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Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman become one of the most hated men in America after he killed a 17-year-old black youth named Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. The public widely accused Zimmermanaged 28 when the Feb. 26, 2012, murder occurredof racially profiling the youth. Thats because shortly before Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, he phoned the police to say the teen looked suspicious.

However, Zimmerman reported that Trayvon had done nothing other than look at the buildings in the gated community. While large swaths of the public have condemned Zimmerman for killing a teenager, his supporters have argued that hes an upstanding man incapable of cold-blooded murder. So who is the real George Zimmerman? Facts about his life, statements from his family and friends and his police record piece together a profile.

George Zimmermans ethnic background seems to have baffled the news media. Hes at times been described as solely white, solely Hispanic and as a white Hispanic. So what is Zimmermans cultural background? Zimmermans father is white and his mother is Peruvian. That likely means he has both European heritage and heritage indigenous to Latin America. His parents' careers have led to greater scrutiny of Zimmerman. Thats because Robert Zimmerman served as a magistrate judge and Gladys Zimmerman worked as a deputy court clerk. Many wondered if his parents legal connections helped George Zimmerman avoid arrest after killing Trayvon Martin.

Its unclear what role, if any, Robert and Gladys Zimmerman played in the case.

While much has been made over the fact that Trayvon Martin had been suspended from school multiple times for infractions such as tardiness, tagging graffiti and carrying a baggie with traces of marijuana in the months leading up to his death, George Zimmermans run-ins with the law have largely been overlooked by his supporters. In July 2005, Zimmerman was arrested for shoving a police officer during an underage drinking raid. The charges he faced were dropped after Zimmerman completed an alcohol education program. That same summer his ex-fiance filed a restraining order against him, alleging that Zimmerman hit her. He responded by taking out a restraining order against her, claiming that shed hit him with a baseball bat. That same year Zimmerman reportedly lost his job working security at illegal house parties for losing his temper. A coworker described Zimmerman to the New York Daily News as a Jekyll and Hyde personality type.

He had a temper and he became a liability, the source told the Daily News. One time this woman was acting a little out of control. She was drunk. George lost his cool and totally overreacted. It was weird, because he was such a cool guy, but he got all nuts. He picked her up and threw her. It was pure rage. She twisted her ankle. Everyone was flipping out.

A Jekyll and Hyde personality would certainly explain why characterizations of Zimmerman vary widely. While his ex-fiance and former coworker describe him as violent, family friends describe Zimmerman as someone who cared for and mentored children and served as an altar boy as a child.

Trayvon Martins Twitter handle may have been no_limit_nga, but his killer also took on a nickname adapted from the N-Word. George Zimmerman used the moniker DatNiggyTB for his MySpace account. The name is a mash up of his nicknames Dat Niggy and Tugboat, or TB, because of his large size. A family member denied that Zimmerman used the name as a racial slur, instead arguing that black friends gave him the moniker. After Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, he made a concerted effort to counter accusations that hes racially prejudiced. His supporters have pointed out that he has black friends and has mentored black children. One black friend, Joe Oliver, has vouched for Zimmerman on numerous occasions.

In April 2012, George Zimmerman made the unusual move to launch a website called therealgeorgezimmerman.com. On the website, he thanks his supporters, requests donations for his legal and living expenses and features quotes by philosopher Edmund Burke and others such as, The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. However, Zimmerman did not release any statements about the events leading up to his fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, 2012. Instead, he simply stated, I am grateful to my friends that have come to my aidnever questioning my integrity or actions, understanding that I cannot discuss the details of the event on February 26th, and allowing law enforcement to proceed with their investigation unhindered.

During a bail hearing after George Zimmermans long-awaited arrest for second-degree murder, Zimmerman apologized to his teen victims family. He even asked for a private meeting with them. But Trayvon Martins parents rebuffed Zimmerman, arguing that his delayed apology suggested that he wasnt genuinely sorry for taking their sons life. What else casts doubt on Zimmermans apology? He stated during the April 20, 2012, hearing, I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not. However, in the 911 call Zimmerman made before killing the 17-year-old, he described the youth as being in his late teens to the police dispatcher. Zimmerman narrowed down Trayvon Martins age with spot-on precision. Did he forget telling the police dispatcher this or is Zimmerman continuing to weave together a tale that makes him appear less culpable in the teens death?

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The Real George Zimmerman - Bio and Facts

I believe it is the height of hypocrisy to accuse our President of "rushing to judgment" while Hannity reports leaked stories and speculations that fit his narrative and right wing agenda that attacks the President and Democrats.

Unlike in Florida and Texas, in Massachusetts and several other states, we treat a license to carry a firearm seriously, and only allow our most responsible citizens to do so.

Last year's jury decisions in racially-charged investigations were only the most recent to reveal the schism in the country's perceptions of how race intersects with justice. From the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research archives, here is a look back over more than twenty years of data on race and the jury system.

Kathleen Weldon

Research Coordinator for the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at UConn

Martin was more than just another young black male gunned down in an act of senseless violence. He became and will remain a challenge to the nation to do something about that violence.

As George Zimmerman finds himself in the news again for yet another charge of domestic violence, I am reminded of the thing that baffled me most in this bizarre series of events.

Neal Wooten

Writer, artist and standup comedian; author, 'Reternity' and 'The Balance'

I have concluded that America's Evangelical church covers up America's structural racism, helps to hide it, and is thereby complicit in the abuse.

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George Zimmerman: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

Biography

Zimmerman, 31, was born on October 5, 1983, in Manassas, Virginia, and is the son of Gladys (ne Mesa) Zimmerman and Robert Zimmerman Sr.[2] Zimmerman is the third of four children and his siblings include a brother, Robert Jr., and two sisters, Grace and Dawn.[3][4] Gladys Zimmerman was born in Peru and has some black ancestry, through her Afro-Peruvian maternal grandfather.[3] Robert Zimmerman Sr. is an American of German descent and served 22 years in the military working for the Department of Defense for the last 10 years of his military career. Before retiring to Florida in 2002, Zimmerman Sr. had served as a magistrate in Fairfax County's 19th Judicial District.[3][5][6][7] George Zimmerman had identified himself as Hispanic on voter registration forms.[1]

Zimmerman was raised as a Catholic and served as an altar boy from age 7 to 17. Zimmerman attended All Saints Catholic School in Manassas before going to public high school.[6] At age 14, Zimmerman joined an after-school Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program because he had wanted to become a Marine.[3] When Zimmerman was 15 years old, he held three part-time jobs on nights and weekends to save up for a car. Zimmerman graduated from Osbourn High School in 2001.[3][6]

After graduating from high school, Zimmerman moved to Lake Mary, Florida, a suburb of Orlando, where he got a job at an insurance agency. Zimmerman took classes at night to obtain a license to sell insurance. It was during this time when he became friends with Lee Ann Benjamin, a real estate agent, and her husband John Donnelly, a Sanford attorney.[3] Benjamin and Donnelly would both later testify on his behalf at his trial in the death of Martin.[8][9] According to Donnelly, in 2004 Zimmerman and an African American friend opened a satellite office of Allstate Insurance which eventually failed a year later.

Zimmerman married Shellie Dean, a licensed cosmetologist in 2007 and, two years later, they rented a townhouse in the Retreat at Twin Lakes. Zimmerman had also previously been employed at a car dealership and a mortgage audit firm.[3][4] Zimmerman enrolled in Seminole State College in 2009 and was working on an associate degree in criminal justice. In December 2011 he was allowed to participate in a school graduation ceremony, even though he was a course credit shy of his degree. He was completing that credit at the time of the shooting. Zimmerman was employed as an insurance underwriter at that time also.[3][4][10]

In early 2011, Zimmerman participated in a citizen forum at the Sanford City Hall to protest the beating of a black homeless man by the son of a white Sanford police officer. During the meeting, Zimmerman claimed he witnessed "disgusting behavior" while participating in a ride-along program with local police; however the police department said it did not know when, if ever, Zimmerman was in that program.[11][12]

On February 26, 2012, Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old African American high school student Trayvon Martin in The Retreat at Twin Lakes community in Sanford, Florida.[3] Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the gated community where Martin was temporarily staying and where the shooting occurred.[13][14][15] The Twin Lakes Neighborhood Watch program was not registered with the National Neighborhood Watch Program, but was administered by the local police department.[16] Following an earlier call from Zimmerman, police arrived within two minutes of a gunshot during an altercation in which Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, who did not possess any weapons. Zimmerman was subsequently taken into custody, treated for head injuries, then questioned for five hours. The police chief said that Zimmerman was released because there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman's claim of having acted in self-defense, and that under Florida's Stand Your Ground statute, the police were prohibited by law from making an arrest.[17] The police chief also said that Zimmerman had had a right to defend himself with lethal force.[18] As news of the case spread, thousands of protestors across the country called for Zimmerman's arrest and a full investigation.[19] Six weeks after the shooting, amid widespread, intense, and in some cases misleading media coverage,[20][21] Zimmerman was charged with murder by a special prosecutor appointed by Governor Rick Scott.[22]

Zimmerman's trial began on June 10, 2013, in Sanford. On July 13, 2013, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.[23] For three years the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated Zimmerman on civil rights charges.[24] In February 2015, the DOJ concluded there was not sufficient evidence that Zimmerman intentionally violated the civil rights of Martin,[24] saying the Zimmerman case did not meet the "high standard" for a federal hate crime prosecution.[24] In response to his acquittal Zimmerman said he felt free to speak his opinion "without fear of retaliation".[25] Zimmerman criticized the government and President Obama. He believed Obama inflamed racial tensions. "He by far overstretched, overreached, even broke the law in certain aspects to where you have an innocent American being prosecuted by the federal government," Zimmerman said.[25]

Apart from the 2012 Martin shooting, Zimmerman has had other encounters with the law, including two incidents in 2005, five incidents in 2013 and other incidents in following years.[26]

In July 2005, when he was 21, Zimmerman was arrested after shoving an undercover alcohol-control agent while a friend of Zimmerman's was being arrested for underage drinking. The officer alleged that Zimmerman had said, "I don't care who you are," followed by a profanity, and had refused to leave the area after the officer had shown their badge.[27] The charges were subsequently dropped when Zimmerman entered a pre-trial diversion program that included anger-management classes.[3][28] Also in 2005, Zimmerman's ex-fiance filed a restraining order against him, alleging domestic violence. Zimmerman requested a reciprocal restraining order. Both orders were granted.[3][29] These incidents were raised by prosecutors at Zimmerman's initial bond hearing. The judge described them as "run of the mill."[30][31]

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George Zimmerman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Florida v. Zimmerman

Case Number 592012CF001083A

State of Florida v. George Zimmerman was a criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder stemming from the shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012.[Note 1]

On April 11, 2012, George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. In support of the charges, the State filed an affidavit of probable cause, stating that Zimmerman profiled and confronted Martin and shot him to death while Martin was committing no crimes.[1] Florida State Attorney Angela Corey announced the charges against Zimmerman during a televised press conference and reported that Zimmerman was in custody after turning himself in to law enforcement.[2][3] Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense.[4]

After sixteen hours of deliberations over the course of two days, on July 13, 2013, the six-person jury rendered a not guilty verdict on all counts.[5][6]

On March 22, 2012, Florida Governor Rick Scott announced his appointment of Angela Corey as the Special Prosecutor in the Martin investigation.[7] She is the State Attorney for Duval, Clay and Nassau counties.[8] When Corey took the case, she chose Bernie de la Rionda as lead prosecutor. De la Rionda was an Assistant State Attorney in Corey's office and had been a prosecutor for 29 years.[9][10] Prosecutors John Guy and Richard Mantei assisted, with Guy making the opening statement.

The prosecutor initially responsible for the case was Norm Wolfinger, a State Attorney whose jurisdiction included Seminole County where the shooting occurred on February 26, 2012.[11][12] On March 22, 2012, he requested to be removed from the case to help "tone down the rhetoric" for the public good.[13]

On April 11, 2012, Mark M. O'Mara announced that he was the attorney representing Zimmerman. O'Mara is president of the Seminole County Bar Association, is a legal commentator for WKMG news, and had previously tried cases that involved the Stand-your-ground law.[14] When he took the case, O'Mara said that Zimmerman had no money and that the state may help pay the costs. When reporters asked why he took the case, O'Mara said, "That's what I do."[15]

On May 31, 2012, Orlando attorney Don West left his job as a federal public defender to join the defense team led by O'Mara. West specialized in murder cases and had been a board certified criminal trial specialist for 25 years. He and O'Mara had been friends for a long time.[16]

In September 2013, O'Mara announced he had signed on to be a legal analyst for CNN.[17]

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Trial of George Zimmerman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just last week, newly christened Fox News media-analyst Howard Kurtz broke down the evolution of the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case with colleague Bret Baier. The topic was the same one that everyone had been chewing on, namely the great deal of coverage accorded to the trial.

Heres part of the discussion:

BAIER: Do you think this trial would have gotten as much coverage from the beginning had a lot of the activists not really got into the game in the beginning?

KURTZ: Bret, I dont think even it ever would have become a national story. It never would have been on the radar. It was the issue of race and the activists descending on Sanford, Florida that catapulted this. And really, you know, there seems to be this hunger in cable news land for the what I call a soap opera spectacle. Before this, there was the Jody Arias trial. Before that, it was the Amanda Knox trial.

Variations on this strain of thought have circulated in the media in advanced of the widely expected not-guilty verdict announced on Saturday night. On Fox & Friends this week, Geraldo Rivera, for instance, held the Rev. Al Sharpton of MSNBC responsible for serving as a catalyst for the prosecution of George Zimmerman. On the Fox News show The Five, co-host Greg Gutfeld declared, the media right now is on trial for those first three to four months after this crime occurred, of all of the race-based content they ran with, without facts, but emotion, because it created ratings.

Get used to this line of reasoning, for its likely to spill into the public via self-satisfied, I-told-you-so professions in newspapers and TV monologues in the coming weeks. Hell, it may not subside till Labor Day.

Dont believe a word of it, however.

Indeed the media committed atrocities in covering the encounter between Zimmerman and Martin. Most notably, NBC News mal-edited a police audiotape that portrayed Zimmerman as an out-and-out racial profiler.

Yet to posit that the media and activists orchestrated a national issue gives too little credit to the nation. Simply put, people across the country were horrified that a 17-year-old kid walking through a neighborhood with candy and a soft drink could have ended up shot to death. They didnt need the media to tell them to get out and demand Zimmermans arrest, or simply to express solidarity with the victim.

Toggle back to that tumultuous period after the killing and before Zimmermans arrest. On March 31, 2012, the News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) carried a story documenting how around 300 students at William Penn High School wore hoodies in a silent demonstration. More:

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The George Zimmerman not guilty verdict: Dont blame the ...