Zimmerman not guilty.

[Xiahou]

Even during and after the trial they continued to misrepresent the true nature of the facts and to obscure what was said or done. More so by pundits than the actual news but no less damaging.

I think we're seeing a bizarre phenomenon in "new reporting" now. News personalities get to say their usual stupid stuff, but then it's reported on by the supposed straight news segments thereby we have networks generating their own "news".

If they want to pursue a case more likely to demonstrate racial bias then they should look into the verdict of Trevor Dooley and his manslaughter conviction.

The case has been touted by the right as to the injustice of the Zimmerman case but Dooley was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 8 years.

The media in his case cited the triviality of the argument and the fact that minors, including the 8 year old daughter of the dead man, were present. Dooley initially used the stand your ground law as defense, to have the case dismissed. That was denied. He then used self defense in his case, how ever the media made issue with his seeming lack of remorse.

During the altercation Dooley showed his gun in his waist band but turned to leave. At which point James spun him around, wrestled him to the ground and was choking him. Dooley said he could not breath, he prodded James in the leg several times with the gun before he fired, killing him.

If these facts are true, then how did a Tampa Jury find to convict? Surely the law is clear enough that Dooley should also be a free man.

There's some big differences with the Dooley case....

The most important being that there were multiple witnesses to the confrontation- according to whom, it was determined that Dooley initiated the confrontation.

He came into the park screaming at a skateboarding kid, telling him to get off the basketball court. James, who was there with his daughter shooting hoops, told Dooley there was no signage prohibiting skateboards. Dooley responded by yelling "Fuck you!" and brandished his gun. James asked him why he was carrying a weapon and why he would swear in front of children. Then the altercation became physical. A witness stated at one point James was trying to pin Dooley on the ground, holding his arms down. During the struggle, Dooley shot and killed James.

I'm not aware of "Stand Your Ground" laws allowing you to assault someone and then kill them in "self-defense". A manslaughter conviction sounds completely appropriate here. There would have been far better grounds for a second-degree murder charge than there was in the Zimmerman case....