Zimmerman on Drugs
With Violent Side Effects
When He Killed Trayvon
[VIDEO]
While the mainstream media made sure to report with exclamations and gasps that marijuana was found in Trayvon Martin‘s system on the night that he was killed, many outlets failed to also report that the level was well below what medical studies show cause “performance impairment.” The same can not be said for George Zimmerman. According to the paramedic report, the vigilante neighborhood watch captain was on the prescription drug Temazepam, reports MSNBC.com.
RELATED: NewsOne’s Trayvon Martin Coverage
Temazepam, also known as Restoril, is known to cause insomnia and anxiety, reports MSNBC. But there are more important side effects that were not mentioned.
Newsone exclusively reports:
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the drug is also known to cause “aggressiveness” and “hallucinations,” among other problematic symptoms.
From the U.S. Library of Medicine:
“You should know that some people who took medications for sleep got out of bed and drove their cars, prepared and ate food, had sex, made phone calls, or were involved in other activities while partially asleep. After they woke up, these people were usually unable to remember what they had done. Call your doctor right away if you find out that you have been driving or doing anything else while you were sleeping.
“You should know that your mental health may change in unexpected ways while you are taking this medication. It is hard to tell if these changes are caused by temazepam or if they are caused by physical or mental illnesses that you already have or suddenly develop. Tell your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms: aggressiveness, strange or unusually outgoing behavior, hallucinations (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist), feeling as if you are outside of your body, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, new or worsening depression, thinking about killing yourself, confusion, and any other changes in your usual thoughts, mood, or behavior. Be sure that your family knows which symptoms may be serious so that they can call the doctor if you are unable to seek treatment on your own.”
According to the U.S. Library of Medicine, after taking Temazepam, patients should not be walking around trying to watch anything or anyone. They are cautioned that if they do not sleep for at least 7-8 hours after taking the drug, they may experience memory loss. This means, that not only should Zimmerman not have gotten out of his car in an aggressive move to menace Trayvon, he should have stayed his “crazy and creepy” behind in the bed.
Zimmerman was also on the often abused prescription drug Adderall, which is known to cause “worsening mental or mood problems (eg, aggression, anxiety, delusions, depression, hallucination, hostility),” according to Drugs.com.
Maybe, now, the mainstream media will focus on Zimmerman — who not only has a prior violent criminal past, but was also on a mind-altering drug — instead of trying to vilify an innocent, 17-year-old child, who was murdered simply for trying to walk home to his father.
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UPDATE: 5:57 P.M. EST: After some of our readers voiced concerns about whether this could potentially benefit Zimmerman’s defense, I decided to dig into the law and share with you all what I found:
1.) According to Steven J. Topazio, Attorney-at-Law, voluntary drug use does not excuse criminal acts.
“Defendants who commit crimes under the influence of drugs sometimes argue that their mental functioning was so impaired that they should not be held accountable for their conduct. Generally, however, voluntary impairment does not excuse criminal conduct, since people know or should know that drugs affect mental functioning, and they should therefore be held legally responsible if they commit crimes as a result of their voluntary use. An exception to this rule may exist in cases involving a crime that requires “specific intent,” in which the offender must have intended the precise result that occurred but arguably could not have formed that intent in his or her drugged state.
The caveat pertaining to “specific intent” led me to clarify the definition of second-degree murder, which is what Zimmerman is charged with:
2.) Arnold Law Firm, LLC, in Florida says that to “convict a defendant in Florida of Second-degree murder, the State of Florida must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The victim is dead;
- The death was caused by the criminal act of the defendant;
- There was an unlawful killing of the victim by an act imminently dangerous to another and demonstrating a depraved mind without regard for human life.
Understanding a second degree murder can be more confusing than the more serious first degree murder. The “criminal act” reference in the statute must be a single event or series of related actions arising from and performed pursuant to a single design or purpose of committing the murder or creating the dangerous condition that led to the death.
These facts are in keeping with Special Prosecutor Angela Corey‘s charge against Zimmerman.
After profiling Trayvon, Zimmerman exited his vehicle, followed him, then continued to follow him against 911 dispatch orders, stalked and menaced him, then killed him during an interaction that was “ultimately avoidable” by him:
“The encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was ultimately avoidable by Zimmerman, if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and awaited the arrival of law enforcement, or conversely, if he had identified himself to Martin as a concerned citizen and initiated dialog in an effort to dispel each party’s concern,” the document by Sanford, Fla. Police said.
“There is no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any criminal activity at the time of the encounter.”
As stated above, Zimmerman’s voluntary use of the drugs Adderall and Temazepam do not justify killing a child in cold blood.
RELATED:
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Shocking! 3 More
George Zimmerman
Witnesses
Change Their Stories!
A few days ago, the news broke that Witness #6 had changed his story in the George Zimmerman case. In a shocking turn of events, three more witnesses have also changed their story, and their new version of events will likely be damaging to Zimmerman’s defense,according to the Chicago Tribune.
RELATED: Key Zimmerman Witness Changes Story [Video]
Since Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder, investigators had a number of witnesses who went on record corroborating Zimmerman’s claim that he shot unarmed teen Trayvon Martin with a single bullet in self-defense.
Now, Witnesses 2, 12, and 13 have changed their accounts, with Witness 11′s latest account being the most damaging. Witness 2 reportedly lives in the Twin Lakes community, where Trayvon was murdered. She has been interviewed by authorities three times. Initially, she told investigators,”I saw two guys running. Couldn’t tell you who was in front, who was behind.” She then went on to say that she only saw fists that she couldn’t tell apart, “[I] saw a fistfight. Just fists. I don’t know who was hitting who.”
In her second interview, Witness 2 added another detail, explaining that both Trayvon and Zimmerman were 10 feet apart. In her final interview, though, Witness 2 said that she no longer saw two people running, only one, “I couldn’t tell you if it was a man, a woman, a kid, Black or White. I couldn’t tell you because it was dark and because I didn’t have my contacts on or glasses. … I just know I saw a person out there.”
With Witness 12, who reportedly lives in the same neighborhood as the fatal incident, she said she witnessed two people on the ground but wasn’t sure if Trayvon or Zimmerman was on top, “I don’t know which one. … All I saw when they were on the ground was dark colors,” she said.
In her subsequent interview, though, she identified Zimmerman as the aggressor, after being able to observe both of their sizes, “I know after seeing the TV of what’s happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size.”
Witness 13 is said to have the most-damaging account to Zimmerman’s case.
He says that Zimmerman talked with him after the shooting, saying, “[Zimmerman said Trayvon] was beating up on me, so I had to shoot him.”
In his most-recent account, though, Witness 13 added that Zimmerman acted as if the murder was no big deal and then asked him to call his wife. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Zimmerman’s tone, the witness said, was “not like ‘I can’t believe I just shot someone!’ it was more like, ‘Just tell my wife I shot somebody…’ like it was nothing.”
Clearly, Zimmerman’s defense has a growing problem.
Witness 2′s account could easily be interpreted as Trayvon running away from a crazed volunteer neighborhood watchman with a gun. Obviously, Witness 12′s observations are even more damaging. She suggests that Zimmerman was on top, once again corroborating the prosecution’s claim that Trayvon was in the fight of his life, attempting in vain to defend himself against Zimmerman. Then there is Witness 13, whose portrayal of Zimmerman chimes with the idea that he is a crazed racist who thought he could hunt, assault, and shoot any random Black male at the drop of a dime.
With hope, Zimmerman’s trial will unearth the truth for all to see, but if these developments keep going in this direction — in addition with the news that Zimmerman was on mind-altering prescription drugs when he killed Trayvon — Zimmerman may not find it so easy to get off in the murder of Trayvon Martin after all.
Sound off!
>via: http://newsone.com/2016878/george-zimmerman-witness/
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Several
George Zimmerman
witnesses change
their accounts
Evidence released last week in the second-degree-murder case against George Zimmerman shows four key witnesses made major changes in what they say they saw and heard the night he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
Three changed their stories in ways that may damage Zimmerman. A fourth abandoned her initial story, that she saw one person chasing another. Now, she says, she saw a single figure running.
They were reinterviewed in mid-March, after Sanford police handed the case off to State Attorney Norm Wolfinger. The case changed hands again when Gov.Rick Scott passed it on to a special prosecutor. Zimmerman was arrested April 11 on a charge of second-degree murder.
Here are the key ways in which their stories changed.
Witness 2
A young woman who lives in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where Trayvon was shot, was interviewed twice by Sanford police and once by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
She told authorities that she had taken out her contact lenses just before the incident. In her first recorded interview with Sanford police four days after the shooting, she told lead Investigator Chris Serino, "I saw two guys running. Couldn't tell you who was in front, who was behind."
She stepped away from her window, and when she looked again, she "saw a fistfight. Just fists. I don't know who was hitting who."
A week later, she added a detail when talking again to Serino: During the chase, the two figures had been 10 feet apart.
That all changed when she was reinterviewed March 20 by an FDLE agent. That time, she recalled catching a glimpse of just one running figure, she told FDLE Investigator John Batchelor, and she heard the person more than saw him.
"I couldn't tell you if it was a man, a woman, a kid, black or white. I couldn't tell you because it was dark and because I didn't have my contacts on or glasses. … I just know I saw a person out there."
Witness 12
A young mother who is also a neighbor in the town-home community never gave a recorded interview to Sanford police, according to prosecution records released last week. She first sat down for an audio-recorded interview with an FDLE agent March 20, more than three weeks after the shooting.
During that session, she said she saw two people on the ground immediately after the shooting and was not sure who was on top, Zimmerman or Trayvon.
"I don't know which one. … All I saw when they were on the ground was dark colors," she said.
Six days later, however, she was sure: It was Zimmerman on top, she told trial prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda during a 21/2-minute recorded session.
"I know after seeing the TV of what's happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size," she said.
Witness 6
This witness lived a few feet from where Trayvon and Zimmerman had their fight. On the night of the shooting, he told Serino he saw a black man on top of a lighter-skinned man "just throwing down blows on the guy, MMA-style," a reference to mixed martial arts.
He also said the one calling for help was "the one being beat up," a reference to Zimmerman.
But three weeks later, when he was interviewed by an FDLE agent, the man said he was no longer sure which one called for help.
"I truly can't tell who, after thinking about it, was yelling for help just because it was so dark out on that sidewalk," he said.
He also said he was no longer sure Trayvon was throwing punches. The teenager may have simply been keeping Zimmerman pinned to the ground, he said.
He did not equivocate, though, about who was on top.
"The black guy was on top," he said.
Witness 13
He is important because he talked with Zimmerman and watched the way he behaved immediately after the shooting, before police arrived.
After this neighbor heard gunfire, he went outside and spotted Zimmerman standing there with"blood on the back of his head," he told Sanford police the night of the shooting.
Zimmerman told him that Trayvon "was beating up on me, so I had to shoot him," the witness told Serino. The Neighborhood Watch captain then asked the witness to call his wife, Shellie Zimmerman, and tell her what happened.
In two subsequent interviews about a month later — one with an FDLE investigator and one with de la Rionda — the witness described Zimmerman's demeanor in greater detail, adding that he spoke as if the shooting were no big deal.
Zimmerman's tone, the witness said, was "not like 'I can't believe I just shot someone!' — it was more like, 'Just tell my wife I shot somebody …,' like it was nothing."
Those witnesses are likely to be interviewed at least once more before Zimmerman's trial. Defense attorneys in Florida routinely question witnesses under oath as they prepare for trial.
Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel
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A Guide to the
Best Reporting
About the
Trayvon Martin Evidence
- Trayvon Martin’s Friend Tells What She Heard on the Phone: This New York Times article contains the interview investigators conducted with Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend. She was on the phone with him moments before George Zimmerman shot and killed him.
- AUDIO: Witness Says George Zimmerman Repeatedly Bullied Him at Work, Targeted Him with Racist Jokes: This Think Progress article contains the interview that investigators conducted with one of Zimmerman’s co-workers, a Middle Easterner who says Zimmerman harassed him because of his ethnicity.
-
Witnesses Tell Conflicting Stories About What Happened in the Trayvon Martin Case: This Miami Herald article contains the best narrative account of the murder from the point of view of the witnesses. It makes you feel you are there. Here’s how it begins:
At first, the howling in the dark sounded like a dogfight. Then came cries.
“Help! Help! Help!”
No one knows who was crying out. - Photos of the Evidence from the Trayvon Martin Case: This Dominion of New York article contains 29 images taken of the evidence in the case, including photo of Zimmerman from all angles and the murder weapon.
>via: http://www.dominionofnewyork.com/2012/05/19/a-guide-to-the-best-reporting-abo....T7wfxI4-VyF