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Fox Analyst: Trayvon Martin ‘Could Have Killed’ George Zimmerman With Iced Tea And Skittles

By on June 10, 2013

Source: Matt Wilstein / Mediaite

As the George Zimmerman murder trial gets underway today, cable news pundits are out in force with speculations about exactly what happened on the night that Trayvon Martin was killed and how the arguments will play out in court. But this morning on Fox News’ online streaming coverage one former federal prosecutor presented a particularly unconventional hypothetical.

Much of the case centers around the fact Zimmerman shot Martin in “self-defense,” despite the fact that Martin was unarmed at the time. Speaking to host Jamie Colby, analyst Doug Burns suggested that the infamous Skittles and iced tea Martin had on him when he was killed could have been used as a weapon against Zimmerman.

“There’s certainly a very good argument to be made that the force used was out of proportion to what was going on and the kid was unarmed,” Burns admitted. “We didn’t even discuss that. Totally different case, let’s say the kid had a gun.”

“I know everybody keeps sarcastically saying about he Skittles,” Burns said, perhaps mocking those who use Skittles as a symbol of Martin’s innocence. “You could probably kill somebody with a Skittle,” he joked. Taking his idea one step further, Burns said, “The thing is, yeah, you’re spinning a lot of hypotheticals, and you could break a bottle of iced tea, right, with the jagged edge, and you could kill somebody with it.”

To read this article in its entirety visit Mediaite.

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  • bid316

    None of this matters. It MIGHT have mattered “IF” Zimmerman knew that Trayvon had Arizona Iced Tea, “IF” he knew something (ANYTHING) specific about Trayvon Martin before he stalked and eventually shot him.

    It wouldn’t matter “IF” Trayvon was an axe-murderer unless Zimmerman had good reason to know (or suspect) it. “IF” Zimmerman specifically knew Trayvon to be a local trouble-maker, he may have had reason to fear for his life even though it seems that it was Zimmerman who followed Trayvon. In Zimmerman’s own voice, he says that Trayvon saw him and that Trayvon was running. It didn’t sound as though Trayvon was running toward Zimmerman because Zimmerman was speaking very calmly.

    So, Trayvon was unarmed and, as far as we know, was not doing ANYTHING illegal at the time and it seems that he decided to run in order to avoid a confrontation and STILL wound up shot and killed! Who else would be blamed for “getting himself shot and killed?” When we excuse Zimmerman, this is what we are saying.

    But whether Trayvon was doing anything wrong at the time or not, he’s wrong! Whether Trayvon had anything which could be reasonably considered a weapon or not, he’s wrong! Trayvon couldn’t catch a break that night and it seems that, even in death, he’s still having trouble catching breaks. How could Trayvon have ever been right? Would any other armed man who shot an unarmed child under these circumstances get the benefit of the doubt?

    If Skittles can be used as a weapon and your name is NOT MacGyver, then ANYTHING may be used as a weapon and the use of deadly force is, therefore, always justified.

    Certainly, any dirt, grass, gravel and tree limbs in the general vicinity were probably more deadly than even the biggest bag a Skittles. If I could impact serious bodily injury with my hand and Skittles, I could probably do great bodily harm without the Skittles.

    Skittles is not the answer! Skittles don’t kill people. People kill people. This is why all of troops have been newly fitted with Skittles! This is also why we are no longer permitted, as passengers, to bring Skittles on planes in the United States.

    Lastly, always remember to bring Skittles to a gunfight!