No argument that Zimmerman was amazingly stupid, but nothing that he did was criminal.
There is absolutely no physical or witness evidence that Zimmerman initiated the physical confrontation. All of the evidence indicates that Martin inflicted the physical violence. One witness positively stated that Martin was on top of Zimmerman, the other (much less reliable witness) testified that she thought it might have been Zimmerman (based on the photo she later saw on the news depicting Martin as a 12 - 13 year old).
Zimmerman being an fool is not a crime. Even the prior police calls the prosecution introduced into evidence showed that Zimmerman did not want to physically confront previous suspicious persons, even though he was likely armed then (concealed carry permit obtained in 2009)as he was that night.
The prosecution has nothing but heart-strings. I really don't have a dog in this hunt and couldn't care less what happens to Zimmerman, or anyone else involved in this case; but everything that I have seen presented by the prosecution has been, to me, complete garbage. The judge should have dismissed the case because the prosecution has failed to prove anything.
Nothing criminal? really? He is going to get manslaughter, I can almost certainly guarantee that. That is something the prosecution's case has proved, even if their case might not be good enough for murder. Not to mention his provably false statements to police, which is also criminal I believe.
Zimmerman's actions caused the death of an unarmed person and it was a result of his relentless pursuit that an altercation happened at all. If the prosecution could not prove ill will or malice, that is their own fault, but at the very least they most certainly proved that Zimmerman caused Martin's death in a situation of Zimmerman's own design. They do not have to prove intention to kill to get a manslaughter conviction, and the evidence in the case points to this result, not acquittal of all charges.
Here is the case the prosecution should have presented, based on the altercation that took place between the two:
Zimmerman gets out of his car and pursues Martin down the street. Martin has hidden himself because he is afraid of this stranger following him. The testimony of Rachel Jenteal corroborates at least this much so far. At this point, Zimmerman finds Martin and lays hands on him, possibly holding onto his sweatshirt or some other part of his clothing. Martin, fearing for his life, throws a punch at Zimmerman, causing him to fall down. Zimmerman refuses to let go, causing both he and Martin to fall down together.
Since Zimmerman is the one going down, he hits his head on the pavement and the struggle ensues. Martin struggles to release himself from Zimmerman's grip, but Zimmerman keeps a tight hold on him, causing Martin to scream for help. At this point, Zimmerman pulls out the gun and shoots Martin dead.
This is the most likely scenario of what actually happened. Otherwise we are supposed to believe that a man who out-weighed Martin by quite a large margin, and who had Mixed Martial Arts training, somehow was overpowered by an unarmed teenager with no formal training that we know of. And, despite receiving this training, somehow Zimmerman is the weakest man on the planet, although not so weak that the man who trained him is using the fact that he provided the training to Zimmerman as an advertisement on his gym website. And also consider, that if Martin actually landed as many punches as Zimmerman claims, at the very least his knuckles should have the marks of being in such a fierce battle. The lack of DNA evidence on Martin should be sufficient to prove Zimmerman's account is completely fabricated. Unfortunately, this was not the story that the prosecution told, and therefore Zimmerman will get convicted of manslaughter rather than the murder he committed. Either way, he most certainly did do something criminal and should be punished accordingly.
