I can't imagine the heartache TM's mom is going through. Not only did she lose her son, her son was only living with his dad that night because she had kicked him out of the house. Tragic.
Seriously though, these texts, while legally inadmissible, paint a very interesting picture of TM leading up the shooting.
That has nothing to do with walking down the street with skittles and being followed by a grown adult with a gun.
Of course it doesn't. But it does speak to his mindset entering the altercation.
Exactly. There's a lot of people on here who seem to believe that GZ lost any right to self defense if he chose to approach TM against the instructions of the dispatcher. That is silly. What matters is who started the physical fight. Though not essential to a claim of self defense, if TM attacked GZ, his claim is stronger, and and if GZ attacked TM, the claim is weaker. We'll never know for sure who started the fight (and that's part of the reason why he
should be acquitted), but if we're going to speculate, that's where TM's and GZ's histories come into play.
In my opinion, TM more likely started the fight. First, GZ called the police and they were on their way, so why would GZ then jump TM? Second, TM was already on edge, telling Dee Dee that a "crazy ass cracker" was following him. Third, the last thing Dee Dee heard was GZ asking "what are you doing here?" Why would GZ ask a question and then immediately jump TM? Fourth, TM had a very recent history of getting into fights, plural.
I'm not saying GZ couldn't have started the fight - he could have been a hothead himself based on fights a number of years ago, and he did express frustration about "these assholes always get away..." - it just seems less likely to me.
