Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Trayvon Watch Part 6: "Creepy Ass Cracker"

This is how Trayvon described George Zimmerman to his friend Rachel Jeantel. In testimony that cements the fact that Trayvon saw Zimmerman has a threat Jeantel testified:
She said she heard Trayvon say "Why you following me for?" Then she said she heard a "hard-breathing man" say, "what are you doing around here?" Then, she said, she heard Trayvon say "get off, get off."
Ultimately it will be up to Zimmerman to refute the statement of Ms. Jeantel. Zimmerman has claimed that he was returning to his vehicle and not confronting Trayvon. This testimony contradicts his statement.

Even if the voice on the tape was Zimmerman, this testimony would make a reasonable case that the ensuing fight was the result of Zimmerman's stalking and then confrontation with Trayvon with his "what are you doing here?" response to Trayvon's relevant question.

Given Jeantel's testimony and Zimmerman's statements I can make a guess what happened:

When Zimmerman asked Trayvon what he was doing here, Trayvon probably did not react well. I can tell you personally that if I were being followed by a "creepy ass cracker" at night, who demanded I tell him "what I was doing" wherever it is I may be, I'd tell him to fuck off. I think Zimmerman, in his anger at "this punk" (yeah..punk...right...anyway)was "getting away" and had an attitude, Zimmerman put his hands on Trayvon. Trayvon. This is when Ms. Jeantel heard Trayvon say "get off, get off".

Trayvon drops his phone and fights for his life, managing to get Zimmerman on the ground. While on the ground Trayvon notices Zimmerman's gun, and thinks that the "creepy ass cracker" was in fact trying to kill him. At this point Trayvon makes the "you're gonna die tonight" comment that Zimmerman testified to. This is when Zimmerman manages to shoot Trayvon in the chest.

This does not support Zimmerman's claim of self defense. The reason for this is that it is clear from the testimony (thus far) that Trayvon was the one who saw himself in danger from the "creepy ass cracker" who was following him and who he later discovered had a gun. Zimmerman, by this testimony, confronted Trayvon and picked a fight. Once he found himself on the losing end of the fight he started he shot Trayvon. To allow Zimmerman to claim self-defense would be the same as allowing a mugger to claim self-defense if he shot his victim who resisted his attempts to mug them.