George Zimmerman acted in self defense against Trayvon Martin.

Thank you for accepting. I look forward to a great discussion. First, lets discuss what happened before the events took place. 1 - Did George Zimmerman have reasonable cause to investigate? We are not discussing whether or not the police approved of Zimmerman investigating or if it was smart, but whether he had reason to feel the need to. To answer this, we must understand why he was concerned about suspicious people wondering around. To start, there had been up to eight burglaries, nine thefts, and even a shooting around the area during the 13 months prior to the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Other Neighborhood Watch members stated that it was often young black males involved. "Young black males have been seen in, you know, burglaries here. They've been seen with drug dealings here and the Sanford police is well aware of everything," Taaffe told the Orlando Sentinel. "A review of police records confirms Taaffe"s account of crimes in the neighborhood. According to the Miami Herald, police were called to Twin Lakes 402 times in the 13 months before Martin"s death. According to the Herald"s review of police records, the community experienced eight burglaries, nine thefts, and a shooting over that period." The Daily Beast. a) http://www.thedailybeast.com... It should be noted that while the Police were called 402 times during the 13 month period, Zimmerman had only made 46 calls... across an 8 year period. -------------------------------------------------------------- 2 - Did George Zimmerman break any laws when carrying a gun? No. According to Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, Zimmerman still had the constitutional right to carry a gun with him during the events that took place. "Police Chief Bill Lee said that although police do not encourage watch program volunteers to carry weapons, he recognizes a citizen"s constitutional right to do so." Miami Herald wrote. a) http://www.miamiherald.com... Zimmerman also had a Concealed Weapon/Firearm License, as well as a Certificate of Training. b) http://cfnews13.com... -------------------------------------------------------------- Now to discuss whether or not Zimmerman acted in self-defense when the two confronted each other. We know that many eyewitnesses described seeing one man on top of the other attacking (rather it appeared as a fight or just roughhousing.) We can conclude whether or not it was self-defense by who was on top attacking. a) http://abcnews.go.com... b) http://articles.orlandosentinel.com... Many of the witnesses who got a clearer image of the fight described a young black male on top (Martin), and a guy in a red hoodie on bottom (Zimmerman.) It was dark, however, so we need to view the next bit of evidence... The recorded 911 call, where (logically the man on bottom) can be heard crying for help. -------------------------------------------------------------- 3 - Who was the man crying for help? According to the report, the Zimmerman family was convinced it was Zimmerman crying for help. a) http://abcnews.go.com... While Trayvon Martin's mother claimed it was Trayvon's voice, his FATHER claimed otherwise. Trayvon's father, Tracy Martin, said it was not his son's voice he heard on the recording. b) http://www.nytimes.com...; With every Zimmerman sure it was George Zimmerman crying for help, and the Martin family split on rather it was Martin or not, we must look at other people's testimony, starting with his neighbors. Zimmerman's neighbors seemed certain that not only was he not racist, but that it was his voice crying for help. "None of the neighbors interviewed by the FBI said they had ever heard Zimmerman make a disparaging remark about racial or ethnic minorities. They described him as helpful and friendly. One neighbor, a man born in Dubai, said he is "110 percent sure" it is Zimmerman on the 911 tape" MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press wrote. c) http://www.wptv.com... If we cannot conclude who was on top attacking with the voice heard on the 911 call, we must look at the most important evidence... Injuries. -------------------------------------------------------------- 4 - What does the injuries say. The person being attacked will have injuries on his body to show it. While George Zimmerman had multiple injuries on his head, including a busted nose. Martin had none that show he had been assaulted prior to the gunshot. a) http://a.abcnews.com... b) http://gzlegalcase.com... With multiple injuries showing signs of assault on Zimmerman's head, and no signs of assault on Trayvon Martin's body, it seems unlikely Martin would have been on bottom. One bit of evidence stands out, telling us that Martin had in fact been on top attacking. Bruises. An autopsy found injuries on Martin's knuckles. Not injuries that show signs of assault, but signs of assaulting. c) http://www.wftv.com... With the injuries on Martin's knuckles, it's hard to dispute that he had thrown punches, corresponding with a busted nose and injuries on Zimmerman's face. Further corresponding with eyewitness accounts that someone was on top attacking. With Martin's knuckle injuries, Zimmerman's head injuries, and the majority of accounts claiming it was Zimmerman's voice screaming for help (including neighbors, and even Tracy Martin,) everything starts adding up to Zimmerman's testimony. While the witness accounts and testimonies bare slight inconsistencies, as can be expected given the time of day the events took place, the evidence bares very little inconsistencies, and seems to connect in favor of George Zimmerman's testimony.