First, the law doesn't say murder...it says "fear of death OR GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM"
Do I truly believe that grievous bodily harm could occur from beating a man's head off a concrete sidewalk? Damn skippy I do!
Second, y'all make the terrible mistake of viewing this though the lens of hindsight.
Zimmerman didn't know Trayvon was 17, or that he when to the store, or that he temporarily lived in the complex.
He didn't have a doctor evaluating his condition between blows from Trayvon's assault, informing him of the severity of the damage being inflicted on him.
Or when it was going to stop.
Or when help was coming.
Or if he was going to lose consciousness.
Or what Trayvon would do to him if he did.
DON'T VIOLENTLY ATTACK PEOPLE!!!
Is that SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND???
Trayvon CHOSE to attack Zimmerman.
Zimmerman RESPONDED to that attack.
That is the end of this story.
No amount of rationalization changes that FACT.
That is why Zimmerman was acquitted.
okay, I'll buy that zimmerman didn't know that trayvon was 17, and that trayvon was not a robber or a thief, because zimmerman ALREADY pegged him as one, without cause...and zimmerman's mindset was stuck on trayvon as being a bad guy, though there is absolutely no evidence of this being the case, it's just the mindset of zimmerman...thus he is more afraid of this kid than he should be...
but why oh why haven't you tried to get in to the mindset of trayvon, a 17 year old....in high school, being followed by a strange white man for no reason at all....I'm certain trayvon was scared, wondering why the hell is this dude following me? wondering, Is this big and heavy white dude out to attack me? Is he a racist of some sort that wants to do me harm for no reason at all? What should I do? I don't want to bring this white dude following me to my house...my father is not home, he's at the movies..... there is no one at home to help me....Should I let this big white dude who is following me for no reason at all see where I live? could he break in to my house and hurt me some how if he sees where I live? Why the heck is this dude following me? What should I do? What should I do?
So he confronts the strange dude that has been following him the whole way home, before reaching his empty home of his dad's and girlfriend of dad's, by punching him in the nose....then the fight proceeds....between the 158 lb trayvon and zimmerman....
Trayvon didn't know why zimmerman was following him, other than it must be some dude doing this for no good....because taryvon KNEW he was doing nothing wrong, so what else but for malice, could this strange dude be stalking him?
It goes both ways...neither zimmerman or trayvon had the other pegged correctly....
The whole thing is a tragedy...
Zimmerman called the police.
Trayvon did not.
I put myself in Trayvon's mindset.
Zimmerman was completely legal.
Would you have beat the crap out of someone without ever calling the police...even though you had a phone in your hand?
And Zimmerman stops following Trayvon...on the 911 tape Zimmerman clearly states he has STOPPED following Trayvon, and doesn't want to give his (Zimmerman's) address, because he doesn't know where Martin is.
So Martin had no fear at that point of going home without being followed...he had ran and got away cleanly.
IMO he was out to teach Zimmerman a lesson to mind his own business.
If he was afraid...he would have called home...or called his dad, or called the police.
He did none of those things.
And he didn't do home, or to a friend or neighbors, or just knock on a random door and say "a strange man is following me".
If he was afraid...why didn't he do any of these things...not one.
Instead he attacks Zimmerman.
That is the LAST thing I would have done...the last thing any reasonable law abiding citizen would have done.