The former neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting Trayvon Martin told a judge Tuesday that he agrees with his defense attorneys’ decision not to seek an immunity hearing under the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.
Under questioning from Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, Zimmerman repeatedly said “yes” to a series of questions asking if he was aware he was giving up the right to a hearing before his second-degree murder trial in June. A judge would have sole discretion in an immunity hearing to decide if Zimmerman is exempt from culpability in the shooting. A jury would make the determination in the murder trial.
George Zimmerman’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 10th. Anybody think he’s actually going to walk away from this?
A Port Canaveral police sergeant was fired Friday after an internal investigation showed he offered other officers a target resembling Trayvon Martin to use for shooting practice.
Sgt. Ron King, a two-year veteran of the force of about 35 sworn officers, offered the target of a hoodie-wearing Trayvon at the range near Cocoa on April 4, Rosalind Harvey, a port spokeswoman, said Saturday.
The other officers, who were on duty, refused.
Much credit to the cops who turned down the officer’s offer. Also, WTF?
With ties to a racketeering case trailing her, Jennifer Carroll has called it quits. Carroll, a Trinidad-born politician who was the first non-European-American to hold statewide public office in Florida since 1868, once consulted for a nonprofit internet cafe company called Allied Veterans of the World, which is now at the center of a racketeering investigation. The owners of the company were recently arrested. ”Effectively immediately, I hereby resign the Office of Lieutenant Governor of the State of Florida. It has been an honor to have served the State of Florida in this capacity,” her statement, in full, said.
Lawyers acting for George Zimmerman, who shot dead the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin on a Florida housing estate, have abandoned their attempt to have his murder charge thrown out on the grounds of self-defence.
Neighbourhood watch leader Zimmerman, 29, had been expected to claim immunity from prosecution at a hearing in April under the state’s stand-your-ground law, which allows for the use of deadly force when a person feels their life is in danger.
But in a surprise move, his lawyer, Mark O’Mara, told a judge that the defence would take its chances at Zimmerman’s trial in June for second-degree murder. He said he still intended to pursue the argument that his client was acting in self-defence in February 2012 under a violent onslaught from 17-year-old Martin.
To be clear, Zimmerman is maintaining his innocence, saying that the death of Trayvon Martin was an act of self-defense; however, he will now face a jury trial instead of potentially being granted immunity by Judge Debra Nelson. George Zimmerman’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 10, 2013.
The floor was still giving in and the dirt was still going down, but I didn’t care. I wanted to save my brother. But I just couldn’t do nothing.Seffner, Fla. resident Jeremy Bush • Discussing the sinkhole that pulled his brother, Jeff Bush, into the ground Thursday night. While there were numerous people in the home at the time, Jeff was the only one sucked into the hole, which likely killed him. (Though Jeremy, in his rescue efforts, was nearly sucked in himself.) A sinkhole expert, Taylor Yarkosky, says that the limestone under the ground in Florida makes them particularly susceptible to such sinkholes. “You can almost envision a piece of Swiss cheese. Any house in Florida could be in that same situation,” he said. The porousness of the ground is caused by the high level of limestone—which is water-soluable—in the soil.
From that day until now, I’m still in disbelief. I just feel like he’s away. He’s away. I mean, in actuality, I know that he’s not coming back. I’ve had people to die, pass away in my family. But the level that I’ve gone through with this is just, it just surpasses everything that I’ve been through. Not only because it was a sudden death. It was a minor. It was a teenager. It was a, you know, it was my baby.Sybrina Fulton • Discussing what her life has been like since losing her son, Trayvon Martin, to gun violence after a scuffle with Florida resident George Zimmerman turned deadly. With Zimmerman expected to begin trial later this year, Fulton sat down with the Washington Post to give an update on her life and day-to-day mentality after losing her son. Martin died one year ago this week. source
It’s not just local eyes that are looking. It’s the international eyes that are looking too. Sometimes you can fall weak and can’t stand upon your own feet to fight a battle, but people look at that battle and fight it for you. And that’s what happened in Sanford.Sanford, Fla. resident Shantree Hall • Discussing the international scrutiny her town has received in the year since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed at the hands of George Zimmerman—a story which, in the past year, has become a key talking point for the issue of race in the United States. Martin died one year ago this week, with many of the circumstances around his death, including the Skittles he had just bought from a local convenience store and the hoodie he was wearing, becoming catalysts for public protests. In the year since the shooting, Sanford has slowly started to heal and recover from the months of public scrutiny that followed the case, but Zimmerman’s case is still pending in court with a trial date set for June.
While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost, I cannot in good conscience deny Floridians that needed access to health care. We will support a three-year expansion of the Medicaid program under the new health care law as long as the federal government meets their commitment to pay 100 percent of the cost during that time.Florida Gov. Rick Scott • Discussing his decision to expand his state’s Medicaid program via the Affordable Care Act, despite previously suggesting he would not. Scott, a former medical industry executive, was a staunch critic of the Affordable Care Act, and his decision puts him in conservative crosshairs. But his decision was partly personal — his mother recently died, and the reminder of her struggle to raise him and his siblings on a low income had given him a new perspective on the matter. “Losing someone so close to you puts everything in a new perspective, especially the big decisions,” he said.
201,000 Floridians didn’t vote in November because the lines were too long source
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
Wrote a thing.
Hat tip to this headline writer.
People who announced on Twitter that they changed parties last night: Charlie Crist. (MSNBC has the details.)
Exactly two weeks after Election Day, we finally have a winner in the race to represent Florida’s 18th congressional district. After a prolonged battle “to ensure every vote is counted accurately and fairly”, incumbent Rep. Allen West appears to have lost by less than 2000 votes (0.58% of the electorate). source
We are glad that so many voters made their voices heard in this election, but as we go forward we must see improvements in our election process. I have asked Secretary of State Ken Detzner to review this general election and report on ways we can improve the process after all the races are certified.Florida Gov. Rick Scott • In a statement regarding the state’s massive lines on election day. Scott plans to have his secretary of state investigate what happened — and to make improvements in the process. “We need to make improvements for Florida voters and it is important to look at processes on the state and the county level,” Scott continued. “We will carefully review suggestions for bettering the voting process in our state.”
Obama wins Florida, tops Romney 332 to 206 in electoral votes
Barack Obama has been declared the winner in Florida, topping Mitt Romney in the final electoral vote tally 332 to 206, AP reports.
Florida officials said Obama had 50% of the vote to Romney’s 49.1%, a margin of about 74,000 votes.
Photo: President Barack Obama addresses supporters during his election night rally in Chicago, Nov. 6, 2012. (Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)
It’s official, guys.
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