Quote:
Originally Posted by Plett25
A question for CP law-talking people... what would have been the outcome of a Zimmerman trial in Canada?
Let's say the facts are as follows:
- Zimmerman reported suspicious activity in a public area to the police
- Zimmerman was armed when he went to investigate (to Canadianize the story, let's say he took a shotgun)
- The police told Zimmerman to stop following Martin and let them deal with it
- A physical altercation takes place and Martin is killed
I think those points are pretty much agreed upon by all sides.
The points in contention are who instigated the fight and did Zimmerman continue to follow Martin after being told by police to stop. I think it is most likely that:
- Zimmerman kept following Martin after the Police told him to stop
- and, Martin started the fight
So in the Canadian legal system, do those 6 "facts" look like 1st degree murder, 2nd degree murder, manslaughter or nothing? |
In Canada, Zimmerman would not have had a gun to begin with.
All we can really do is speculate. It would still be up to the crown to prove that Zimmerman continued following Martin. I don't know how that is the "most likely" explanation.
Assuming we are in a situation where Zimmerman is allowed to carry a gun, I'm guessing the results would be pretty similar. There's nothing to prove what happened between the point that Zimmerman says "ok" after being asked not to follow and the time witnesses see Martin on top of Zimmerman. Zimmerman has injuries including blood coming out of the back of his head and a broken nose. When it comes to blows to the back of the head, it takes surprisingly little force to result in a lethal blow.
In both Canada and the US it doesn't matter who creates the situation initially. Even if Zimmerman had thrown the first blow, if the tables turn, you're still allowed to respond with lethal force if you reasonably believe you are in danger of death or severe bodily harm.
Edit: to add to this. America is probably the easiest country in the Western world to get convicted of a crime in and has the harshest sentences in the Western world.