The event started off with Martin (unarmed 17 year old that resided in Sanford, Florida where the scene took place) walking to his father’s home after stopping at 7-Eleven to buy skittles and iced tea. He passed by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. George began to follow Martin because he was acting in a suspicious way
. Zimmerman phoned the police and continued to follow Martin through the gated community. Soon later they confronted. The police do not know who aggravated the other and that left a massive hole in piecing together the evidence. The police sifted through Martin’s texts and found evidence of him smoking marijuana and taking part in fights but the police have not released the in-detail evidence to the public. Zimmerman’s lawyer used the United State’s self-defense laws to his advantage when defending Zimmerman due to the specifics that are put into it. Zimmerman used the outdated law to work his way through court and become considered innocent.
The US self defense laws allow for one to use reasonable force in defense of their self or others.
In my opinion George Zimmerman is innocent because there was a lack of evidence in the case as-well as the outdated US self defense laws. If the self defense laws were updated, it is likely that Zimmerman would have been guilty because of other factors. For example, George did not follow orders from the 911 call and remain inside the car. For these reasons, Zimmerman’s trial has resulted in him being released.
If you would like to see more details on this case you can click on the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-defense_(United_States)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-dardashtian/zimmerman-trial-self-defense-law_b_3594741.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/13/george-zimmerman-not-guilty_n_3588743.html
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/2013/07/14/zimmerman-outrage.html
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/obama-urges-americans-to-respect-zimmerman-verdict-1.1366770