The Trayvon Martin killing

[allegro]

Except that Zimmerman clearly stated he believed Trayvon was high or on drugs when he called 911, I'm sure that didn't heighten his suspicion at all.

Okay, having been in the business of LAW for over 23 years, I can comment on this with a higher level of expertise than you.

First: Zimmerman didn't clearly state any such thing.
Second: Zimmerman is not an expert on such matters (determining if one is "high" on any form of substance while looking out a window) and wouldn't be considered to be an expert witness on such matters in a court of law. That defense will not be admissible, but it will be laughable.
Third: Because not even an expert could determine if one is "high on drugs" while looking at someone walking quickly in the rain in the dark, and Stand Your Ground doesn't include provisions allowing shooting people who appear to be high on drugs, no judge or court will even allow this allegation into trial.
Fourth: As an expert pot-smoker since I was 13, I can assure you, as a true expert, that smoking pot does not make you "erratic." It does, however, make you lazy. The t.v. remote was invented specifically for pot smokers.

I've smoked the equivalent of the entire country of Colombia's pot supply. I am a white female. This does not make it legal for somebody to look out a window, determine that I'm "high" (whether i am or not) and then chase after me, ESPECIALLY after the person pursuing me has telephoned the authorities and was instructed NOT TO DO ANYTHING but then disobeyed said orders and chased me down and played Super Cop.

If it was me, if I was Trayvon Martin, this is how I'd see it: I'm walking home to my dad's house, it's raining, my little half-brother wanted some Skittles, next thing you know, some dude is running after me, wtf, is he going to jump me? Rob me? Lynch me? I'm a female, I'm a hell of a lot more likely to be worried about being jumped or raped in the dark than YOU. Ditto for some big black kid.

Martin only saw his own perspective, hindsight is 20/20 for YOU: Some fucking crazy dude starts following him and who the fuck knows WHY because Martin hasn't committed any robberies (Stand Your Ground does NOT -- I repeat -- does NOT allow you to shoot somebody for being high on anything, or possessing any drugs, so get the fuck OFF the pot thing, it's not a part of the law, you're reaching into a cookie jar of stupid) or did anything wrong and all Martin knows is, hey, some fucking dude is following him, he's a kid, he's scared, he tells his g/f on the phone that he's scared ...

and if he PUNCHED THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF ZIMMERMAN, THAT'S SELF-DEFENSE.

So, in a court of law:

(a) blaming Martin for pot use is like blaming a woman for being a former prostitute and therefore deserving to be raped
(b) drug use in this case is likely to be inadmissible at a trial; irrelevant, doesn't speak to the facts
(c) the main issue will be "self defense"
(d) the main issue will be who initiated the aggression, thereby determining who initiated self-defense
(e) the major factor in the prosecution's case will be the evidence that Zimmerman called the police and was instructed to do nothing, but ignored those orders and took the law into his own hands; thereby, becoming the aggressor

This is no longer a race issue, this is an issue that will test Stand Your Ground in ALL states that have it. Armchair legal analysis has to be based on legal procedure, and not on your own moral opinions.