. . . I can't speak to Florida, but in Texas if you clearly disengage from a conflict even if you started it, and the other party tries to kill you by, oh, I don't know.....bashing your head repeatedly on the sidewalk.....it is an affirmative defense to the use of lethal force.
Is there solid evidence that Gz initiated a confrontation?
That's the crux of the matter - so far, I have seen ZERO evidence that Zimmerman initiated any confrontation.
Chris, DeSelby
et.al., - IF Zimmerman cornered Martin, assaulted him, or tried to illegally detain him, he would clearly be the aggressor and his claim of self defense wouldn't hold up in court; in such a circumstance I doubt anyone on this board would say otherwise, and most would agree that Zimmerman would and should be convicted; perhaps not Murder 2, but
something.But if Zimmerman's assertion holds up that he stopped following Martin
before any confrontation with Martin occured and that it was then
Martin who pursued him and
initiated a violent assault, that's quite a different matter. One can argue persuasively that Zimmerman shouldn't have gotten out of his car to follow Martin on foot, but most don't see following a suspicious individual - note that's
following, NOT assaulting, NOT cornering, NOT detaining - as a criminal action, particularly when the person doing the following is on the phone with police. (How often do people with criminal intent call 911?) Most people see the person who actually
initiates violence as the perp. And the public evidence available today though not conclusive and fully corroborated suggests that the person who initiated violence was Martin.
If following Martin was not a crime, and turning back to his car
without confronting Martin was not a crime, then evidence suggests that Martin assaulted a man who'd committed no crime. Now, does self defense against a violent assault become a crime based on the victim's non-criminal, repeat, NON-CRIMINAL activity prior to his suffering the criminal assault, particularly since the assault happened as he was returning to his car having had no actual contact with the individual he'd deemed suspicious?
I expect more arguments, analysis, and EVIDENCE will surface in court, and we'll see what happens; maybe something credible will surface that will put a different slant on things. But if there's something there, I haven't seen it in the public record yet.