Scott Rasmussen Decides To Poll “Is George Zimmerman Guilty of Murder?”
Speaking of trials in the court of public opinion......
For some reason, Scott Rasmussen decided that it was a good idea to put a poll in the field asking people if they thought George Zimmerman is guilty of a crime:
Despite round-the-clock media coverage of the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida, most Americans haven’t come to a conclusion yet whether it’s a case of murder or self-defense.
One-third (33%) of adults believe crime watch volunteer George Zimmerman should be found guilty of murder in the shooting death of the Florida teenager, while 15% think Zimmerman acted in self-defense, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. But 52% of Americans are not sure.
To which I can only echo Ann Althouse in saying Thank You 52% of America! I suppose it’s somewhat disturbing that only 52% of Americans are willing are reserve judgment of a man’s guilt in a high profile case with conflicting versions of events, a highly charged racial subtext, and going on two weeks of round-the-clock media coverage, but I suppose that’s the price we pay for the media world that we live in. Perhaps we could even excuse those 1/3 of the respondents who have already arrested, tried, and convicted Zimmerman in their minds, and the 15% who have already decided that he’s innocent. After all, it’s hard not to come to a conclusion when “facts” are being thrown at you every day by a media more interested in sensationalism than honest reporting and pundits and “preachers” more interested in pursuing their own agendas than the facts.
But what the heck compels a pollster throw a poll like this out into the field? If there is any better demonstration of someone being tried in the court of public opinion than putting their name in a poll and asking “is this guy guilty of murder?” I honestly don’t know what it is. Yes, I know some will say that this is just typical Rasmussen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there are other polls in the field asking this very same question. Moreover, the fact that anyone would even think of polling a question like this is a perfect example of the problem I pointed out in my posts on Monday and Tuesday about the extent to which far too many people are prejudging this case. Given how coverage of this case has proceeded, it’s only natural that someone would poll it. I guess I’m just glad that there’s still a residue of sanity left in this country, at least according to this particular poll result.
Of course, this is just a television poll which is not legally binding. Unless proposition 304 passes, and we all pray it will.
This gets me more upset day by day. The case is getting way out of hand especially when everybody made up their minds about what happened, yet new details arise everyday just like the lead homicide detective filing a affidavit the same night Martin was killed. I really cannot take anymore of this case.
Rasmussen’s “accuracy” is bad enough, but to toss out a question like this has to be considered pollster malpractice.
Disgusting.
@Eric: I just don’t get some of the things that pollsters poll about. Zimmerman isn’t going to be tried based on the opinion of the public and whether the majority of Americans believe that ObamaCare is constitutional or not has no bearing on whether or not it’s going to be found constitutional.
Scott Rasmussen is the kool-aide pollster. He’s gone where the money is -FOX news. This is the sort of thing FOX viewers want to hear. My only surprise is it didn’t turn out like he had hoped it would.
The invisible hand made him do it.
Why stop at “murder”? Why not include questions about “manslaughter” or “depraved indifference”? Or any number of different charges? Oh, I get it, because it is not appropriate to do such nonsense.
Obviously, we weren’t there, so we don’t know. But it becomes increasingly clear that had Zimmerman not decided to pursue Martin, the kid might still be alive today. At worst, some trash cans might have been overturned (if you believe that in the first place).
It seems, even without knowing all of the evidence, that Zimmerman shouldn’t be let off without something.
Or am I wrong?
Cheers.
I remember a time and place when we could walk down the streets of our town any time without fear of being mugged and we could leave our doors unlocked, windows open without fear of a “home invasion”. Now people are retreating behind gates, walls, and guard stations like some kind of military base or medieval fortress. Isn’t it ridiculous! Of course, this is the result of soft on crime, permissive, revolving door justice that we have now. Judges have tied the hands of the police and are more concerned about the rights of criminals than the suffering of their victims, freeing these criminals on some technicality (example – Zimmerman)
to roam and prey on more people.
Do you really? Either you are being sarcastic (which I hope you are), or you are just spewing platitudinal horseshit.
Because, in most cities you never able to do that, at any time, while in my town in LA I never worry a fortress mentality.
I grew up where we did not lock doors, but friends lived in other neighbor hoods where they did. I lived in NYC for decades and never got mugged. People I know got mugged at the airport before even arriving.
Generalizations like yours are stupid, pointless and wrong. Worse, they never existed.
@Dunbar: I’m sorry Dunbar but I’m 66 years old, grew up in Portland, Oregon and I don’t remember that utopia you recall. There has always been crime and always will be. It might have been true in some smaller communities and in some of them that may still be the case. I grew up in an middle class neighborhood and our house was broken into two or three times while I was growing up and it was white people who did it.
@PogueMahone:
“Depraved indifference” indicates a failure to act when one has a duty to do so. If Zimmerman had beena bit more indifferent, Martin would still be alive today.
I wonder if Rasmussen ends up calling any of the people here who’ve pronounced Zimmerman guilty of murder… or insisted that he should be tried for murder… even if the only reason is to attempt to soothe the mobs.
It’s too late to worry about pre-trial publicity and trying this case in the court of public opinion. That boat done sailed.
I’d be interested in a survey of the following question:
“You’re an overweight, out of shape guy. You’re lying on the pavement with a high school football player on top of you, bashing your head into the pavement. You have a gun in your pocket. What are your legal and moral options at this point?”
@Dunbar: Nation wide crime rates are on the decline…..
I grew up in a small town and even there you couldn’t leave doors unlocked…
Scott Rasmussen??
That aside, far more than half of Zombieland wouldn’t know the differences between murder, manslaughter and justifiable homicide, even if you sat down and explained them using a puppet show and Hooked on Phonics. Ergo this “poll” nearly is as useful as a poll asking people who shot J.R.
@Jenos Idanian:
“You’re a burglar, and you in somebody’s bedroom looking for jewelry when the owner arrives home unexpectedly. You have a gun in your packet. What are your legal and moral options at this point?”
@Stormy Dragon: Surrender, or flee. You’re committing a felony while armed, and that’s really, really bad shit. Surrender is the most moral option, but running like hell is probably your best option.
OK, I answered yours. And I didn’t even weasel out by busting on your “packet” typo. Your turn, sport.
Video from local ABC station shows Zimmerman being processed at the police station after the killing. His head is not injured, nor is his jacket wet. He does not seem to have been in any kind of attack, or even so much as a stubbed toe. His body language is one of someone who is not injured. This would completely contradict the police report.
@James in LA: Does the video show Zimmerman’s head in close enough detail to see bruising or contusions under his hair? How long after the shooting was it shot — perhaps the jacket might have dried out a bit?
@Jenos Idanian: Yes it does. You get a good look at him from all sides. Everyone is very casual for a murder to have just occurred. MSNBC will be playing it all night long.
@James in LA: Got a link? I’d really like to see a video that shows the back of someone’s head in good enough detail to show a lack of bruising from getting one’s head bashed repeatedly against the pavement.
I believe Zimmerman did eventually go to the hospital for his head injuries and a broken nose. Does the video show his nose?
That’s awfully rich coming from someone who linked to a site telling blatant lies about Trayvon Martin…
An even more interesting question would be:
“You’re walking back to your home after stopping at the store to buy some candy and a soda. You notice someone in a SUV trailing you and then getting out of his vehicle to follow you. Would you feel threatened? Would you want to stand your ground against a possible attack by this stranger? What are your legal and moral options at this point?”
Isn’t it interesting how certain people don’t seem to know this…
@Jenos Idanian: His head is shaved. There is no sign of blood. His nose is not bloodied, nor are his clothes. He does not look like someone who has been in a scuffle.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/george-zimmerman-police-surveillance-16024475
@James in LA: Everyone is very casual for a murder to have just occurred.
You’d prefer the cops to get all worked up and unprofessional? They’re TRAINED to keep their attitude casual and relaxed — unless they have a reason to not be that way. In that context, they’d be more likely to get cooperation from Zimmerman if they keep it casual and don’t pressure him.
By the way, if you haven’t heard it, the New Black Panther Party has posted a bounty on Zimmerman, and Spike Lee Tweeted what he said was Zimmerman’s home address — forcing a perfectly innocent elderly couple to flee their home and move into a hotel. That’s the latest from the Side Calling For Justice.
@Jenos Idanian: What the blank panthers or spike lee or anyone else has done does not concern me in the slightest. If they have committed crimes, they, too, will be prosecuted.
Try to stay focused. Zimmerman lied to the police, and the higher-ups let him off. We will find out why soon enough. Why you continue to protect Zimmerman, who’s life changed forever the moment he opened the door to his SUV, is beyond me, and your irrelevant comments fail miserably to address the facts of the actual case.
Zimmerman will be convicted of at least manslaughter. Had he stayed in his truck, you would not have the deep, erogenous pleasure of talking about spike lee and the black panthers, clearly zones of yours getting waaaaaay too much attention.
@James in LA: For a good chunk of that video — the part where he’s front and center and still — the stupid ABC Exclusive covers Zimmerman’s head. And the resolution of the rest is hardly conclusive.
I also didn’t see any blood on Zimmerman’s front, and by reports Martin was atop him when Zimmerman shot him.
I’d say the video is interesting, but hardly conclusive. The hospital records would be more determinative.
@Jenos Idanian: On MSNBC, the video has been enhanced and lightened so you can see details of his head and clothing. There is no blood. There is no bruising. There is absolutely no sign of a scuffle. Difficult to have Martin on top of him absent any sign of it.
@James in LA: What the blank panthers or spike lee or anyone else has done does not concern me in the slightest. If they have committed crimes, they, too, will be prosecuted.
Wanna bet on that?
Try to stay focused. Zimmerman lied to the police, and the higher-ups let him off. We will find out why soon enough. Why you continue to protect Zimmerman, who’s life changed forever the moment he opened the door to his SUV, is beyond me, and your irrelevant comments fail miserably to address the facts of the actual case.
Whether or not Zimmerman lied to the police has yet to be determined. Unless you’d like to cite the specific lie, as in “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
The “facts of the actual case” are still way up in the air. Now it turns out that the “iced tea and Skittles” bit came from the Martin family’s lawyer, and shows up nowhere in the police reports (as have been released/leaked so far). I’m not interested in protecting Zimmerman; I’m interested in protecting principles. And I admit I have a decided prejudice against lynch mobs. I remember the Rodney King riots, the demonizing of Richard Jewell, the Duke Lacrosse case, and several other incidents.
Zimmerman will be convicted of at least manslaughter. Had he stayed in his truck, you would not have the deep, erogenous pleasure of talking about spike lee and the black panthers, clearly zones of yours getting waaaaaay too much attention.
Zimmerman had no legal obligation to stay in his truck. Yes, he acted stupidly. But simply being stupid isn’t a crime. His story is that Martin attacked him first, and that would likely be grounds for acquittal.
If that story falls apart, then he’s in for manslaughter at least. But if it holds up enough — and the burden’s on the state to prove it false — then he walks.
I’m gonna wait to see what happens before rendering judgment. But I don’t feel particularly obligated to wait and see silently while others overrun their headlights and trash the entire legal system over it.
@An Interested Party: So, “punch the guy in the face, knock him to the ground, and then start pounding his head into the pavement” is an acceptable response?
Because that’s the best account of what happened we have so far, MSNBC-altered video notwithstanding…
@James in LA: Fox just showed the video, too — and added that Zimmerman received medical treatment at the scene. Further, Zimmerman asked to be taken to a hospital first, but the cops took him downtown first.
Again, interesting, but hardly conclusive.
@Jenos Idanian: Yes, he acted stupidly. But simply being stupid isn’t a crime.
Ahh, now come the first cracks in the mold…. he may have been stupid, but that does not excuse him for being armed and getting out of his truck. By now, he’s in violation of the neighborhood watch. He’s already called the police. His role was ended. But not to him. He had to run after. He was told not to. He ignored the command. It did not sound like stupidity on the tape. It sounds like a hunt, one which was purposeful.
Stupid people are convicted of serious crimes every day of the week. Zimmerman is going to join them, and I suspect this is going to tear apart the legal system in Florida as the evidence of cover-up mounts.
@Jenos Idanian: If he received treatment at the scene, then his injuries were very, very minor. There are no bandages. No ice packs. No neck braces, canes, or wheelchairs. No blood, no bruises. For someone so horribly attacked, he cleans up real nice.
@James in LA: Stupid people are convicted of serious crimes every day of the week.
Name the crime.
“Disobeying the recommendation of a 9/11 operator?” “Violating the general guidelines of a neighborhood watch?”
“Shooting a black teenager” is not in and of itself a crime. There are circumstances where shooting pretty much anyone can be legal. In fact…
Nah, sorry. Can’t think of any time in my life when it would have been legally permissible to shoot me. Couple times come close, but nothing comes to mind.
The facts are still coming out. And those facts might mean Zimmerman gets convicted, or they might mean he is never indicted.
Why are you so invested in having him convicted? You got a side bet going or something? I’m invested in seeing the facts come out, the law upheld, the system given the chance to get it right, and justice prevailing.
@James in LA: “Why you continue to protect Zimmerman, who’s life changed forever the moment he opened the door to his SUV, is beyond me”
It ain’t that hard. White shooter, black victim. Jenos knows the white guy is always right.
@James in LA: If he received treatment at the scene, then his injuries were very, very minor. There are no bandages. No ice packs. No neck braces, canes, or wheelchairs. No blood, no bruises. For someone so horribly attacked, he cleans up real nice.
If he’d gotten that degree of medical treatment, then the cops would have had pretty much no choice but to take him straight to a hospital. But they didn’t.
A paramedic could have wiped off the blood from a bloody nose and some minor head contusions. Martin might have only slammed his head against the pavement once or twice — I don’t think they’ve gone into detail into how many times his head was slammed, and I’d be skeptical if there was. I HAVE been hit in the head a couple of times, and once I really don’t remember the seconds on either side of the hit. (No, not a fight; Little League practice, and a line drive straight to my eye — through glasses. Ended my brief but glorious career at First Base. I remember the sound of the hit, then staring up at the sky. Docs had to pick shards out of my eyeball at the hospital.)
You say the New Black Panther Party’s offering a $10,000 reward for Zimmerman’s “capture” is irrelevant, but you sound like you’d happily contribute to it. They, like you, have already convicted him.
@Jenos Idanian: ” I’m not interested in protecting Zimmerman; I’m interested in protecting principles.”
Jenos’ principle: White guys are allowed to shoot any minorities, as long as they can claim to have been threatened. Or if they’re in a bad mood. Or if they just feel like it.
@WR: Dumbshit. Zimmerman’s a Hispanic and a registered Democrat. This was a “blue on blue” crime, if you wanna get political.
@Jenos Idanian: For someone interested in facts, you began this discussion by throwing up sand in the air, e.g. blank panthers and spike lee. So I do not entirely buy your claim that you want to see the “facts come out.”
The tapes and every other scrap of evidence I have seen so far point to an unregulated hunter who was let go for reasons we now must know, or things are going to get very ugly indeed. We cannot have armed people roaming the streets looking for trouble and facing no legal peril simply because they said so.
Ha! There you go again…what about the lie that Trayvon Martin had a Facebook page that showed him to be a thug…
See above…you already rendered judgement on Trayvon Martin until you were shown that you were wrong and then you pulled a “my bad”…
@Jenos Idanian: ““Shooting a black teenager” is not in and of itself a crime. ”
Whereas shooting a white teenager?
Actually, I’m not being fair to Jenos. Although I suspect he probably is the racist he likes to portray himself as here, the fact is that if he thought people would pay more attention to him for calling for Zimmerman’s immediate execution, he’d be doing that.
So I guess I’ll stop giving him what he wants.
The video of Zimmermann coming into the police station show a guy that looks pretty solid. Not overweight at all, and there is no evidence that he was out of shape, that is simply fiction. Nor is there any visible sign of head injury. You would think a guy who had his head repeatedly “bashed into the pavement” would maybe have some dressing applied by the EMTs.
What we have is a skinny kid and a grown man with at least 40 pounds on him. And supposedly this kid was so formidable that deadly force was Zimmermans only option. It now appears that the local PD did something right, the guy was in cuffs.
You have to wonder why anyone would make excuses for a man who stalked and shot a kid who was walking back from buying candy at the store. Well, he was black, and he did have the hood up on his sweatshirt to protect him from the rain. In some peoples minds, that means he was asking for trouble.
This is the last response Jenos is getting from me. Life is to short to waste on idiots and liars, and he is both.
@Jenos Idanian:
My point is that is Zimmerman weren’t running around picking fights with strangers, he wouldn’t have been in the position of having to decide how to react.
Even if he was, as now seems apparent, in danger of imminent turf burns.
@anjin-san:
Can we have this engraved over the door to OTB, please?
@Dunbar:
Of course, this is the result of soft on crime, permissive, revolving door justice that we have now.
Nice rant, Dunbar, if it was 1970.
I do not know whether Zimmerman is guilty or not guilty.
What bothers me is that it too a public outcry to force the Sanford Police Department to do its job. Normally, a person such as Zimmerman, who shoots and kills an unarmed person under mysterious circumstances, would be detain and charged, while an investigation is initiated.
If Martin had beaten up Zimmerman, then why does he look uninjured in this video?
The poll results were pretty meaningless, and I think Rasmussen made a poor decision choosing to use that question. I’ve been extremely critical of Zimmerman’s actions, but the farthest I would go on a statement like this is that he should be charged with a crime, probably manslaughter.
@Ron Beasley: The town that I grew up in was small and off the beaten path of the highways. The mayor was also the police chief, justice of the peace, and owned most of the businesses. Everything closed at 6:00pm. Nothing was open on Sundays. The hangouts were a barber shop, diner, and a car repair shop. The young people had the local dragstrip to hang out at. The only time anyone got out of line was when they drank all day on Saturday’s and the police chief took them home to their wife or parents to sleep it off (you had to go into another county to buy alcoholic beverages). Dull, boring? I guess by today’s life style it was, but it was also simple, slow paced, and laid back. Those days are probably gone.
They finally got cable about two years ago.
Zimmerman is not a cop. he was told by police to stand-down, but did he. to me thats MURDER. but Sandford police won’t do anything about it. I hope they sue the homeowners for millions and for hiring zimmerman.@Dunbar: @Dunbar:
@william dayton: Zimmerman is not a cop. he was told by police to stand-down, but did he. to me thats MURDER. but Sandford police won’t do anything about it. I hope they sue the homeowners for millions and for hiring zimmerman.
So many things wrong here.
1) Zimmerman was NOT told by police to stand down. A 9/11 operator suggested that he not continue following Martin, and Zimmerman declined to take the advice.
2) Zimmerman wasn’t “hired” by the homeowners, he was a volunteer and one of those homeowners. He had no official standing other than “concerned citizen.”
.
————————————.
QUOTE:
————————————.
“.
Wow — it seems so obvious to me
that Zimmerman’s “self-defense”
claim is nothing more than …
S-kittles
H-oodies
I-ced
T-ea
and how he feels the world is unable
to see him for what he really is
as he piles up and throws his
S-kittles
H-oodies
I-ced
T-ea
“self-defense” claim at us all.”
————————————.
SOURCE:
————————————.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/FarmFamily/trayvon-martin-case-george-zimmerman_n_1392591_145080001.html
.
@James in LA: I saw the video when he has getting out of the car at the police station and I can say that I had more notable injuries when I fought with my brother. And I love my brother more than anything!
It doesnt even matter whether zimmerman was injured when he went against 911 and chased martin he forceited self defense because he is the aggressor. Police do not have the right to make judgements only jurys can im not saying zimmerman is guilty but he definetly should have seen a court case
The idiot box told me so.
.
QUOTE:
“Zimmerman realized that his “self-defense”
claim consists of nothing more than …
S-kittles
H-oodies
I-ced
T-ea
and now he feels a need to
escape from the world as
he hides behind the pile of
S-kittles
H-oodies
I-ced
T-ea
“self-defense” claim
he hoped would work.”
SOURCE:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/FarmFamily/trayvon-martin-case-george-zimmermans-attorneys-quit_n_1416031_147149755.html
.
I feel as if Zimmerman is guilty of the Murder of Trayvon Martin and deserves to be arrested and sentenced. The stand your ground Law applies more to Trayvon because Zimmerman approached him and the very fact that Trayvon was laying face down in the grass is evidence that he was proceeding to get away from Zimmerman harming him. Not only is that enough evidence but the 911 call clearly states the little boy’s cry for help, i’ve come to the conclusion that after being stero typed Trayvon was being beaten up then once Zimmerman checked him for weapons finding that he only had a bag of skittles and ice tea he shot him dead to cover it up. Zimmerman is a criminal and should be listed as a serial killer because if you think you could get away with killing an harmless young boy the question now is who else would you kill and hide it by claiming you acted under “self-defense”?