I'm certain of that

And not in a good way. He will go the way of OJ and Casey Anthony: universally vilified, and he will feel it.

Right now, maybe it seems like the country is evenly divided about his guilt. But, trust me, if he walks, more people will come to admit that they think he's probably guilty. There will be a sense of unease over a perceived injustice, even if it's not articulated. It won't go away for a long time. When GZ passes away someday, he will be remembered as the man who got away with murder.

I also predict that, with this acquittal, he'll be convinced he's invulnerable and he'll eventually get arrested for some other crime, and this time he will go to prison. He is not good people. He's a thug and he is about to become an arrogant, over-confident, entitled, and empowered thug.

Does not ring a bell. Let be look it up.

People who beat charges and walk are usually back in prison very shortly on other charges.

Bad guys just aren't able to stay out of trouble.

Remember, they got Whitey Bulger at last, and it looks like he'll never see the light of day again without looking through razor wire and bars when this case is done.

He thought the same thing, now, he's a guest of the Silver State at the Iron Bar Motel.

The man is a hero to a much larger swath of American society than most people would believe.

I could see a possible manslaughter conviction but I think acquittal is more likely

basically zero chance of 2nd degree murder conviction

imo the state has failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of any crime

Manslaughter as a "compromise verdict." I only see that as an outcome if the judge makes them keep deliberating after the first few times they come back saying they are hopelessly deadlocked.

IMO, hung jury will be the likely outcome. Should that be the case, I think Zimmerman will be offered a plea deal: plead out to manslaughter, and be sentenced to time already served, lengthy probation, loss of civil rights (no voting or guns), and extensive community service.

followed by riots

20 years ago, I'd have agreed. I remember the William Lozano trial in Miami, for example. That verdict sparked rioting. I'm hoping that if he's found not guilty, the community protests loudly, but peacefully.

LE learned a lot of lessons after the Rodney King riots and won't let it happen again, they'll move in with overwhelming force and put it down very quickly, there'll be some damage, but nothing on the scale of the RK riots.

let's just say that I have some inside knowledge on how they'll deal with a riot, if it comes to that, I doubt it will, there may be some isolated incidents of civil unrest, but, IMO, no large scale rioting.

and if that's all it is, then it'll garner positive results. Here's to hoping that whatever the verdict is, cooler heads will prevail.

The trial is racially charged, and it's summer in Florida. One precedent would be the William Lozano trial in '93.

Note: I'm offering an explanation. I don't think there will be rioting.

TBH, there is NO reasonable doubt whatsoever about this: Zimmerman followed, provoked, and attacked Trayvon Martin. And he did so even though he was told NOT to follow Martin by the dispatcher. That alone should be enough to at least CONSIDER a murder charge.

But, at the very least, I'd hope for voluntary manslaughter.....if only so he suffers SOME consequences for his actions.

Which eventually lead to to a Zimmerman acquittal in new trial. There seem to be too many loose ends and the defense has obviously created doubts somewhere. An overzealous prosecutor who should of just went for a lesser charge will be the goat.

to make a decision because of a fear of either riots or their own identities being made public, which would put them in danger. I believe that the jury is going to try to pass the buck, and make the end result someone else's responsibility.

And they will drill that point in about absolute proof which there is not, so as to give them an out. A hung jury, could they be that smart and or will it just happen naturally


It seems polarizing no matter what happens

2, 1, 4, 5, 3

One for just those who haven't watched the trial, and one for those who have watched the trial. Presumably they would be more accurate.

I was very surprised that just 10% thought he would be convicted of murder, but then I haven't watched the trial.

The defense team has never denied, or challenged the fact that Zimmerman shot and killed Martin; that's an inescapable and a forgone conclusion.

From the beginning, O'mera and company have maintained that their client acted out of reasonable fear for his life. The prosecution was tasked with refuting that... that Zimmerman was never in any danger, and/or acted with disproportionate force.

To date, the prosecution has failed in proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The argument of not guilty by reason of self defense apples equally to a charge of 2nd degree murder, manslaughter, or any lessor charges.

If the jury clears Zimmerman of the more elevated crime of 2nd degree murder, by logic, they have to clear him of any lessor charges.

It's all going to come down to the jury deciding if self defense was applicable in this situation.

Zimmerman will either be found not guilty of all charges, or end up in a hung jury.

This is a jury, and tomorrow is Friday. I don't mean to sound cynical, but I once saw a trial in which a man was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy. The case was basically built around the notion that this man had conspired with another individual to move a kilo of coke. Now, if you have two individuals, you have a conspiracy. The jury was seated on a Friday afternoon, and came back late Friday night with "Guilty" on possession and "Not Guilty" on conspiracy. It was a compromise verdict. He was either guilty of both or not guilty of both, but it was Friday and the jury wanted to go the Hell home. So, using what I think of as "jury logic" I can see "not guilty" jurors agreeing with "guilty" jurors to compromise on "manslaughter" and go home.

BTW, I'm on record as saying Hung Jury

and I also predict that the Jury will be out a long, l o n g, l o n g time.

...few of which will have anything to do with the content of the trial.

Assuming that the jury gets the case tomorrow, they'll sit down in the afternoon and take an initial vote.

>If they are in agreement, you may see a verdict inside of an hour (being that it's Friday and all). In this instance, my guess is that a quick verdict would be an acquittal.

> If they are not in total harmony, it will depend on how divided they are (i.e. 6-6? 11-1?) how stubborn the jurors are, and how much everyone just wants to get home. Other factors include intangibles (I'm not kidding here) such as how nice the hotel is in which they are sequestered, and who among the jurors is in no hurry to get back to work.

I'd missed that detail somehow.

If the prosecution can prove beyond all reasonable doubt that it was not self defense, then zimmerman should be convicted of murder.

There are no levels of self defense, so if they can't prove that, then finding him innocent should be the correct decision. I really don't see any middle ground between the two.

(just because nobody has considered this option yet)

I think I'd apply some of the juror pay to pudding... and a double Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks.

Your last chance to prognosticate.