It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman kept following Martin after the dispatcher told him not to (he is a free citizen and can walk down the street if he so chooses)
It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman asked Martin what he was doing(he is a free citizen and can talk to whomever he so chooses, it’s called free speech)
It doesn’t even matter if Zimmerman started the fight.
All that matters is if at some point during the fight Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger, at that point had the right to use deadly force to save his life (it’s called self defense)
The flordia stand your ground law does not apply here so what law of defense is he using.
All that you say may in fact be true. The investigation will sort this out. I think that if he did in fact follow him, he is liable for something. I’m no lawyer so I don’t know for sure. All of that is irrelevant though. What is relevant is someone died needlessly and tragically. It may turn out to be just a terrible tragedy where no one is at fault, but someone is still dead. Is that worth possibly following him and putting in motion these tragic events? I don’t think so.
There are cases in which a person claimed that they felt threatened -- not that they were being physically attacked, but only "felt threatened" -- and reacted with deadly force and are walking around free today. In all likelihood, had Zimmerman ended up dead instead of Martin, that could have been Martin's defense.
Most of the arguments people are bringing up are state-of-mind type arguments: Was Martin afraid of the stranger who seemed determined to follow him? Was he angry? Both? Did Zimmerman ever consider that Martin might NOT be a bad guy? (I'll insert my personal opinion here - he didn't. I believe that Zimmerman honestly felt that Martin was guilty of something. His various comments to the dispatcher indicate that over and over.) When surprised/confronted by someone he already believed to be a bad guy, was he afraid? If so, how aggressively (righteously, courageous-in-the-face-of-danger in his mind) would he have reacted?
I don't think that "vigilante" was Zimmerman's normal state of mind. I also think that comments made during his call could, COULD, be used to argue a heightened sense of frustration with "assholes" who "always get away." I absolutely, 100%, believe that Zimmerman AT NO POINT thought to himself, "I'm gonna kill me a black kid today if I get the chance." His father is right; Zimmerman isn't that kind of racist. He's the same type most of us are. We judge people -- not just blacks, but everyone -- by how they dress, how they walk, how they speak...and we apply stereotypes. Zimmerman saw a black kid, in a hoodie, meandering around, and thought bad-guy-up-to-no-good...and acted upon that thought.
Walking around trying to spot a "suspicious person" isn't illegal. However, it can be argued that a reasonable person, especially a kid who's been raised in the "stranger danger" era, might view that as threatening. From what I've read, poor judgment on the part of both Zimmerman AND Martin caused this. And poor judgment in and of itself is not illegal. Poor judgment that results in injury or death can be - that's why we have laws on the books that cover negligence and such.
Did the person act in such a way those actions might reasonably result in injury or death?
Did Zimmerman not consider that searching for a criminal (which I believe was already decided in his mind) might result in a confrontation?
Did he not consider that if a confrontation occurred, he might have to draw the weapon he carried?
Did he not consider that drawing that weapon might result in death be it the "criminal's", his, or a bystander/occupant of a nearby residence?
Questions like this are usually reviewed by a DA, then possibly by a grand jury and trial jury.
This was a tragic event from start to finish for ALL parties involved.
All that matters is if at some point during the fight Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger, at that point had the right to use deadly force to save his life (it’s called self defense)
It very much DOES matter if Zimmerman started the fight. Florida law states that:
"The justification described in the preceding sections of this chapter [e.g., the self-defense justification] is not available to a person who . . . (2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless . . . [s]uch force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant."
So, if Zimmerman started the fight (or even if he merely "provoke[d] the use of force against himself"), he was not entitled to use deadly force against Martin in the ensuing fight, unless he reasonably believed he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm ("great bodily harm" is typically defined as harm that puts one at a substantial risk of death or permanent serious disfigurement). Moreover, even under these circumstances, if he started the fight, he could not use deadly force unless he had already exhausted all means of escape other than the use of deadly force (e.g., by starting the fight, he would have nullified the "stand your ground" principle, and would have had an obligation to retreat if possible). This is a very difficult standard to meet.
So, yes, it very much matters whether Zimmerman started the fight.
True, although did he get into close contact range? Then it becomes another matter. They were in close contact range at some point.
It doesn’t matter if Zimmerman asked Martin what he was doing(he is a free citizen and can talk to whomever he so chooses, it’s called free speech)
True, and Martin could have told him to eff off too.
It doesn’t even matter if Zimmerman started the fight.
That is wrong, and one of the things being sorted out before Florida makes their decision.
All that matters is if at some point during the fight Zimmerman felt that his life was in danger, at that point had the right to use deadly force to save his life (it’s called self defense)
Close. What matters is if Zimmerman REASONABLY believed his life was in danger. Reasonably in the eyes of the jury, not the eyes of George Zimmerman, David Duke, Barack Obama, or Al Sharpton. Whether he was or not is still being investigated.