Once again, IF Zimmerman had stayed in his car instead of following Martin on foot, Martin would be alive today and Zimmerman would be a non-entity and not be looking at 25 years in prison - or be found not guilty and probably having to move, change his name, and be looking over his shoulder forever.

I am sure Zimmerman is thinking of that every day.

And if George Zimmerman or Trayvon Martin had slept twenty minutes longer on that fateful day the whole sequence of events that day would have been different and the shooting would not have happened.

The point is that Zimmerman had every right to leave his car. A smart idea? Certainly not-- especially In light of the way things turned out. But clearly legal and no justification for Martin attacking him, IF that is what happened.

If YOU were Zimmerman's father, would you have told him to get out of his car, take a loaded pistol, and follow an unknown person on a rainy night? Or would YOU have told your son to stay in his car and wait for the police to arrive and take charge of the situation?

Still not sure what happened between Zimmerman and Martin on that lawn. It also looks like the police botched the investigation of the shooting forensics so we may never know what really occurred. Trayvon Martin: 'Stand Your Ground' law at center of botched case

Really...what does this have to do with it?

Of course, I am assuming, that everyone on this board would have told our sons not to get out of the car. However, I don't believe that that was the scenario that night. His father had nothing to do with it.

George Zimmerman is a grown man and able to make decisions on his own. He was out in his capacity as a neighborhood watch. He was concerned about a stranger in his neighborhood.

What exactly happened after he did get out of the car is not yet known.

Evidence is mounting and I am sure that we will get the full story soon.

No matter what the outcome of the trial is, Zimmerman's life will never be the same as before. IF the verdict is guilty, he goes to prison. IF the verdict is not guilty, Martin's family will go after him in a civil suit possibly taking all current and future earnings.

Obviously, I would have told him the latter. In my posts, I do not defend Zimmerman's actions, which, especially with the benefit of hindsight, were not very smart-- but not illegal. On the other hand, as more and more evidence appears, it looks more and more as though the shooting was justified.

But until all the evidence is public, I draw no conclusions as to Zimmerman's guilt or innocence. My gripe is with the slanted media reporting and with the racial demagogues like Sharpton and Jackson and some posters to this forum who are convicting Zimmerman despite the fact that the publicly available information does not indicate that he committed a crime. For an objective analysis, read the Dershowitz (sp?) article linked to in an earlier post.

Based on the evidence now publicly available, if Zimmerman is acquitted, I find it hard to believe that Martin's family would win a civil suit. What is your basis for thinking otherwise?

It is the family's right to file a civil suit after the criminal action and those are for wrongful death cause and usually asks for large sums of money. The case is decided on a preponderacne of the evidence and not beyond the shadow of doubt as in a criminal case.

Not saying the Martin family would prevail but chances are the civil suit would be forthcoming if a not guilty criminal case happens.

Anyone can sue anyone at any time for any reason. Zimmerman appears to be judgment proof since he apparently has few assets, if any. He is no O.J. in the asset department as well as possibly (or probably) in culpability. The Martin family stands to profit most on martyring Martin as they seem to be attempting to do. Sorry for the pun.

George Zimmerman was not out in his capacity as a neighborhood watch that night, but was instead heading to Target with his fully loaded 9mm gun. If he had been out doing his neighborhood watch duties, he would have been violating the neighborhood watch code by carrying a gun. He was made aware of the rules of neighborhood watch at an organizational meeting by the Sanford Police Department.

Another correction to a previous poster. Zimmerman was not 5 feet 9 inches as reported by his father, but 5 feet 7 inches as reported on the police report. He was four inches shorter than Trayvon Martin, but 50 pounds heavier. It sounds like he was trying to make up for his own inadequacies by carrying a big gun.

Actually his 9mm is a rather compact pistol. A "big gun" is say a .357 or .44 magnum or a .45. At sometime in the past he was told he might carry a gun in that area because of some frightening experience with vicious dogs. He took instructions and started carrying. As for making up for any inadequacies, that is pure speculation. He had not carried a handgun prior to his scary experiences with neighborhood dogs.

Agree, there will probably be a civil suit, whether or not Zimmerman is convicted. My point is that, unless there is additional nonpublic evidence, it looks like Zimmerman, rightly or wrongly, will be acquitted (or the case dismissed before trial). If so, it seems unlikely that sufficient evidence will exist for Martin's family to win a civil suit.

If the civil suit follows an acquittal, it will be another media circus-- with Sharpton and Jackson stirring things up racial strife for the benefit of the plaintiffs (and themselves) and the NRA and the gun nuts jumping in to finance Zimmerman's side. One more reason not to carry a firearm under most circumstances.

I would have said nothing. He was doing his job as a watchman. I would hope he would be safe.

it could have been a simple case of self-defense. Did you ever think of that?

The only reason the stand your ground law is at the center of this is because of the anti-gun movement. It really has little to do with the case.