As of yesterday, George Zimmerman's website has been taken down.

Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara, told Zimmerman to take it down because (as reported in The Miami Herald today): "O'Mara has hinted that he will ask Zimmerman to be declared indigent, which would allow taxpayers to pay for his legal bills. Any income from the website would make that process more difficult."

-- Nephele

I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall in the courtroom where Zimmerman's trial is taking place. I would need to see all the evidence before I determined whether or not he is truly guilty or innocent of his accusation.

These trials have a way to get everyone fired up, and when everyone is fired up mistakes happen. Hopefully his jury isn't going to be so emotionally charged where said mistakes happen, and he either walks or is imprisoned wrongfully.

If anything, two things are certain: The parents should rightfully grieve for their loss, and a man should get his fair trial by an impartial jury. Everything else is just speculation tainted by emotion that should be left out of the judgement. I had to swallow my words when I made an error when I assumed Casey Anthony was guilty, but was found not guilty in her trial. If I had it my way at the time she would be in prison by now

With this being said, I think it would be safe to remember Blackstone's principle that it is better that ten guilty people be allowed to walk free than to have one innocent person suffer.

It's just my two cents; take it for what it's worth.

^^Oh yeah, this trial is definitely going to be like the Casey Anthony trial in terms of popularity. On the one hand, I'm it's getting as popular as it if it hadn't, there would probably be no trial, and Zimmerman would have gotten off free.

When I first heard about it, it was literally only black radio stations (Michael Baisden, Tom Joyner) that were mostly trying to point out how much the police were protecting Zimmerman and themselves by fucking up the evidence on Trayvon's body. The biggest issue a lot of the black organizations had was not the actual murder (although it was upsetting), it was the way the cops handled, and I could agree with that.

And of course when I first heard about the case, I was scared by it for two reasons:

1.) I'm black (at the time I thought it was the reason the crime happened, but I'm not 100% sure now)
2.) I'm a teenager who wears hoodies, drinks Arizona tea, eats skittles, and walks around suburban neighborhoods alone while doing all three things at once.

Hell, I was just walking from the corner store in a hoodie eating candy the day before I heard about the case. And boy, was I both scared and outraged. Does that mean, I thought that I could get shot for walking down the street in what I wear everyday?

But after the initial shock and anger, I'm just glad that there will be a fair trial, and we can all move on with our lives. I've never been one to follow big televised cases like what the Zimmerman case will be, simply for what Arbitrator said. I agree that those cases are always hyped up and people get waaaayyyy too worked up over them.

Investigate what exactly? What was Trayvon doing that warranted "investigation"?

The news on this reads as if Trayvon was not normally in the neighborhood, and so he would have been precieved as a stranger [something which'll red flag people to neighborhood watch groups except in urban areas where its harder to recognize everyone on the street].

This would have given Zimmerman plausible reason to take notice of Martin, but in light of the lack of seeing anything wrong that's about as far as that should go. Perhaps Zimmerman would have been free to take a picture from a distance of Martin in case it were later determined that a crime had occurred, as then the picture could be used in that police [emphasis intented] investigation. Or failing that a good description. Honestly I don't even see reason for him to call the police in this story much less go confront him face to face, since there was no sign of a crime involved [unless there were no trespassing signs around the neighborhood and Zimmerman suspected Martin of trespassing].

EXACTLY! I might "take notice" of a stranger, but unless they are committing a crime, do I call the Police every time you see an unfamiliar face? Or jump out of your car with a gun to chase them down? Of course not....

^^Good point.

Anyone remember Marissa Alexander who I mentioned a few weeks ago? The black domestic violence victim who had shot a warning shot at her ex and was charged with firearm violations [contrary to FL's stand your ground law] and is now looking at a mandatory twenty year prison sentence for rightfully defending herself?

It has taken all this time but the case is finally starting to get attention from the mainstream press, and was a leading story on yahoo news this morning.

Plot twist: The prosecutor demanding she do at least 20 years for scaring off her abusive ex with a gun, without actually hurting anyone, is the same prosecutor who is going after Zimmerman [now that they politically have no choice but to do so].

To the people who would want to get rid of the stand your ground law, what do you think should happen in cases like Alexanders? Is 20 years for using a gun to save your life by scaring off a violently abusive ex in any way appropriate?

^^I honestly have no feeling for or against the stand your ground law.

Zimmerman needs to be locked up immediately. My heart goes out to the family and close friends more so than ever now that he is out on bail. I just know that hurt them when they found out he posted bail. I feel he should not have been giving the option to post bail.

I cant believe there are so many people out in the world who actually are taking his side in saying it was justified. I don't understand that logic if it were someone close to them or a family member I believe there opinion would change.

This is one of those things where the media blows it out of proportion, puts the racial stamp on it and suddenly all of society is judge and jury. I wasn't there. I don't know what happened. Honestly I don't care. It has been turned into something far more than it really is.

It really hasn't. For the sake of making the point, lets assume that Zimmerman is innocent and that he killed Trayvon Martin with Martin's own gun after a struggle.

He wasn't arrested. The cops failed to do their job. Self defence and "stand your ground" are valid legal defences, but defences happen in court. This has been a major fuckup by the police.

^^And that's why it's such a big deal PaganMafia. Not the actual murder of the boy (although many agree that his death was unfortunate), but the fact the police didn't do what they were supposed to do (arrest the suspect, identify the body, collect evidence).

No, its a big deal because the media made it so racially charged. MSNBC had Al Sharpton on it 24/7. And if anyone can spin something into something racial its Al Sharpton. And if Zimmerman is fojnd innocent it will be the same crap over again. Almost everyone already assumes he's guilty, ABC and whoever were editing 911 tapes, its been blasted across the news for months. If that's not being blown out of proportion what is? Because thousands of people die everyday. Yet we don't devote a fraction of news time to some of the bigger issues that were happening.

In relation to Trayvon's case, did anybody hear about a gun shop owner who was creating shooting targets for profit that resembled Trayvon Martin, bag of Skittles and iced tea included?

People have been purchasing these targets in support of Zimmerman. *Shakes head* The whole thing is sickening!