hi clo,
i see that as relevant only in the event that martin was a bad guy. i presume the dispatcher was advising him to avoid the risk of engagement for his own protection. i assume zimmerman will argue he chose to disregard his own safety in order to prevent a crime.
does it tell us anything much about zimmerman's mind? one might argue that a person who wanted to prevent what he saw as a likely opportunist thief from doing his work is more of what society needs, rather than less.
in that sense, zimmerman is a guy with a strong sense of community responsibility, someone who believes in property rights etc. model citizen.
since witnesses testified to the fact of a fight during which a pistol was discharged, there's no reason to suppose there was murderous intent in zimmerman's mind in pursuing him. if he had wished to kill the kid, there would have been no fight. he would have shot him first.
much more likely, the fight developed because zimmerman chose to tell martin his suspicions. martin took offense.
so there was a fight. and it looks like zimmerman was losing it.
in those circumstances, in a state in which a person is allowed to defend himself with a concealed weapon, how can you argue he did what the law proscribed?
to me, there's no sign of intent to use the firearm prior to the fight. and during the fight, it appears florida law permits the use of such a weapon.
so there's no murder.
seems pretty clear cut to me.
this is a great example of why the law should not allow people to bear arms. it generates unnecessary deaths.
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