Dis any one watch what the States star witness said today? wow its amazing what she said led to this and she had no Idea ABC news was listening to her talking to a lawyer of Trayvons family who she believed was to let the family have some peace.. she did not tell them but what she thought they wanted to hear and they used this for a press conference and look who was involved.. WOW they needed to be Prosecuted when this ends if all her testimony about what she said to them is true and her not knowing about it going any futher.. what a scam against a Teenager!!!!!!

UPDATE: George Zimmerman has not yet spoken publicly about what happened in the moments before he shot and killed Trayvon Martin last month, but the Orlando Sentinel has pieced together his version of events after speaking with unnamed local police officers, who tell the paper much of Zimmerman's account has been corroborated by witnesses.

The big takeaway: Zimmerman says that after he lost sight of Martin, the 17-year-old approached him from behind. The two then exchanged words before Martin punched him in the face and then jumped on top of him, according to Zimmerman, who had followed Martin after reporting him as a suspicious character in a 911 call.

It is not completely clear exactly what parts of Zimmerman's account have been confirmed by independent witnesses. It is also not clear at what point Zimmerman drew his gun.


One detail at the center of the event is who called for help during the physical skirmish between the two men. Zimmerman claims it was him, while others have suggested it was Martin. The Sentinel explains:

Several witnesses heard those cries, and there's been a dispute about from whom they came: Zimmerman or Trayvon. Lawyers for Trayvon's family say it was Trayvon, but police say their evidence indicates it was Zimmerman.
One witnesses, who has since talked to local television news reporters, told police he saw Zimmerman on the ground with Trayvon on top, pounding him and was unequivocal that it was Zimmerman who was crying for help.
You can read the full Sentinel story here.

Meanwhile, Slate's Emily Bazelon offers her take on the new info and what it means here.
A snippet:


[It is] very hard to know what to make of this new information. It’s entirely at odds with the account of Martin’s girlfriend, who says Martin was talking to her on his cell phone just before his death. The girlfriend says she heard Martin ask a man, “What are you following me for,” and that the man answered, “What are you doing here?” Then she heard Martin pushed to the ground. To point out the obvious, the police in Sanford, Fla., where the shooting took place, are the definition of embattled. Their chief resigned last week and the decision not to arrest Zimmerman—based on the belief that he reasonably feared bodily harm or for his life when he shot Martin—is a flashpoint for national outcry. No wonder someone in the department got fed up and leaked facts that support the cops’ decision-making.
For all we know, this new account may be true. We also know Zimmerman had a bloody nose, a swollen lip, and cuts to the back of his head, though he didn’t go to the hospital. But there’s no way to know what to make of his story yet. That’s why we have judges and juries—to sort out disputed facts. And it’s why “Stand Your Ground” laws like Florida’s, which the police have read as discouraging them from bringing charges when there’s a claim of self-defense, are such a terrible idea.
Monday, March 26: Trayvon Martin's parents are scheduled to speak at a town hall meeting on Monday afternoon in Sanford, where they will be joined by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Their appearance comes in the wake of the discovery that George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed Martin last month, may have uttered a racial epithet in the lead up to his confrontation with the Florida teen, and as national protests over the local police's decision not to arrest Zimmerman continues to grow.


CNN reports that rallies are planned for Monday in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta and Iowa City.


A civil rights investigation has been opened by the U.S. Justice Department, and a grand jury will consider the evidence in the case on April 10.

Sunday, March 25, at 12:56 p.m.: Friends of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin last month, are starting to come out to defend him. Joe Oliver tells ABC News that Zimmerman was distraught over the shooting and has now gone into hiding, fearing for his life.

"Up until this point, because he was there and he knows what happened, and because he's not in jail, he's been very confident—naively—that this will all blow over,”' Oliver said on Good Morning America.

The fringe New Black Panther Party has reportedly offered a $10,000 bounty for the capture of Zimmerman, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Oliver, who says he has known Zimmerman for a decade, told ABC that the 28-year-old likely said “goon” on the 911 tape rather than “coon” as many people believe. “I don’t know of anyone younger than 40 who uses ‘coon’ as a racial epithet anymore.”

The distinction is important because what he said that night could make the difference in whether authorities will be able to charge Zimmerman with a hate crime, reports the Associated Press. “If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime,” a legal expert says.

Meanwhile, as protests erupt across the country demanding justice for Martin, “the hoodie has emerged as an unlikely symbol,” writes the Miami Herald. Celebrities have joined ordinary citizens posting pictures of themselves wearing hoodies in a show of support for Martin.

Friday, March 23, at 10:55 a.m.: President Obama on Friday offered up his first public comments about the Trayvon Martin case, calling for a thorough investigation into the death of the 17-year-old Florida teen that has sparked protests around the nation.


"I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this happened," the president said outside of the White House. "That means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident."

Obama continued: "My main message is to the parents of Trayvon. If I had a son he would look like Trayvon. I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and we will get to the bottom of exactly what happened.”

CNN has the full remarks here.

Friday, March 23, at 10:25 a.m.: Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday appointed a new prosecutor to lead the state's investigation into the death of Trayvon Martin after the local attorney who had been in charge recused himself from the case.


The Associated Press reports that Scott tapped Angela Corey, a state attorney from the Jacksonville area, to take over for Norman Wolfinger, who said his decision to step aside was aimed at "toning down the rhetoric and preserving the integrity of the investigation."


That move came only hours after local Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee temporarily stepped down after receiving a vote of no-confidence from local officials. Both Wolfinger and Lee have been harshly criticized for the local investigation into the Florida teen's shooting death at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer who has claimed self-defense.

Both the FBI and the Justice Department are also investigating the case, and a Florida grand jury will decide on April 10 whether to charge George Zimmerman, the man who shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old.

Meanwhile, CNN reports that a Florida rally calling for Zimmerman's arrest is set to march to the state capitol in Tallahassee on Friday. The march comes one day after a rally in Sanford attracted nearly 8,000 demonstrators, by the Orlando Sentinel's count.


Elsewhere in Slate: Emily Bazelon explains why Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law doesn't prohibit Zimmerman's arrest, and examines whether Martin might have been the one acting in self-defense in the confrontation that led to his death.


Thursday, March 23, at 3:53 p.m.: The local police chief who investigated the death of Trayvon Martin announced Thursday afternoon that he will temporarily step down from his position, the Associated Press reports.


"I do this to return some semblance of calm to the city," Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee said at a press conference. Lee had been criticized after police did not arrest George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed the Florida teen last month.


The move comes one day after the Sanford City Commission issued a vote of no confidence for the police chief, characterizing his investigation into the shooting as "deeply flawed."

Thursday, March 22, at 3:29 p.m.: Here's the latest development that is sure to fuel the outrage over this whole thing: It appears as though George Zimmerman muttered a racial slur to himself while chasing Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who he shot and killed in what he says was self-defense.


The somewhat-muffled comment was captured on the tape of Zimmerman's 911 call. Weigel has the audio, and some commentary over on his blog.


But here's the transcript of what Zimmerman appears to say:

ZIMMERMAN: ****, he's running.
911: He's running? Which way is he running?
ZIMMERMAN: Down towards the other entrance of the neighborhood.
911: Which entrance is that that he's heading towards?
ZIMMERMAN: The back entrance. [pause] ****ing coons.
Meanwhile, the Miami Herald reports that students at a Miami high school staged what the paper described as a "massive walk out" on Thursday to protest the shooting and the fact that Zimmerman has not been arrested.

News of Martin's death and the circumstances surrounding it have sparked protests around the nation. Local activists have planned their own rally for Thursday evening, which will be led by Al Sharpton, who flew down to central Florida despite his mother's death earlier in the day, the Associated Press reports.

While that rally was originally supposed to be held in a 400-seat church, organizers have moved the event to an outdoor public park in order to accommodate a crowd that is expected to be in the thousands.

The event comes on the heels of Wednesday’s "Million Hoodie March" in Manhattan’s Union Square. Mother Jones has video and photos from the march, which you can view here.


Thursday, March 22: The local police chief who investigated the death of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen whose controversial death has sparked charges of racial prejudice and drawn national attention to the state's self-defense law, may lose his job.

ABC News reports that the Sanford City Commission issued a vote of no confidence for Police Chief Billy Lee during a heated meeting Wednesday night, with three of the panel's five members asking him to step down. It will now be up to the city manager to decide whether Lee keeps his job after the panel characterized his investigation as "deeply flawed."


The no-confidence vote came on the same day as New York City's "Million Hoodie March," a demonstration that marked the increasing outrage over the death of Martin, a 17-year-old African American who was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old who identifies as Hispanic, said he shot Martin in self-defense after a confrontation between the two in a gated subdivision in Sanford, just outside of Orlando. Recently released logs of 911 and non-emergency calls Zimmerman placed just before the confrontation indicate that Zimmerman believed Martin, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, looked suspicious. Zimmerman apparently followed Martin despite being told not to by the dispatcher. A confrontation ensued, and Martin was shot and killed.


Although several witnesses heard someone yelling for help in the scuffle between the two men, there's no consensus as to who it was. Zimmerman, backed by the Sanford police, says it was him. Others believe it was Martin.

As Slate's Emily Bazelon explains, Florida's 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law allows Floridians to use deadly force, without attempting to avoid the danger, if they feel threatened. This makes it very difficult to prosecute those who claim they acted in self-defense in the state, even if the alleged aggressor (in this case, Martin) was unarmed.


Both the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and a Florida grand jury are now investigating the case, as the Associated Press reports.


The Root was at the New York march Wednesday, where Martin's parents spoke. They write that the Trayvon Martin case "brought out the worst fears in the black community: that black life is not valued or worth protecting." Martin's parents have also stared a change.org petition calling for Zimmerman's arrest. It now has close to 1 million signatures.


http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/03/22/trayvon_martin_case_sparks_protests_calling_for_arrest_of_george_zimmerman_in_florida_shooting.html

I did watch the trial so far, seemed like the lawyers were drilling the witnesses over and over after questions were asked and answered over and over,,, seemed like more harassment from my view,,,

but time will tell,,,they are doing their job to try to save their client....

it will come down to jurors, and who they believe had the right to 'stand their ground'

the unarmed teen being followed by a strange man who happened to have a gun

or the man with the gun who followed the unarmed teen until it ended in him getting his butt handed to him,,,,


,,,no one can really prove who did what first to create a 'reasonable' fear for the others life,,,,,,so it comes down to witness testimony and character testimony on both sides

which scenario is most probable,,,,,,,

Leave it to the likes of Sharpton and Jackson to rekindle the fires of racism in America!

That's their biggest promotion of themselves.... without racism, they are irrelevant!

those fires don't need rekindling, they never died out

but media does pounce on things like patriotism , racism, sexism to sell their sponsors products,,,

What I c as really important was her testimony she did not want to talk to Trayvons family she did not want to get involved.

She said she believed that only the lawyer and Trayvons parents were their and it was for them.

she later was called by friends that they heard her voice on the Tv from a press conference and the PROTESTS break out all over the country and this is the states star witness.

Yes they asked her over and over again but she was hard to understand.. she did not like being up their.

But the people in this article who had to of got this information from this Lawyer ( being a Teen would u think this was privileged Info? and it would go no futher?) this is what I see. a lot of important people jumping on this .. very likely causing protests all over the country.. from a Teenagers comments who had no IDEA what was going on.. That is so WRONG.. that is trying to further your own popularity. ( not the parents) but the Justice system jesse Jackson, state officails.

The Police chief resigned. Reputation slandered. Prosecuter relieves himself from the case.

wow I want to hear from them after the TRIAL no matter what the verdict. What was going on. Did People incise protest all over this country for their GAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS.. the interview with the lawyer was by phone..

I think people will always pounce on stories that become well known

I didn't see her as anything other than a scared kid who didn't want to be involved, but that isn't surprising to me, nor does it make me believe she didn't hear what she said she heard


and , even without what she heard, many like me would be questioning what happened just from the tape of Zimmerman himself apparently following this boy in an agitated state

I tend to believer her even more because she didn't sugar coat it and even used the slurs that trayvon used in the conversation,,,

and the evidence would be clear when she talked to trevyon in relation to the time of his death,,

and Zs own statement on the phone that he was following a 'suspicious' character,, who he later ended up shooting

all of that to me , calls for further INQUIRY into this kids death,,,

realizing this kid wasn't from that area himself, and was from an area where being confronted most often meant an incurring physical threat


it makes me wonder, if Treyvon had the right to defend himself without having to die for it,,,,

Maybe they have not died out for you, but the majority of the rest of us could care less..... We elected a black president, several black congressmen/women....remember?

The only thing keeping a black person down in todays America is themselves!

The argument of racism, that Sharpton and Jackson love to fuel, is passe', like a bucket with a hole in it.....useless, unless it's all you have to work with!!

yes, my best friend is a male, so there must not be sexism in this country,,,,

got it,,,

If you're going to argue a point, give it substance rather than tired rhetoric!

no point to prove, the statement about caring less cant be disputed

to each their own

though I don't agree that its a 'majority' who care less about those issues,,,,

Then you are part of the problem rather than the solution

which problem exactly?

I agree..u r absolutely right.

What concerns me in this trial is using a teenager to use that apparently caused Protests that she NEVER gave permission for it to be used for anything but to tell the parents what she thought they needed to hear.. She even said she thought nothing of it and that she knew she did not give them the whole story.

Yet Lawyer ADULTS used it and did this cause PROTEST all over the country and cause MORE Frictions to the communities of his race ( Trayvons)

The Officials were forced who were involved in the case to Resign and step out of the case.. NOW WHY?

This to me is so important because it shows people in our country will go to what extent to cause an uproar.

Using a TEENAGER to do it. They TRICKED HER. THEY PLANNED this if this did happen.. Riots could of erupted if Zimmerman would not of been arrested. The State was bowing down to these peoples antics.

These people are very smart and I believe they just got CAUGHT.

They should if this is true how they used her be brought to justice.. all of them with lengthy if not LIFETIME sentences. If the Officials would not of backed down and we would of seen riots. Would we of seen people killed? people seriously injured? I believe so.

That's why I c this portion of Testimony so CRITCAL. People in HIGH Places using their influence to very well cause big problems for all of us.

If this is true. They are TRAITORS to our society as a WHOLE.. They are DANGEROUS the Most DANGEROUS. Background Traitors.

can I Take that there is no answer to what problem I am part of?

Racism is a start.

Your quote:
"though I don't agree that its a 'majority' who care less about those issues,,,, "

If you feel it's a problem you can try to help cure it, move from it, or ignore it.

Your choice seems to be to fuel it, at the least, keep it alive by your statement

well, time will tell

I didn't see any part of the testimony that anyone forced her to say anything

and I do feel the same reactions would have occurred even without her coming forward, although that part was inevitable once EVIDENCE proved she was on the phone with him before his death

what she chose to say , for whatever reason, is what people believed, and if I were a parent hearing that I would be quite upset too...

all due respect

this thread was about the trial, SOMEONE ELSE introduced the issue of race into it and I responded as I Am just as much of a right to do as anyone else here

I don't have to IGNORE what other people bring up if I choose not to, and one way to try to CURE racism is to point it out and stomp it out when we see it,,,,thats my opinion and I don't see how that can be a 'problem' for anyone,,,



if you or anyone else doesn't agree with what I had to say, that is your prerogative, as it is mine to disagree that racism is somehow not an issue because some people happen to care less about it,,,

Racism in America.... Is the problem of racism a political or moral issue?

http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/racism-in-america-faq.htm

If you can't rise above it, it is not the blame of others

both, people live by morals, people set political tones

therefore, morals are going to interject into political tones,,,