the gun was fired,  because the bullet entered Martin’s back.

Bao claims that the prosecution never actually asked him the questions that were crucial to the success in the case, and that he changed his opinion from the time he initially examined Martin and the time he was on the stand.  Bao and his attorney say they believe he was fired for questioning the way the case was handled, and possibly for not going long with the desired narrative.

Bao testified in court that the amount of marijuana that was found in Martin’s system at the time of his death would have had little to no effect on his ability to reason—even though initiallyy he had stated that the drug could have possible impaired his mental state.

h/t AlterNet

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Featured trayvon martin

Shellie Zimmerman Calls 911 – George is “threatening all of us with his firearm”

George Zimmerman’s wife has called police to her father’s house, saying the former neighborhood watch volunteer who was acquitted of murder threatened her with a gun.

Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell says Shellie Zimmerman called police shortly after 2 p.m. Monday from her father’s house on Spurcewood Road.

Listen to the 911 call

In the call, Shellie Zimmerman told dispatchers that George Zimmerman was sitting in his car with his hand on his gun.

“He’s just threatening all of us with his firearm,” she said. “He punched my dad in the nose. My dad has a mark on his face.”

Shellie Zimmerman said her estranged husband then took her iPad and smashed it.

“There’s a Lake Mary’s city worker across the street who I think saw all of it,” she added.

Bracknell says Zimmerman hasn’t been arrested and officers are at the house trying to determine what happened.

Shellie Zimmerman filed for divorce last week. In the divorce petition, Shellie Zimmerman says she and her husband separated a month after Zimmerman was acquitted of any crime for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin.

Since being acquitted, George Zimmerman has been pulled over twice for speeding. His acquittal led to protests nationwide.

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Politics trayvon martin

Rapper Plies Honors Trayvon Martin

The death of Trayvon Martin has had a huge impact on the African-American community and while some honored the teen by blacking out their profile pictures on social media and wearing hoodies, rapper Plies went an entirely different route.

In a video message to his fans, the Florida rapper reveals his new gold Trayvon Martin chain. While unorthodox, Plies appears to be sincere with his gesture.

“I wanted to make sure the little homie was with me at all times,” he said. “He impacted my life just that much.”

Plies went on to pay his respects to the Martin family for the loss of their child and promised that Trayvon will never be forgotten.

“Trayvon, I’m gonna keep you around my neck at all times…It’s just that important to me.”

The “Bust It Baby” emcee isn’t the only rapper to honor the memory Trayvon Martin. West Coast emcee The Game showed of his portrait tattoo of Travyon earlier this year

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Politics trayvon martin

Unlike The Average Republican, Colin Powell Calls Zimmerman’s Verdict “Questionable”

Why Colin Powell still label himself a Republican is beyond my understanding. In yet another vast contrast between him and his party, Powell is siding with the majority of sensible Americans, calling out the injustice of the George Zimmerman verdict.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell says the jury verdict that freed the killer of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was “questionable.” But he isn’t sure it will have staying power in the public consciousness.

Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Powell said cases like Martin’s “blaze across the midnight sky” and are forgotten.

The first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and first black secretary of state, Powell says America has come a long way toward racial equality 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Powell recalled being refused service when trying to buy a hamburger before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Minorities have many more opportunities today, but Powell says King would still demand work on education, housing and economic opportunities.

And amazingly, it is his party, the Republicans, who are working their hardest to deny minorities education, housing and economic opportunities.

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Politics trayvon martin

George Zimmerman Pulled Over In Texas For Speeding – Gun in Glove Compartment

TMZ reports that George Zimmerman is still armed and theoretically dangerous … he was stopped by cops for speeding and revealed he had a gun in his glove compartment.

Zimmerman was speeding in Forney, Texas on Sunday, just after noon, when he was stopped by police.  Zimmerman told cops he was headed “nowhere in particular,” and informed them he had a firearm in his glove compartment.

Zimmerman was given a warning, after cops determined he was free of warrants.  He was sent on his way with a polite goodbye, “Have a safe trip.”

The stop lasted around 5 minutes.

BTW … law enforcement tells TMZ … he was NOT wearing a disguise … it was full blown George Zimmerman

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Bill O'Reilly Politics trayvon martin

Michael Eric Dyson Slams Bill O’Reilly’s Race Commentary – Video

On Sunday’s Melissa Harris Perry‘s show, a clip of Bill O’Reilly’s commentary was played where the Fox host thought he was doing the African-American community a favor by educating them on racial issues. Bill O’Reilly began his segment with an attitude – You want a conversation about race? You got one – Bill O’Reilly said, after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the Trayvon Martin case. O’Reilly spoke his words with a look of disgust on his face as if someone just interrupted him from watching his favorite show.

O’Reilly then went into his version of “the conversation,” criticizing blacks and black leaders, including President Obama for not making life in the hood any better. According to Mr. O’Reilly, race relations will be much more improved when Blacks pull themselves up by their bootstraps, be better parents and have better entertainment. “You can’t legislate good parenting or responsible entertainment,” Bill says.

No mention from the Fox host on what Whites should do in making race relations better in this country. That is where Mr. Dyson came in with his commentary. “You know,” Dyson said, “what’s interested to me… why is it when we say we want a conversation on race, you want to have a conversation on blackness?”

Watch the rest of Dyson’s commentary below.

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