Its not necessary that he have criminal intent. He probably didn’t think any of his conduct was legally wrong, but what he thinks is irrelevant.
His dogged pursuit of Martin shows that he was engaging in conduct that would make a reasonable person fearful of their safety. Remember we’re talking about a dark street and a kid all by himself. So even if Martin was the first to hit him (which should not be assumed just because that’s what Zimmerman claimed), it’s not as though the kid didn’t have just cause to do that.
I never said I was happy that citizens are trying to arrest this idiot. I’m only happy that people care about this issue and are organizing to express their displeasure.
I agree that things in general are better for all when people are informed and care. If the law is not what people thought it was, this is a good thing to learn, since they have the power to change it.
On the contrary, what he thinks is highly relevant, as I explained above, and also as a general principle that criminal conduct must involve both the requisite mental state as well as the requisite guilty act. There are very very few crimes which can happen no matter what you think. Almost every criminal act must be accompanied by a guilty mental state.
So are you saying that if Zimmerman grabbed Martin so that he could restrain him until the cops arrived, and he thought this was perfectly legal, then this isn’t criminal conduct?
And if thought that he was legally in the clear to plug a bullet into Martin’s chest just because the kid looked suspicious, then this too isn’t criminal conduct?
My point anyway is not that Zimmerman commited a crime by following Martin. So whether he had criminal intent is irrelevant here, because that is not my point.
My point is that–regardless of if Zimmerman was legally in the clear by following Martin–he was conducting himself in a way that would make a reasonable person respond in fear. So if Martin reacted in a defensive manner towards him, that is not Martin’s fault.
This is obviously all kinds of wrong. Haven’t they learned anything from this case? What the militia needs to do is send an individual down to confront Zimmerman in the street, wait until Zimmerman tries to push the individual away, and then gun Zimmerman down. That would be justifiable self-defense.
I doubt that being confronted by a neighborhood watch officer is enough to put a reasonable person in fear of his life, or of serious bodily injury. You seem to believe that when a local resident says to a stranger, “Who are you, and what are you up to?” the stranger is legally entitled to hit the resident in the face. I don’t think that this is the case.
Being confronted is not assault. I think **Bricker **already covered this.
How would Martin know that he was being stalked by the neighborhood watch officer? This assumes that 1) Zimmerman would have identified himself as such, 2) Martin would just take his word for that. It’s not like watch officers have ID or wear uniforms.
Do you know for a fact that this is what Zimmerman said to Martin? I don’t even think Zimmerman has even made this claim.
At any rate, if a 250 lbs stranger came charging towards you, yelling “Who are you, and what are you up to?” in the dark of the night, you can’t convice me you wouldn’t be out of your mind in fear.
Like I said before, I find it implausible that Martin would have hit Zimmerman regardless of how he came at him. But if he had, it would fit in more with a fight-or-flight reaction than unprovoked aggression.
Zimmerman is most likely an idiot. I should say I think if Martin shot and killed Zimmerman he would not be prosecuted. (It’s a true debate as to whether he’d be charged or not.) The no charge thing isn’t apparently all that unique though, as the article I quoted about SYG in Florida mentions lots of police have started passing self defense cases straight on to the prosecutor’s office after the SYG statute was passed.
If that is the case, then the militia members should not try to do a citizen’s arrest. But I’m sure they would have good reasons to fear that this individual is a possible threat to other residents. I would suggest that they confront him, chasing him down in the street if necessary, and demand that he explain his actions until they are justified that he is no longer a danger to other young black teenagers. I am sure that Mr. Zimmerman would comply meekly with their demands. If he tried to resist or evade their questioning, they might unfortunately have to shoot him dead in the street, which would be sad, but I guess the good citizens and law enforcement officers of the state of Florida have determined that this is an acceptable way to handle these matters.