Free Republic

LONGWOOD _ Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the parents of the unarmed black teenager shot to death by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February, made an impassioned plea to change the state’s Stand Your Ground law that they say encourages vigilantism. Zimmerman claimed he shot their son Trayvon Martin in self-defense, permissible under the state’s Stand Your Ground law that allows people to use deadly force when they feel threatened. “I believe my son was standing his ground…He was afraid,” Fulton told reporters outside the mega-church where the public is now addressing the task force for the first time...

Race riots could ensue if George Zimmerman -- the shooter in the Trayvon Martin case -- is found not guilty of second-degree murder by a Florida jury, the Congressional Black Caucus' executive director allowed yesterday. "I think a 'not guilty' verdict is extremely problematic in 2012," said Angela Rye, the Executive Director and General Counsel for the Congressional Black Caucus. She said, "I don't know," when asked what would happen in the event of an acquittal. "I know that folks have talked about race riots -- I don't know that. I think that we live in a day and...

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...

George Zimmerman has returned to Central Florida, arriving late Saturday evening. On Friday, June 1, the court revoked Mr. Zimmerman's bond, ordering him to return to custody within 48 hours. The defense team has coordinated with the Sanford Police Department to ensure Mr. Zimmerman's security when he turns himself in before today's 2:30 PM deadline. While out on bond, Mr. Zimmerman has been living in a secure, undisclosed location as there are significant threats against his life. Mr. Zimmerman's lawyers will request a new bond hearing where they can address the court's concerns regarding the representation of funds available at...

A Florida judge revoked the bail bond of George Zimmerman on Friday and ordered the man charged in the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin to surrender within 48 hours.

ORLANDO, Fla. (WLS) - Prosecutors asked a judge Friday to revoke the bond of the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Prosecutors said in a motion that 28-year-old George Zimmerman and his family misled them about his finances when testifying during a bail hearing that allowed him to be released from jail on a $150,000 bond. Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda asked for the revocation during a hearing to help determine if prosecutors and the defense can stop the public release of certain documents in the case. During the bond hearing in April, Zimmerman's relatives testified they...

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Judge revokes Zimmerman's bond in Trayvon Martin killing; gives him 72 hours to surrender.

SANFORD, Fla. (KABC) -- A judge has revoked George Zimmerman's bail, giving the Florida neighborhood watch volunteer 48 hours to surrender. The judge's move comes after prosecutors filed a motion requesting to revoke his bond on Friday, saying Zimmerman misled the court about his finances and his possession of a second passport, which he acquired two weeks after he shot unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during an altercation. In recordings of conversations also released Friday, Zimmerman and his wife are heard talking cryptically about his second passport in a safety deposit box they shared. The two speak in code in the...

“If the number of persons murdered by the police were included in the sum of executions, America would rank third in executions globally – just behind Iran.” The Trayvon Martin horror reminds us that U.S. foreign policy mirrors its domestic behavior towards Blacks and browns. “If leadership inside the U.S. will do this to their own citizens, what is done to others outside the U.S. should come as no surprise.” “The United States Department of Justice, according to the ACLU 2009 report, has done virtually nothing to combat the clear evidence of systemic racism the nation.” As a mother of...

Expert No. 1 One of those experts is Alan R. Reich, and his answer is that he is certain he can hear a young man he concludes is Martin pleading for his life, from the start of the 45-second recording until the end. Expert No. 2 Another way to consider the 45-second recording is the way James J. Ryan considers it. Ryan is the retired head of the FBI forensic audio, video and image analysis unit. He said even the best audio forensic expert in the world using the most sophisticated equipment available would have a difficult time determining much...

Statistics show a deep divide in opinions along racial lines regarding the killing of a black Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, by George Zimmerman, who is of mixed ethnicity, white and Hispanic. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, invoking the Sunshine State’s “Stand Your Ground” law which has also come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the incident. Reuters news service reported last week, 91% of blacks believe Martin was unjustly killed, while only 35% of whites concurred. Hispanics were in between at 59% according to polling numbers Reuters gathered by querying nearly 2,000 Americans. The disparity of views over Martin’s death...

When George Zimmerman tries to convince a judge or a jury that he shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense, the evidence in the case appears to be a mixed bag. More than 200 pages of photos and eyewitness accounts released byprosecutors Thursday show he and Martin were in a loud and bloody fight in the moments leading up to the shooting...

When the tragic story of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin consumed the nation over the past few months, a number of questions were raised about racism, vigilantism, and self defense laws. However, the most important question was always the first one; what exactly happened that fateful night? The shooter, George Zimmerman, has always claimed that he fired his gun in self defense, something many found hard to believe considering the young boy he killed was unarmed. However, tonight, ABC World News broke information about the injuries Zimmerman received that may shed more light on just how that night went...

A medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation.

House Democrats said Tuesday they will offer an amendment to push to overturn stand-your-ground self-defense laws in states like Florida. The amendment, which would withhold some grants from states that have such laws, will come as part of the House's debate on the Commerce Department spending bill. Emphasis added