• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Prosecution dropping ball in George Zimmerman trial

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
The prosecution in the George Zimmerman trial has already dropped the ball.

The last thing Trayvon Martin's parents can do for their son is help send the man who took his life to prison, which is why it was difficult to watch them squirm in the courtroom while Rachel Jeantel delivered two days of headshaking testimony.

Can the jury forgive an 18-year-old girl for being nervous and providing weak testimony in a courtroom? Yes. Jeantel never wanted to be a key witness in a murder trial, never wanted to have to take the stand under oath and help send a stranger to prison for killing her friend.

Can the jury forgive her for becoming frustrated and difficult and snappy during her testimony? Yes. As much as jury members might have disapproved of Jeantel's day one attitude, I would think they'd understand if a person wasn't cut out for public speaking, doesn't know proper courtroom etiquette and might resent being asked difficult questions from men she perceives as defending the enemy.

Can the jury forgive an 18-year old girl who can't read? Of course.

Can the jury forgive an eyewitness for a lack of intelligence (if that's the case)? Yes.

Can the jury even forgive a girl who might have lied to police to protect a friend? Yes. As long as there is enough factual evidence presented to prove guilt, a jury could forgive even lies that were told along the way.

However!

Prosecutors in the case have allowed Rachel Jeantel to take the stand, knowing her lack of experience, knowing her emotional state, knowing she'd spread untruths, knowing the harshness she was going to face under cross-examination, knowing her personality and having an idea how she might react to feeling threatened, and NOT knowing the girl couldn't read.

Now you understand why the parents were squirming.

What happened?

I saw "A Few Good Men." Lt. Daniel Kaffee made it clear how important it was to prepare your witnesses for cross-examination. How clear? I'd say crystal. They went over and over the questions the defense might ask of their witnesses, emphasizing that as difficult as this mock cross seems the live cross will be much harsher.

Rachel Jeantel was the "key" witness of the prosecution, for Pete's sake. And they didn't know she couldn't read?

They had a letter she'd written to Trayvon's Martin mother, but they never bothered to ask Jeantel if she wrote it? What ever happened to that line you hear in nearly every courtroom drama, "If there's anything you're not telling us, please let us know now and don't make us find out while you're on the stand."

And it's not just the exposed illiteracy and false letter that had those in the courtroom gasping.

On Day Two, Jeantel was decidedly more gentile on the stand, which suggests powerfully that the prosecution didn't instruct her prior to her day one testimony that "the jury might judge you unfavorably if you come off difficult or angry or snarky during cross, and Trayvon's case can't afford that."

No, she was told between Days One and Two, like jurors weren't going to notice a change in demeanor, like they were just going to forget about the previous day's testimony?

Unforgiveable.

I've said it time and again, this case is NOT about Trayvon Martin the person. This case is about whether an armed man is allowed to track a suspicious character without provocation, and then can be legally forgiven for taking that person's life when the pursued fights back.

But the prosecuting attorneys are doing one heck of a job of clouding the issue, exposing a "key" witness as an emotionally-motivated liar willing to say anything to produce a guilty verdict. And that a jury can't forgive.

- See more at: http://ktar.com/101/1645207/Prosecution-dropping-ball-in-George-Zimmerman-trial#sthash.UHpZqZtG.dpuf
 

Steve

Well-known member
The prosecution never had a ball to drop... they are like a spoiled rich kid who thinks he can "control" a game because he has the only ball...

but this one just found out he never had a ball... let alone a case....


so who will take the blame for the riots?
 

Whitewing

Well-known member
I've never studied law, but a long-dead brother of mine was a defense attorney. I recall him saying that when it comes to murder, the law is set up such that it's better to let a guilty man walk on occassion than to ever convict an innocent person of such a crime.

I know our system of justice has its failings, but this appears to be one case where the defendent needs to walk.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Whitewing said:
I've never studied law, but a long-dead brother of mine was a defense attorney. I recall him saying that when it comes to murder, the law is set up such that it's better to let a guilty man walk on occassion than to ever convict an innocent person of such a crime.

I know our system of justice has its failings, but this appears to be one case where the defendent needs to walk.

he's guilty of self defense...and yes, I guess that's murder, but people have a preconceived notion of what murder is and in most cases, they think of premeditated murder, unfortunately.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
I will say that I believe there was political pressure put on the state to charge Zimmerman. So they were more or less intimidated/forced to roll the dice on this witness.

Being that she is not that "sophisticated", it is easy to see that the story, and how to tell it, was fed to her.

she should be upset with the prosecution and not the defense, for making her look like an idiot.
 

Larrry

Well-known member
The ones who pushed this trial feel like they are in a win win situation.

If zim is convicted they can show how the black kid suffered from racism and lost his life.
If zim is let loose then they can cry racism again and how the black kid didn't get justice cause he was black. Then that opens the door for those poor soles who suffered this racism to go shopping for new tvs etc
 

Steve

Well-known member
The ones who pushed this trial feel like they are in a win win situation.

the family already received a million plus settlement,...

Obama already had his "son" moment,..

MSNBC was able to doctor a few more tapes...

seems the only losers are Zimmerman and Travon...

Zimmerman may get acquitted,.. win his lawsuit against NBC/MSNBC,. and write a book..

I would say with six white female jurors a riot is inevitable..
 
Top