In Trayvon Martin case, murder charge surprises some legal analysts

[Baitball Blogger]

When Sanford police investigated the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, they initially called it a case of possible manslaughter. Ultimately, they decided there wasn't enough evidence.

Then, attention to the case brought an international outcry. The conventional wisdom soon became that the shooter, George Zimmerman, would likely be charged with manslaughter after all.

But the second-degree-murder charge announced by Special Prosecutor Angela Corey on Wednesday was a surprise for some legal experts. It's a first-degree felony, carrying a penalty of up to life in prison.

Michael Grieco, a defense attorney and former felony division chief for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, said he was "very surprised." Based on the information made publicly available and the probable-cause affidavit released Thursday, "It's a stretch charge," Grieco said.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-14/news/os-george-zimmerman-2nd-degree-murder-20120414_1_manslaughter-charge-craig-sandhaus-second-degree-murder

[qb]

1. It looks like SYG supporters are getting their talking points out early.

A 2nd degree murder charge makes perfect sense to me... Zimmerman ignored instructions to stop pursuing Martin.

[EFerrari]

3. That only shows he wanted to follow Martin, though,

it doesn't show he wanted to kill him, which is what the article says the standard is for this charge.

Maybe Marcy Wheeler will turn out to be right after all.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. That was obvious to me too, but it didn't seem

to be registering with some of those legal minds. They want to ignore that conscious decision that Zimmerman made.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Citing non binding suggestions does not lock in 2nd Degree Murder

[rhett o rick]

7. A couple of things. The instructions to stop following Martin

werent given with a lot of authority. Secondly, simply following Martin isnt necessarily pursuit. The big question is why was there a struggle? Z could have been following to keep track until the police arrived. But what happened to cause the struggle? Did Z try to apprehend Martin?

[tabatha]

2. There is this caveat

But both lawyers say other evidence could come to light that might change their opinion.

For example, "if the autopsy report of Trayvon Martin is completely devoid of any [evidence] that would support that he was the aggressor," Hornsby said, that could support second-degree murder.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. More than those attorneys have criticized the charging affidavit

But without knowing what else the State Attorney is sitting on, its really hard to know