I dunno, grown man with a gun versus a kid. Unless Trayvon knew some crazy ninja stunts and pressure points and all that, Zimmerman had all the advantage in the fight, especially when it goes to the ground. Even given that Travyon was a young punk, I'm not sure when a gun should've entered the picture, but it did. That's my verdict >>
Zimmerman has grass stains on the back of his clothing and lacerations on his head which corroborated his personal statement which claimed that Trayvon had him pinned between his thighs with Zimmerman on his back, and slammed his head into the pavement, which, if I was in the situation, I might assume that great bodily harm or death could be bestowed upon myself. Thus, I should be able to resort to using a fire arm if under such conditions.
Zimmerman was wrong to disregard law enforcement not to question Trayvon about his apparently suspicious behavior, as even a witness on the prosecution had corroborated the suspicious behavior of walking through private property under the eaves of several homes in the night. Rather than casually walking home with some skittles from the store as several media sources had claimed.
Though, you cannot be charged with manslaughter on the basis that you were physically confronted when questioning someone engaging in suspicious, and yes, illegal behavior of trespassing on private property.
The whole idea that race was a factor in the media portrayal is preposterous. ABC even edited Zimmerman's 911 call to make him appear to be racially driven. Then, in court, they aired the entire dialogue, and the statement was completely altered. Who's to say Zimmerman would not have been concerned if a Latino or White young man had been behaving in that manner.
There was little to no physical evidence that corroborated the claim that Zimmerman was race-driven, was the aggressor, or used excessive force. In order to be found guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt requires around 75-90% of the evidence in favor of the prosecutor as the burden of proof. The prosecutor had less than half, his witnesses continuously corroborated Zimmerman's account or were self-contradictory. How can we convict a man of a crime when there is no evidence to support it? Like any case, high visibility cases tend to drive the public to label the defendant guilty prematurely. with the false reporting of media news sources, given that they were revealed as fabrications given the evidence shown in the trial, this contradicts what a proficient justice system should entail. Further, given the lack of evidence to charge, the fabrication and public outcry forced the arraignment, which would not have occurred without such fabrication and attention given there was inadequate evidentiary support.
The whole facebook hostility is ridiculous and undermines the justice system, and therefore the law of the land which establishes stability. There needs to be reforms made to newsmedia reporting and fabrication involving criminal proceedings. They should not have free speech to perpetuate false information. They may give any opinion they please, but the evidence and summary of proceedings cannot remain free of consequence as it detracts from the public good disjointing judicial outcome based on fact with sentiment based on sensationalism.