Zimmerman is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, at most

[Whiskeytide]

64. Both sides have a story or version of the events...

The people who side with Martin believe Zimmerman profiled Martin, stalked him, chased him down, confronted him, and then shot him.

The people who side with Zimmerman believe he acted as a neighborhood watch officer and appropriately questioned the presence and activity of a young man he didn't recognize in a neighborhood with a history of burglaries, called the police to report the man, tried to keep up with the man when he fled, was then confronted by the guy, and the guy then jumped him and began beating him so severely that he was forced to pull his gun as a last resort and shoot in self defense.

If you believe either of these versions - and both can be viewed as consistent with what we know - that shapes your perception of Zimmerman's guilt. It is that simple. But the truth - as it always seems to be - is probably somewhere in between the two extremes.

Personally, - fwiw - I believe Zimmerman was a wannabe cop acting out a tough guy fantasy, quite paranoid, and clearly an idiot. He created the situation that led to the confrontation. He had deluded himself into thinking he was some kind of bad ass, and was Hell bent on doing something about "these guys" who "always get away". I do tend to think that - rightly or wrongly - he genuinely believed Martin was up to no good. Up to that point, everything he did was intentional and according to his fantasy.

Then Martin started kicking his ass, and his tough guy fantasy fell apart. Again, I think he believed Martin was going to kill him or hurt him bad. Like it or not, that's when it gets murky as far as the law is concerned.