Summary Of The Trayvon Martin's Case
A man by the name of George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. From the start, Zimmerman claimed that he had acted in self-defense, and the Sanford police initially accepted that account. Calls by Martin's family for further investigation around the case, which resulted in second-degree murder and manslaughter charges against Zimmerman. The case went to trial in the summer of 2013, and in July of that year, the trial jury let Zimmerman free of all charges. Zimmerman chose not to ask for a pretrial Stand Your Ground hearing, and at trial he gave a self-defense claim.
A person's right to self defense begins at the moment the person reasonably believes that he or she is facing deadly force and reasonably
believes it necessary to respond in kind. Thus, George Zimmerman could not have argued self defense had he shot Martin at any point before Martin posed a deadly threat to him. Only at the moment when Zimmerman subjectively and reasonably believed that Martin was going to kill or seriously injure him, was he justified in using deadly force. Whether Zimmerman did in fact believe that Martin threatened him in this way was a question of fact to be judged at trial. Zimmerman's plead suggests he persuaded the jury that he met these requirements.
A person's right to self defense begins at the moment the person reasonably believes that he or she is facing deadly force and reasonably
believes it necessary to respond in kind. Thus, George Zimmerman could not have argued self defense had he shot Martin at any point before Martin posed a deadly threat to him. Only at the moment when Zimmerman subjectively and reasonably believed that Martin was going to kill or seriously injure him, was he justified in using deadly force. Whether Zimmerman did in fact believe that Martin threatened him in this way was a question of fact to be judged at trial. Zimmerman's plead suggests he persuaded the jury that he met these requirements.