Archive for George Zimmerman

What I will not write about today

frustrated13

Sometimes I get so frustrated and/or disheartened and/or annoyed by some of the news stories of the day that I can’t bring myself to write about them. Here are a few recent reports that made my blood pressure hit the roof. I am avoiding delving into them at length out of concern for my physical and mental health.

Actually, I did write about one of them: Gun background check plan fails in Senate 54-46. Here are statements from NRA, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and VIDEO: #Newtown parent, Obama on failure to pass gun violence law: “Gun lobby & its allies willfully lied about the bill.”

Here are the others that drove me to drink:

See what I mean? So who’s up for a couple of Margs or a trough of wine?

soon to be a drunk mess

George Zimmerman must keep 24-hour monitor

A quick FYI regarding the Trayvon Martin case via Michael Muskal at the L.A. Times, where there’s more:

George Zimmerman, charged with the second-degree murder of an unarmed black teenager, will continue to have 24-hour-a-day electronic monitoring, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday.

At a hearing in Sanford, Fla., Circuit Judge Debra Nelson rejected a defense request to modify the conditions of Zimmerman’s release. The defense had sought to have the full-time GPS monitoring discontinued and permission to allow Zimmerman to go outside the county.

Hat Tip to Price Benowitz Criminal Defense

Woman claims Trayvon Martin killer Zimmerman molested her for more than a decade, his family members “proud racists”

(AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary W. Green, Pool)

We’ll find out if George Zimmerman will be tried and/or convicted for shooting an unarmed teen named Trayvon Martin. We already know he’s gotten off to a bad start by misleading the court, leading the judge to say that Zimmerman was going to jump bail with other people’s money and “Trayvon Martin is the only male whose youth is relevant to this case.”

Now we have something else that may not play well in the court of public opinion, via HuffPo:

A woman with close ties to George Zimmerman and his family told investigators that members of Zimmerman’s family were boastfully proud racists and that for more than a decade Zimmerman sexually molested her.

“It started when I was six,” the woman told investigators during an interview on the morning of March 20. “We’d all lay in front of the TV and we had pillows and blankets and he would reach under the blankets and try to do things and I would try to push him off but he was bigger and stronger and older,” the woman said, audibly weeping in the Florida State Attorney’s Office interview recording released Monday. “It was in front of everybody and I don’t know how I didn’t say anything, I just didn’t know any better.”

This went on, allegedly, for 13 years, from when she was six years old until she was nineteen.

“It’s not just me that he did these things to,” she said. The witness said that she talked to another woman who she claims was also molested by Zimmerman, but would not come forward.

Several news sources are reporting that she is a relative of the Zimmermans.

The woman has also claimed that Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin because he was black. She is the second person who suggested Zimmerman family members “harbored negative racial views.”

Since it’s important to use the word “allegedly” when discussing legal matters, let it be on the record that I am allegedly sickened.

HuffPo has audio of the witness here.

VIDEO: Florida judge sets bond at $1 million for Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman

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FYI, from MSNBC:

A Florida judge granted bond Thursday for George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin. It’s the second time Zimmerman has been given bail ahead of his trial.

Judge Kenneth Lester set bond at $1 million, but Zimmerman will only need to come up with 10 percent, with the rest provided by a bail bondsman, NBC News reported.

Zimmerman, 28, has been in jail since last month, when prosecutors told the judge that Zimmerman hid from the court the fact that he raised $135,000 in online donations. Lester then revoked the $150,000 bail he had granted Zimmerman on April 20.

UPDATE:

(CNN) — But an even bigger challenge is finding a bail bond company that will work with the family on the requirement of $1 million in collateral, defense attorney Mark O’Mara said later Thursday. The family does “not have anywhere near” the collateral amount, according to the attorney.

“We are encouraged we can work this out,” O’Mara said in a statement.

Donations to Zimmerman’s legal defense fund have dropped significantly while Zimmerman has been jailed, O’Mara said. [...]

The fund has a $211,000 balance, but has $40,000 in payables for defense expenses.

UPDATE: Judge: Zimmerman was going to jump bail with other people’s money… Judge: “Trayvon Martin is the only male whose youth is relevant to this case.”

Newly released records: Trayvon Martin’s killer George Zimmerman had broken nose, no head trauma; only sought medical help to get doctor’s note for work

Per The Miami Herald, the medical report detailing George Zimmerman’s injuries was put together the day after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. A few questions are finally answered:

The day after he killed Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman went to a clinic with a broken nose, black eyes and two cuts on his head, but the physician’s assistant determined he didn’t suffer any head trauma, newly released medical records show.

Zimmerman declined to go to an ear, nose and throat specialist even though it was recommended, the physician’s assistant who attended him twice noted. [...]

The medical records document several injuries, but also state that the only reason Zimmerman sought medical attention was because he needed a doctor’s note to return to work, Duval County Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda said in court last week.

The black eyes were consistent with the nose injury, but he didn’t need stitches for the two cuts on his head because they were already healing. He was also on “a variety of medications” for various ailments.

So to recap, he had a broken nose but no head trauma, felt good enough to avoid going to a specialist (ignoring advice, just as he ignored the “we don’t need you to” follow Trayvon Martin advice from the dispatcher), and he only asked for medical help because he needed a doctor’s note for work.

Video- Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rules 6/29/12

Sanford Police Chief Fired Over Handling of Trayvon Martin Case

Earlier Paddy posted the video of George Zimmerman’s reenactment of his shooting of Trayvon Martin.

Following up on that, Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee was finally fired due to his failure to arrest George Zimmerman after he killed Trayvon.

Via BET:

“After much thoughtful discussion and deep consideration for the issues facing the city of Sanford, I have determined the police chief needs to have the trust and respect of the elected officials and the confidence of the entire community,” city manager Norton Bonaparte saidin a statement. “We need to move forward with a police chief that all the citizens of Sanford can support. I have come to this decision in light of the escalating divisiveness that has taken hold of the city.”

Trayvon’s family welcomed the news.