Here, HG, is the single most troubling thing Zimmerman apparently did prior to the shooting. FOLLOWING and OBSERVING a suspicious person
Following a suspect is natural, to prevent the suspect from getting away. Zimmerman could also have interpreted what the 911 operator said as instructions to follow, "Let me know if the guy does anything else..."
In any case, it would be tough to show that Zimmerman followed with any intent beyond tracking the suspect, or that he continued to follow after he was told not to.
Yes, then it comes down to he made physical contact first. A confrontation would have been by the suspect's choice, given that he could have out-ran Zimmerman. Zimmerman claimed he was hit from behind, and was bleeding from the back of the head, which also gives the benefit of the doubt to Zimmerman. And, I just don't see a man with a gun physically assaulting anyone.
But, I do see a young hothead attacking someone he thinks is following him.
Anyway, this case demonstrates the importance of shooting to kill, if you're shooting in self-defense. If the black survived the gunshot, he would claim that he was attacked first, and no liberal would doubt him. The evidence would be irrelevant.
Now, let's continue to follow the chain of reasoning I started earlier. We know Zimmerman had some sort of bleeding wound to the back of his head; so how did that injury occur? Let's look at the known facts: the scene of the final confrontation is a grassy area with a sidewalk running through it. We know the ground was wet, it had been raining (and was at the time). We have witnesses who saw Zimmerman on the ground, so he must have fallen, been knocked (or thrown) down by Martin, or tried to tackle Martin. Given that police noted grass stains on the BACK (but not the front) of Zimmerman's jacket, we can rule out the first and last alternatives since either of those would have had him falling forward, and there would have been obvious grass stains on the front of his clothing, including the front of his trousers as well as his jacket. None were noted . ( It's a pity the police did not photograph him on the scene, because that would settle the question). The most likely conclusion is that Martin knocked Zimmerman down. Did Martin hit Zimmerman from behind? Well possibly, but not necessarily; the injury could have come from either a direct blow from a fist, or from Zimmerman's head striking the ground, especially the sidewalk. There is thus no conclusive proof that Zimmerman's head injury
had to have come from a direct blow from behind; his account of that is therefore not proven true, but not proven necessarily false, either. Once again the question of whether Zimmerman grabbed Martin before Martin struck him, or whether Martin struck first is still unclear, but of critical importance to the case..
So far the preponderance of the evidence tells us that Martin DID strike Zimmerman at least once, and likely more than once (there was blood on his face possibly indicating a second blow, perhaps more). It is also quite physically possible that Martin could have knocked Zimmerman down; while Martin was smaller, it's reasonable to suppose that he was younger and quicker than the older and bulkier Zimmerman, and he was large enough to have the strength to Knock Zimmerman down with a well-placed punch or two. So far neither self-defense nor manslaughter is proven.
The next question is the voice yelling for help on the 911 tape; is it Zimmerman, on the ground and under attack yelling for help, or is it Martin, after Zimmerman pulled his gun, but before the shot was fired. It could be ithere; Zimmerman's voice is not deep; it's relatively high pitched. Hopefully, forensic analysis of the 911 tape can determine whose voice we hear, and perhaps, what is being said. Pending that, there is no conclusive evidence.
Martin was found face down; was he shot in the back? There is a common misconception, (expressed by some posters here) that a person shot from the front will always fall backwards. so that if Martin fell on his face as found, he
must have been shot from behind. Having shot a considerable number of men in combat, and seen even more shot in that situation, I can tell you that a man shot from the front may just as easily fall forward, and a man shot from behind can just as easily fall backward.. Sometimes an individual shot from in front will be thrown violently backward( the result of a reaction of the nervous system to the impact of the bullet, I'm told) but that does not happen all or even most of the time in reality, no matter what you may have seen in the movies. Here, we have to have the autopsy findings (which should be conclusive on this point. The fact that Martin fell face down proves absolutely nothing. Still no proof for either self-defense, or manslaughter.