Teenager shot/killed while Tweek's hero gets off free

[Milkster]

http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/1...s-it-matter-2/

Among the voluminous evidence released Thursday in the shooting death of 17-year-old Florida high school student Trayvon Martin is a toxicology report showing that the teen had trace levels of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his blood and urine.
The evidence includes abundant new information: conflicting witness statements, an autopsy report showing that Martin, who was black, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest and medical records documenting that Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who will stand trial for second-degree murder, had a broken nose the day after Martin’s death. Yet the media is focusing on the marijuana findings.
That’s a mistake that only serves to distort an already contentious case. The levels of THC detected don’t reflect Martin’s character or even his state of mind the night he was shot. For one, they are so low as to almost certainly not be connected to recent intoxication: 1.5 nanograms of THC were found as well as 7.3 nanograms of THC-COOH, a metabolite of THC that can stay in the system for weeks after cannabis has been smoked. Immediately after inhaling, THC levels typically rise to 100 to 200 nanograms per milliter of blood, although there can be a great deal of variation.
(MORE: New Evidence — Trayvon Martin Had Drugs in His System)
“THC in blood or urine tells us nothing about the level of intoxication,” says Carl Hart, associate professor of psychology at Columbia University and author of the leading college textbook on drug use and behavior. “That would be like someone going to have a beer some evening, and when he goes to work the next day, you can find alcohol metabolites in his bodily fluids. That says nothing about his functioning.” (Full disclosure: Hart and I are working on a book project together).
Moreover, even if Martin had been stoned out of his mind, it wouldn’t predispose him to violence. “I have given hundreds of doses of marijuana to people in the lab, and no one has gotten violent ever and everyone has been able to respond to the situation in an appropriate manner, when given low or large doses and single or repeated doses,” Hart says.
The night of the killing, Zimmerman began following Martin, who had gone to a 7-Eleven to get Skittles and an Arizona iced tea during a break in the NBA All-Star game. Zimmerman told a 911 operator that he was worried about Martin because he “looks like he’s up to no good, or he’s on drugs.” He was informed that the police would handle the situation and that he should not take further action. Zimmerman didn’t heed that advice; an altercation ended with Zimmerman shooting Martin in what he says was self-defense. He was charged months after the Feb. 26th killing, following widespread public outrage over the perceived lack of an appropriate criminal justice response.
(MORE: Report Details Zimmerman’s Injuries on Night of Trayvon Martin Shooting)
“If people are trying to discount the acts of Zimmerman or excuse him because [Martin may have smoked] marijuana, they need to think about their own marijuana use and think about whether they ever get violent,” Hart says. “More than half the country has used marijuana and they really need to use some common sense.” The drug that has the strongest pharmacological link to violence is the legal one, alcohol.
And despite the fact that black youth are actually equally or even less likely to use — or sell — marijuana compared to whites, they are arrested for drug crimes at a rate ten times higher. In New York City, a recent analysis found that 80% of those arrested for marijuana were black or Latino, despite whites outnumbering them by far.
(MORE: Study: Whites More Likely to Abuse Drugs Than Blacks)
As Michelle Alexander points out in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, our drug laws have become little more than a pretext for arresting, imprisoning and disenfranchising people of color in a way that is no longer permissible to do based on race alone. Once someone is charged with a drug crime, liberty, property and voting rights can all be rescinded— in a manner that appears colorblind if you ignore the selective enforcement.
Says Hart: “If Trayvon was a white kid, we wouldn’t be here talking about drugs. George Zimmerman would have long been in jail.”

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/1...#ixzz1vFfhJDvt

I don't think it matters that trace amounts were found but just wait this will be spun to say that he was blown out of his mind.

Edit: The comments section. Lo-fucking-l

[Eurell]

He got suspended from school for having pot didn't he? I don't get why people are surprised it was still in his system a week later or w/e.

[Ragnus]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRdW7fXiMf0

[ronin sparthos]

He got suspended from school for having pot didn't he? I don't get why people are surprised it was still in his system a week later or w/e.

Having pot in his system meant he was on drugs and that Zimmerman was right!

Nevermind the orders from dispatch to stay in his vehicle until the cops arrived. That's not important at all, nope.

[Churchill]

I heard it was Watermelon Ice Tea, not Sweet Tea.

Probably fried chicken skittles too miriet

[Salodin]

I heard it was Watermelon Ice Tea, not Sweet Tea.

Probably fried chicken skittles too miriet

Doinitright

[kuronosan]

Having pot in his system meant he was on drugs and that Zimmerman was right!

Nevermind the orders from dispatch to stay in his vehicle until the cops arrived. That's not important at all, nope.

Fuck no, who cares that he wasn't a member of Neighborhood Watch and that he was a cop-school reject? Who gives a crap that he carried a(n illegal) firearm?

This kid smoked pot. Little fucker got what was coming to him. MJ fucking ruins everything in this country. They're worse than smokers and alcoholics combined, and they hate Jesus.

[Ragnus]

Not sure if serious or not because that pretty much is what some peoples' actual attitudes are in this country...

[kuronosan]

Completely satirical; not at all serious.

[archibaldcrane]

wait, so Trayvon broke Martin's nose?

Zimmy's gonna get off cleaner than OJ in a car wash.

[MaachaQ]

Not sure if it's really news, witnesses tend to change their stories pretty often...

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...cid=todmsnbc11

Newspaper: 4 witnesses change stories in Trayvon Martin shooting
By msnbc.com staff

At least four key witnesses have changed their stories about what they saw the night George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., the Orlando Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Follow @msnbc_us

The report comes after state prosecutors released about half the evidence they have in their second-degree murder case against Zimmerman.

The witnesses, known publicly only by numbers, first talked to Sanford police and later to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and state prosecutors.

Among the changes, according to the Sentinel:

Witness 2: A young woman from the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where Martin, 17, was shot Feb. 26, first told investigators she saw two men running and a fist fight. She later said she only saw one person running and couldn’t distinguish much because she had removed her contact lenses.

Witness 12: A young mother in the townhome community first said she saw two men on the ground but wasn’t sure who was on top; she later said Zimmerman was on top because she recognized his size based on news reports.

Witness 13: A male neighbor first said Zimmerman, with a bloodied head, told him he had to shoot Martin because “he was beating up on me,” and to please call Zimmerman’s wife. He later went into detail and described Zimmerman’s tone right after the shooting as casual, like the shooting was “nothing.”

Witness 6: A male neighbor, whose story change was initially reported Friday, first told police Martin was on top of Zimmerman and throwing down punches mixed martial arts style. He also first said Zimmerman was calling for help. The man later said he wasn’t sure who was yelling for help, and that Martin may have merely pinned Zimmerman to the ground. He was still sure, however, that Martin was on top.

[Salodin]

Doesn't matter imo, Zimmerman going away for long long time.

[Xno Kappa]

This is why most prosecutors suck and it's generally considered a noob position for those who just passed the bar. Once a witness comes forward an investigators job is to get an official statement from them as soon as possible. Once the investigation is closed and the file is turned over to the prosecutors, it's on the prosecutor to stay in contact with the witnesses and groom them to remember the exact story from their statement.

Whenever I have to testify I call the prosecutor myself to go over the testimony over and over until we both feel comfortable.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

Doesn't matter imo, Zimmerman going away for long long time.

No way Jose.

[Eurell]

Are these new changed opinions? Or are these the same ones who the cops said changed their opinions before the arrest, even though they denied that.

[Eurell]

http://gawker.com/5915139/george-zim...urn-to-custody

Long story short, People donated a fuckton of money to Zimmerman even though he said he was basically broke.

[Ghost_Wheel22]

Zimmerman was carrying an illegal firearm? I didn't know Kel-Tec made full-auto handguns with heat-seeking baby cop killer bullets.

[kuronosan]

http://gawker.com/5915139/george-zim...urn-to-custody

Long story short, People donated a fuckton of money to Zimmerman even though he said he was basically broke.

Isn't this olde?

[Eurell]

IDk, date on the story says 6/2

[Rhinox]

It's not it just happened.