Usa Thread

[Flashermac]

Old photos may be deceptive in Fla. shooting case; experts warn against rush to judgment

 

 

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When he was shot, Trayvon Martin was not the baby-faced boy in the photo that has been on front pages across the country. And George Zimmerman wasn’t the beefy-looking figure in the widely published mugshot.

 

Both photos are a few years old and no longer entirely accurate. Yet they may have helped shape initial public perceptions of the deadly shooting.

 

“When you have such a lopsided visual comparison, it just stands to reason that people would rush to judgment,†said Kenny Irby, who teaches visual journalism at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

 

The most widely seen picture of Martin, released by his family, was evidently taken a few years ago and shows a smiling, round-cheeked youngster in a red T-shirt. But at his death, Martin was 17 years old, around 6 feet tall and, according to his family’s attorney, about 140 pounds.

 

Zimmerman, 28, is best known from a 7-year-old booking photo of an apparently heavyset figure with an imposing stare, pierced ear and facial hair, the orange collar of his jail uniform visible. The picture, released by police following the deadly shooting, was taken after Zimmerman’s 2005 arrest on an assault-on-an-officer charge that was eventually dropped.

 

In a police video made public this week of Zimmerman being brought in for questioning a half-hour after the shooting, the 5-foot-9 man appears much slimmer.

 

In a case that has caused a nationwide furor over race and the laws of self-defense, Martin was shot to death by Zimmerman in the city of Sanford on Feb. 26 as the unarmed black teenager was walking back from a convenience store.

 

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, has claimed self-defense, saying he opened fire after Martin punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk.

 

Black leaders and others are demanding Zimmerman’s arrest on murder or manslaughter charges, but state and federal authorities are still investigating.

 

Betsi Grabe, a professor at Indiana University-Bloomington who has studied the effect of news images on public opinion, said photos that gain the most traction play into the desires of both journalists and the public for a story with a distinct victim and aggressor.

 

“At the center of most stories we tell in our society, cross-culturally and across the centuries, is the struggle between good and evil,†she said. “If the ingredients are there, that is what journalists will grab onto and present.â€

 

Grabe said it is natural to present the most innocent-looking image of the person believed to be the victim, and the most menacing one of the suspect.

 

A more complex portrait of the two figures has emerged since then. A photo of a beaming Zimmerman looking sharp in a jacket and tie has come out, along with a more recent picture of Martin, with gold teeth and a white sleeveless undershirt. At the same time, it was learned that Martin had been suspended from school for marijuana residue in his backpack.

 

The Associated Press has not been able to verify the sources or creators of what are purported to be more recent photographs of Martin circulating online and elsewhere. The family’s attorney has not released the photos.

 

“Everyone’s views seem to be gyrating back and forth with each new scrap of evidence that comes out,†said David O. Markus, a prominent Miami defense attorney. “This is why we have courts and juries, and why the process is slow. No one should rush to judgment.â€

 

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My link

[TheCorinthian]

Good old American journalism, integrity at it's best.

 

 

 

NBC to do ‘internal investigation’ on Zimmerman segment

 

Yea. Someone at NBC is going to get fired for sure. And this backs up my various replies about how there is no right or left wing mass conspiracy in the total of US news orgs. They all police themselves and love catching the other guys fucking up.

[Bangkoktraveler]

Yea. Someone at NBC is going to get fired for sure. And this backs up my various replies about how there is no right or left wing mass conspiracy in the total of US news orgs. They all police themselves and love catching the other guys fucking up.

 

 

I suspect that why Zimmerman 'walked' was probably based upon

a wide range of extra police 'powers' the police have today.

 

At the so called famous 'OK Corral' gunfight of the old Wild West, some of

the lawmen who were involved were arrested and tried in a court of law.

 

As for Zimmerman: If he lived in the Wild West - he probably would have been arrested.

A coroner's inquest would have beeen held and the case probably would

go to the Grand Jury.

[Steve]

The media has been tweaking news to varying degrees for decades. Its so sad because we look to the 4th estate for an objective view. I recall one of the major news magazines (either Time or Newsweek), darkening a photo of OJ Simpson to make him look more threatening. The Spanish-American war was started by newspapers. 'Yellow Journalism' I think it was called.

 

Be that as it may, and while still awaiting all the facts. What I find the most difficult for Zimmerman to explain away is the fact that he ignored the 911's operator suggestion and went after Martin. Even if Martin fought him and hurt him it was Zimmerman who created the situation in the first place. Even if he was defending himself he was defending himself in a situation that he created. I don't know the specifics of the law to defend yourself but I would be interested to know if the law is applicable if you confront someone on your own. I would assume its when defending yourself in a situation if someone confronted you or if you were aiding someone else. I would even see the law applicable if you were asking someone for directions or something like that and they took the opportunity to rob you. The little I see so far 'smells' like involuntary manslaughter at the very least. He would not have to discharge his gun and Martin would have still been alive had he not confronted him for reasons outside the scope of routine human interaction. Were I a juror I would be inclined to that charge even if Martin acted angrilly, physically to being questioned as to his being in that neighborhood and what he was doing there. If he asked Martin for directions and Martin reacted physically I'd find Zimmerman innocent for example. It seems to me the only thing we have to determine is if Martin 'overreacted' to Zimmerman's questioning. If he did, involuntary manslaughter. 'Overreacted' is subjective.

[TheCorinthian]

I suspect that why Zimmerman 'walked' was probably based upon

a wide range of extra police 'powers' the police have today.

At the so called famous 'OK Corral' gunfight of the old Wild West, some of

the lawmen who were involved were arrested and tried in a court of law.

As for Zimmerman: If he lived in the Wild West - he probably would have been arrested.

A coroner's inquest would have beeen held and the case probably would

go to the Grand Jury.

 

Huh?

 

That does not even makes sense.

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

CS, I agree with you on that. He could have waited for the police to arrive. It would only have been minutes. A neighbour now is describing the injuries he saw on Zimmerman's face and head, consistent with his account. He saw Zimmerman the next morning, when his injuries had time to swell. But probably none of it would have happened, if he had listened to the police and waited.

 

There is also some criticism about the press calling Zimmerman a "white Hispanic". It's a term I've never heard before and one that does not exist in the US Census Department. Do we have different shades of Hispanic? Is Obama a brown black man?

 

The "other" photos:

 

 

 

Two years ago - looking not as young and with a tattoo

 

[Flashermac]

Huh?

 

That does not even makes sense.

 

 

Logic is different in Arizona. Something to do with peyote beans.

 

 

 

[TheCorinthian]

Logic is different in Arizona. Something to do with peyote beans.

 

 

 

 

Must be. Its like 7:00pm there too, so he may be drunk again.

[Steve]

There are tons of hispanics that physically are no different than your average white person. I grew up with some Cubans and they run the gamut from very black to european white, even blonde blue eyes although its rare. However, I've seen tons of white latinos. Oscar De La Renta is Domincan for example.

 

As far as Zimmerman's being accosted, it still doesn't exonerate him. We don't know what he said to Martin. Some guy asking you what you're doing in your own Dad's girlfriends housing complex. If I was in a bad mood I may tell him its none of his GD business. If such a guy came towards me (assuming he was smaller than me..haha), I'd tell him get the bleep out of my face. Or if the guy was pestering me. I'm a lover not fighter...but I've been in more fights than I have been in love.

[Flashermac]

The point is that Hispanic is NOT a racial designation. The press was trying to make it one. A Chicano buddy in the Army got quite pissed off when a black Puerto Rican asked him what he thought of "those white guys". Ray said to me, "What does he think I am?"