[miami_fan]

It seems to me that there are two distinctive parts of the night in question and I think when you decide to place the main focus is determines where you fall in the entire scenario, not just the case. I think the trial was about the second part. The part where Martin confronted/jumped on/punched Zimmerman. At that point, I guess Zimmerman fears for his life and has the right to self defense. If this is where you place your focus, I think you fall on one side.

The part that I feel has been severely discounted is the first part. Everything that happened prior to the confrontation. I think everyone agrees that if that part does not happen, then we don't get to the second part. Now my personal belief is that Zimmerman's actions in the first part were spurned in part by Martin's race. Do I think that makes him a racist? No. Do I think that it was the only reason he did what he did that night? No. However, I do think that Zimmerman was out to "get" Martin. By "get" I mean he was going to get this kid who he thought had criminal intentions. Again, I did not follow the trail minute by minute day by day so if the actions of both parties (specifically Zimmerman) leading up to the confrontation were addressed, forgive me. Having been in a similar incident in August 2011, this case was hit a bit too close to home to go all in on.