A reading of CNN’s transcription of George Zimmerman’s bond hearing answers a question I’ve previously posed. In the probable cause affidavit charging George Zimmerman with second-degree murder, how much weight was thrown behind the analysis of the 911 screams conducted by the two voice forensics experts contracted by the Orlando Sentinel? The same experts which I showed in my piece at the Daily Caller conducted an analysis that academic voice experts agree is fraught with error.
Dale Gilbreath, one of the state’s lead investigators in the case, was called to the stand by Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara, and the question was at least partially answered. Their exchange:
O’MARA: Witnesses heard people arguing, sounded like a struggle. During this time, witnesses heard numerous calls for help. Some of this was recorded. Trayvon’s mom reviewed the 911 calls and identified the cry for help and Trayvon Martin’s voice. Did you do any forensic analysis on that voice tape?
GILBREATH: Did I?
O’MARA: Did you or are you aware of anything?
GILBREATH: The “Orlando Sentinel” had someone do it and the FBI has had someone do it.
O’MARA: Is that part of your investigation?
GILBREATH: Yes.
O’MARA: Has that given any insight as to the voice?
GILBREATH: No.
O’MARA: Did Trayvon Martin’s mom identify that voice as soon as she heard it or were there concerns as to the identity of that voice?
GILBREATH: I did not speak with her.
(END LIVE FEED)
Naturally, CNN would cut to commercial during this very important line of questioning. This investigator actually did rely on the one-sided reporting of the Orlando Sentinel. This is amazing to me. That analysis consisted of comparing an unknown scream to George Zimmerman’s known voice. Within the field of voice attribution and voice forensics, comparing screams to voices is by no means precise. Few if any studies have touched this aspect of voice stress testing. Another expert, Ed Primeau, based his analysis on the fact that he believed that the voice heard screaming was not that of a full-grown adult man but, instead, the voice of a teenager in the midst of puberty. This assumes that the 17 year-old, six-foot plus Trayvon Martin – seemingly sexually active and engaging in all sorts of adult-like behaviors – still had the crackly voice of a pubescent teen.
If the prosecution is partly relying on a newspaper’s reporting of what two contracted voice experts told them, then their case is thin indeed.
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Florida needed an arrest before the Revs jammed up Disney World entrance with busloads of Team Tray protesters and they got it. They whipped up this souffle of a charge based on voice experts pimping their software, Mary Earwitness on every TV show in creation and the ephemeral Deedee. I really look forward to all of them getting their say under oath and then going thru O’Maras cross.
If Trayon Martin had a crackly pre-pubescent voice the other brothaz would’ve kicked his ass a long time ago.
How many times has anyone, parent of otherwise, heard a person known to them scream under extreme duress? Is that some kind of sound that anyone and everyone hears so many times that they can recognize someone’s voice while that person is screaming under a life threatening situation? Oh yeah dat’s my son. He scream like that all the time, two three times a day.
There are at least two witnesses to this situation. They say that Zimmerman was the one calling for help. To me that means Zimmerman, had anyone came to his aid, would not have had to save himself from the 6’3″ football player by shooting him. Live like a thug, die like a thug.
A 17 year old black male would be past puberty. He would be a full gown man.
When will the defense be able to move to dismiss the case?
The prestige media has their narrative. White racist violently confronts sweet black child, then guns him down, racist police covers for the murderer, Justice is denied until righteous crusaders Crump and Sharpton inspire The Press to speak truth to power.
I have my narrative. Under unclear circumstances, young black athlete on the cusp of the thug life confronts Mestizo community activist and ends up shot dead. Racialist grievance groups seize the opportunity for a twofer: increased political power and a jackpot. As it becomes clear that the state lacks probable cause for a manslaughter indictment, the racialist promoters shift their focus to winning Financial Justice via a civil trial. The necessary public demonization of Zimmerman is facilitated by journalists who use the affair to showcase their leapfrogging loyalties.
When will the defense be able to move to dismiss the case?
I think in many states they move to dismiss at the beginning due to insufficient evidence however before that in FL I think they argue the SYG self defense applies before it moves to that point.
From Drudge: The Twitter lynch mob…
http://twitchy.com/2012/04/23/twitter-lynch-mob-now-that-george-zimmerman-is-out-on-bail-lets-kill-him/
As it becomes clear that the state lacks probable cause for a manslaughter indictment, the racialist promoters shift their focus to winning Financial Justice via a civil trial.
Only a couple problems with that. #1 GZ doesn’t have a job, income and maybe no assets. #2 GZ should be able to shield his assets like OJ did when he moved to FL to thwart the Goldmans.
Team Trayvon may be able to loot the homeowers association, don’t know if they can shield their assets (if there are any), don’t know if they can dun current homeowers by special assessments, don’t know if the HOA actually has a formal neighborhood watch. I wonder if they can hold the individual property owners jointly and severally liable with the shareholders Assn, if they can maybe they will hit a jackpot if the banks own units. The development was built near the peak of the real estate bubble and I assume everyone like Earwitness Mary is deeply underwater. The market value of the units must have passed zero by now, anyone who owns a unit there now is double dong fukked regardless of the success of Tray’s crack legal team.
If the crack legal team realizes there are no assets to pursue on a contingency basis maybe they will drop their legal pretenses and just go after those official Trayvon Hoodie revs.
George Zimmerman = Richard Jewell
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/us/30jewell.html
http://twitchy.com/2012/04/23/twitter-lynch-mob-now-that-george-zimmerman-is-out-on-bail-lets-kill-him/
I hope one of these future astronauts/presidents posts GZ email contacts so they can send their death threats directly to him, make things simple. maybe deedee is joining the party.
@ jc –
Agree, Zimmerman is (net) worthless as a financial target. The rracist homeowners’ assn. could be tempting, especially if they have insurance, and especially if “joint and several liability” applies. Perhaps sovereign immunity doesn’t fully shield Sanford, or its rracist Police Department. IANAL and I know nothing of Florida law.
Perhaps this is just a case of pour encourager les autres, though that seems doubtful to me.
Has ABC’s crack reporter Matt Gutman or any other member of the prestige press shed any light on this hatefacts-filled aspect of the case?
This is the case that will lead to an explosion of violence. I think the 92 LA riots will look like a picnic.
I hope they also charge Corey with ethics violations and disbar her, much like Nifong. What better way to get your name known than to come to the aid of a po’ black kid, siding with the black mob. It’s the same mentality as lady in distress. When blacks are in distress, white guilted liberals come out of the woodworks to help, but usually their life is ruined by doing so.
Have you seen the link on Drudge about the Twitter feed lynch mobs? It’s incredible.
A blogger, I don’t remember who, did some digging and discovered that the voice analysis software they were using was very new, only a few months old, and not proven out though an extensive track record at all.
Rivelino, Richard Jewell never shot anyone.
I don’t see how the homeowner’s association can be liable. Zimmerman wasn’t an employee, he was a volunteer.
Crump may be doing this largely to get his name out there, as advertising.
A comment from some other story about this case:
Tommie T at 11:46 PM March 26, 2012
“So looks like the shooting was not right next to the truck. Tubbo had to chase down and capture the football player on foot. Then taunt him to beg for his life for almost a full minute before capping him. The athlete must have known what was going to happen. So even with a bullet in him he managed to punch out the guard and break his nose. So that when he fell his head hit the pavement and bounced several times. In order to account for the multiple gashes on the back of the guard’s head. And all of this only 100 yards from home. Less than one minute to safety. Oh if only Martin had just run quickly to get away. “
This controversy exploded in large part because of the standard and absolutely evil policy of inflating white and deflating non-white crime figures by dumping Hispanic crimes in the white category, it was kicked off by the magic word “white” next to Zimmerman’s name on the police report. When they want a grant or a guaranteed college slot they’re a racial minority, when they murder someone they’re white. Pure government/media racism, and if you don’t contest it at its source you’ll continue to get outbreaks like this.
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/Texas10MostWanted/fugitives.aspx
Most of the criminals on this wanted poster could just as accurately be called black as white. They could more accurately be called Asian or Native American than white. Do you think that the left and these racial groups would tolerate this racist slander?
I still don’t even get what they think happened if it was Trayvon’s voice. The funeral director said there were no injuries on him, so what do they think George Zimmerman was doing to him for almost a full minute to make him scream like that? Just sitting on him and pointing a gun at him? Why? Why not just shoot him, if that’s what he was going to do? Why let him sit there and scream and alert the whole neighborhood?
Maybe the funeral director was wrong, and there are injuries, but wouldn’t Crump have leaked that a long time ago if there were? It sure seems like something that would go into the probable cause affidavit.
Why no grand jury?
They forgot to mention the length of time required to do a thorough investigation, as opposed to the “rocket docket” slapdash second hand investigation Corey did before she charged Zimmerman as desired by the Governor.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bennett-l-gershman/george-zimmerman-grand-jury_b_1445714.html
Hey, the witnesses will have to testify TWICE according to FL law, I wonder if Deedee knows that yet. I wonder if O’Mara will call Tray’s dad who told the news crew the day after the shooting that the screams for help that he heard wern’t Trayvon’s?
these witnesses will have to testify under oath soon, given Florida’s unusual requirement in criminal cases that witnesses for the prosecution may be deposed by defense counsel prior to trial. Or, perhaps, Corey wanted to avoid a later, baseless, claim that her presentation of the evidence was skewed, and that she didn’t put exculpatory evidence before the grand jury before it voted to indict.
Talk about stereotyping. Just because someone is 6 foot plus and sexually active doesn’t mean he would have a deep grown up scream. I believe they said the voice had a young quality to it. I’m not a fan of Zimmerman. Even if it is Zim on the tape, it doesn’t mean he was in the right. We already know there was an altercation and in any altercation both people are probably wrong. The real question is weather you can get into a fight with someone, be losing that fight or winning that fight, and then shoot the person your fighting with.
If that’s the case, then maybe everyone in Florida should start carrying guns for “protection”. It’d be like living in the wild west again. Shoot first ask questions later. I mean you could always say you feared for your life. Trayvon could have been beating him down because he knew Zim had a gun. If he runs, Zim could have easily shot him.