re: Why Does Black Lives Matter Use People Like Michael Brown and Alton Sterling?

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You are a piece of work.

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I'm an attorney who understands self-defense and Stand Your Ground laws.

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Please explain to me how you can lawfully follow someone, provoke them, fight them, call the 911, get instructed to not follow him, decide you will disregard and shoot that person.

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First, the evidence in the case is different than what you posted. Zimmerman called 9-1-1 and reported a suspicious person (Martin). He was instructed not to follow the person and wait for police. However, he is under no legal duty to obey that command as 9-1-1 receptionists are not peace officer and do not have personal jurisdiction over callers. He followed Martin and then lost him. Based on the areas where Zimmerman last saw Martin and where the attack occurred, it is most likely that Martin doubled back behind Zimmerman and then initiated the attack. This is corroborated by the testimony of the girl Martin was on the phone with at the time. Physical evidence showed that while attacking Zimmerman, Martin slammed his head into the concrete. At this point, Zimmerman shot Martin while on his back. The forensic evidence showed that Martin was sitting atop Zimmerman when he was shot.

There is no evidence that suggests that Zimmerman physically engaged Martin prior to Martin attacking him. In fact, there is no evidence that Zimmerman spoke with Martin prior to Martin attacking him.

Lethal use of force in self-defense requires that the user be in reasonable fear for his life prior to using force. That burden cannot be met if he is not under attack or attack is imminent.

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This what exactly happened.

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