Free Republic

<p>SANFORD, Fla. – For weeks, the death of Trayvon Martin, the investigations it launched and the civil rights rallies it spurred were the most important news stories in the country, according to pollsters.</p> <p>At least six news organizations or polling companies did surveys. What they documented, in general, was that people were fascinated and outraged by the Feb. 26 death of the unarmed 17-year-old and angry at the shooter, Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman.</p>

Police recordings made the night a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain allegedly shot and killed an unarmed 17-year-old boy outside his stepmother's home sent the boy's mother screaming from the room and prompted his father to declare, "He killed my son," according to a family representative. The series of emergency and non-emergency calls to police depict the apparent progression of events on Feb. 26 that led to the watch captain, George Zimmerman, 28, who is white, allegedly shooting Trayvon Martin, a high-school junior who is black, as the teen made his way home with a bag of Skittles and a can...

Neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman made statements to police that help establish his guilt in the second-degree murder case against him for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, prosecutors said in a court filing on Thursday. The claim came in a motion by prosecutors to keep some of Zimmerman's statements under seal pending his trial in a case that triggered civil rights protests across the United States, while sparking widespread debate over guns, self-defense laws and U.S. race relations. "Defendant (Zimmerman) has provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory, and are inconsistent with the physical evidence...

The new evidence released by prosecutors makes clear that if the case even reaches trial, which is highly unlikely, Florida’s Stand Your Ground law means Zimmerman is sure to get acquitted, writes David R. Dow. With last week's release of a trove of information about the Trayvon Martin killing, three things are now apparent. First, special prosecutor Angela Corey's statement last month that public pressure had nothing to do with the decision to bring charges against George Zimmerman is exposed for the bunk that it always was. Two weeks after the shooting, well before the story went national, a principal...

Among the recently released evidence in the Trayvon Martin case is an interview with a former co-worker of George Zimmerman’s who claims he was bullied regularly and harassed with racist taunts by the embattled neighborhood watchman. According to the witness, Zimmerman picked on him because he was new to the position and regularly mocked him because he is Middle Eastern, calling it “high school-like humor.” Zimmerman allegedly called the man a “f-----g moron” daily and used the voice of a fictitious character called “Achmed the terrorist” to address him. The man also said that Zimmerman would makes jokes about the...

<p>A medical report by George Zimmerman’s doctor has disclosed that Zimmerman had a fractured nose, two black eyes, two lacerations on the back of his head and a back injury on the day after the fatal shooting. If this evidence turns out to be valid, the prosecutor will have no choice but to drop the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman — if she wants to act ethically, lawfully and professionally.</p>

The Washington Post was already skating on thin ice with its fantastically convenient hit piece on Mitt Romney, published in perfect synchronization with President Obama’s embrace of gay marriage. Designed to paint Romney as a mean-spirited homophobic bully during his prep school days – which, let us remember, occurred over seventeen thousand days ago – the ridiculously bloated and overly-dramatic 5000-word Post “expose” related the story of how Romney allegedly led a gang of high-school hooligans and forcibly cut the hair of a “presumably gay” fellow student named John Lauber. The piece does a great deal of mind-reading to insinuate...

George Zimmerman admits he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. But was it self defense? ABC7's Scott Thuman went inside the Sanford, Florida neighborhood where the shooting happened. He talks with Frank Taaffe, a friend of Zimmerman's, and a former neighborhood watch volunteer himself, who says it was self defense. Taafe shows us what he says eye witnesses told him happened that night in the Twin Lakes neighborhood. In this now infamous neighborhood, there's almost as much foot traffic as vehicle traffic. There's a cut-through frequented by kids, some following the very same footsteps as Trayvon Martin. But in an area...

The parents of 17 year old Trayvon Martin arrived in London this morning, to thank the British people who have lent their support. Among the many letters of condolence which they received was one from Doreen Lawrence, whose own son was killed in a racist attack in South London 19 years ago. The two families met today, at the memorial to Stephen's death, united by a search for meaning, amid their personal grief. A day to look back, as well as forward: a reminder of a young man's killing that has become as totemic for America as Stephen Lawrence's death...

Ten alleged members of a white supremacist group training near Orlando and Disney World for a "race war" have been rounded up in a series of arrests in central Florida, authorities said on Tuesday. The arrests were based on evidence from a confidential informant who infiltrated the neo-Nazi organization known as the American Front 17 months ago, according to an arrest affidavit. "The American Front (AF) is a military-styled, anti-Semitic, white supremacist, skinhead organization and is known as a domestic terrorist organization," the affidavit said.

Law enforcement officials in central Florida have been rounding up members of a white supremacist group who were allegedly training with weapons at a rural Osceola County compound. The training was reportedly in preparation for a coming "race war." The group was also planning a "disturbance" at Orlando City Hall to recruit new members, according to court documents. The arrests of the 10 alleged members of the neo-Nazi skinhead group American Front, or AF, came after a confidential informant infiltrated its Osceola County chapter and shared information about the group's plans with state investigators. The arrests serve as one of...

It took a month and a half after George Zimmerman executed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin before an arrest was made. Though special prosecutor Angela Corey asserts that an investigation had been ongoing, all the evidence and statements made by the police chief and others involved with the case make it very clear that, had it not been for a massive outpouring, especially from the Black community, George Zimmerman would still be walking free. It was fear of a rebellion that led to the state responding and to Zimmerman’s arrest. And not to be forgotten or glossed over were the resilience and...

BIRMINGHAM - AL - Family and friends are in mourning, the funeral service was held at Living Stone Temple church, community members tell me they're not too happy that no arrests have been made. During the service, Walkers family was overcome with emotion during the ceremony and had to step outside. Many mourners wore red, black and white t-shirts with walker's picture saying "In loving memory of Tez". Dr. Al B. Sutton Jr. led a sermon preaching out the book of mark and had a direct message to young adults as well as the parents in the building. "Our son's,...

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — This is the land of die-hard Democrats — mill workers, coal miners and union members. They have voted party line for generations, forming a reliable constituency for just about any Democrat who decides to run for office. But when it comes to President Obama, a small part of this constituency balks. “Certain precincts in this county are not going to vote for Obama,” said John Corrigan, clerk of courts for Jefferson County, who was drinking coffee in a furniture shop downtown one morning last week with a small group of friends, retired judges and civil servants. “I...

At least when people are attacked by black mobs for being white it will be reported by the local media — provided the victims work for a newspaper. From Norfolk, Virginia: "Wave after wave of young men surged forward to take turns punching and kicking their victim. The victim’s friend, a young woman, tried to pull him back into his car. Attackers came after her, pulling her hair, punching her head and causing a bloody scratch to the surface of her eye. She called 911. A recording told her all lines were busy. She called again. Busy. On her third...

Over the weekend, CNN carried a story about the "The fine line between self-defense and murder" (http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/29/us/stand-your-ground/?hpt=hp_c1) At last check this story has 8331 comments! Searching Google News for "Daniel Adkins" (3 results) does not return a link to this story. You must search for "Daniel Adkins" site:cnn.com to bring the story up. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=daniel+adkins&oq=daniel+adkins&aq=f&aqi=d2&aql=&gs_nf=1&gs_l=news-cc.3..43j43i400.1960.1960.0.3337.1.1.0.0.0.0.55.55.1.1.0.#hl=en&gl=us&tbs=sbd:1&tbm=nws&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22daniel+adkins%22+site:cnn.com&oq=%22daniel+adkins%22+site:cnn.com&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=serp.3...53109.60659.10.62078.13.13.0.0.0.0.196.1042.12j1.13.0...0.0.t6RaLYBqPsc&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=3cdb24598c494ce6&biw=1352&bih=565 (2 results {Bing 5}) Sorry for the long link, but WTF. Is a "white Latino" any the less important than a "black American"? ...and before you shred me, I don't think these cases are equivalent!

CNN US section running poll: Do you feel Florida's 'stand your ground' law is helpful or harmful?

A new report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) shows that more than more than 68,000—or 68 percent—of the 99,691 guns recovered in Mexico between 2007 and 2011 were either made in the U.S. or legally brought into the U.S. at some point. As you might expect, gun-rights advocates and gun-control advocates view the data quite differently, The Hill reports. Gun-rights advocates say the 68 percent number is overstated because the sample pool only reflects guns submitted to the ATF for traces. There are many other guns in Mexico, and many don’t have a U.S. connection,...

Almost from the beginning, there were two aspects of the “George Zimmerman as racist assassin” story that made little sense. First, who calls the police, then murders a total stranger in cold blood knowing that the cops are minutes away? Panic seemed likelier than malice. Second, how does a 28-year-old man with a desk job catch a fleeing 17-year-old high school athlete, anyway? I say “almost,” because like most Americans, I responded to the Trayvon Martin tragedy as President Obama did — in sorrow, and with pity for the immense dignity of the young man’s parents. They and their son...

On March 19 NBC6 ran a story on the phone call George Zimmerman made in connection with the Trayvon Martin case. In that story an error in editorial judgment was made in which a question from the operator was deleted which could have created the impression that Mr. Zimmerman’s statement may have been singling out Trayvon Martin because of his race. We take this incident very seriously and apologize to our viewers. After conducting an extensive investigation, we are putting a more stringent editorial process in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.