The case of Trayvon Martin remained elevated, as thousands took to the streets of Sanford, FL in a NAACP organized march and rally Saturday near the gated community.
A coalition of national civil-rights organizers, community leaders, clergy members and residents from across the U.S. gathered to demand the immediate arrest of self-appointed neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, for the 17-year-old’s shooting death on February 26th.
Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAACP President Ben Jealous and others called for an end to the controversial “Stand Your Ground” law, while making the point that the law does apply in this case that has galvanized a nation.
Last week, a Sanford Police Dept. surveillance tape was released and showed Zimmerman being brought into the station on the night of the shooting. Although Zimmerman claimed Martin broke his nose and smashed his head into the cement sidewalk before he shot him, the surveillance tape showed no signs of injury or blood on Zimmerman’s body or clothing. Medical experts say if Zimmerman’s nose had been broken, his shirt would likely have been covered with gushing blood from the nose. They also say his head would have been wrapped in gauze by EMT professionals to protect any head injury, and that Zimmerman would have had difficulty walking on his own due to a possible concussion. But Zimmerman is seen on the tapes uninjured, unbloodied and walking unassisted without difficulty.
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| Robert Zimmerman, Jr. |
Zimmerman’s older brother Robert, appeared on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” to claim his brother’s innocence and to try and convince the court of public opinion it was George Zimmerman screaming for help on the 911 recording. Zimmerman, who has claimed self-defense in the shooting, told police he was the one screaming for help and not Trayvon Martin, in an attempt to utilize the “Stand Your Ground” law as his defense.
But according to Tom Owen, forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC and chairman emeritus of the American Board of Recorded Evidence, a voice identification software used to compare Zimmerman’s voice to the 911 screams has completely ruled out the neighborhood watch volunteer.
The software returned a 48% match. According to Owen, audio of such quality would need to be higher than 90% for a positive match.
“You can say with reasonable scientific certainty that it’s not Zimmerman,” Owen said.
<span><span>"Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAACP President Ben Jealous and others called for an end to the controversial "Stand Your Ground" law, while making the point that the law does apply in this case that has galvanized a nation." Here's what troubles me: For years (perhaps DECADES) countless numbers of young BLACK males have been killed (GUNNED DOWN) by OTHER young BLACK males and I've not seen nearly the level of concern, OUTRAGE and galvanized protest from so-called "Black leaders" as I've seen the past 2 weeks (AFTER Trayvon was gunned down by a young HISPANIC male). I don't *get* that?! The truth is, I've never liked or respected the *Wannabe-brothas* (Al and Jesse). I doubt I ever will. Do I believe there's a SERIOUS problem with the "Stand Your Ground" law? Yes. I most certainly do. Do I believe that *SUG* played a key role in the killing of Trayvon Martin? Yes. Along with racial-profiling. And YES, I believe Zimmerman SHOULD be… Read more »