2012 - Prosecutor Who Holds Record for Trying “Juveniles as Adults” Heads Trayvo

[Melissa]

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http://www.blackeconomicdevelopment.com/prosecutor-who-holds-record-for-trying-juveniles-as-adults-heads-trayvon-martin-investigation/

Prosecutor Who Holds Record for Trying “Juveniles as Adults” Heads Trayvon Martin Investigation

Mar - 25 | Posted by: admin |

By Norm Bond

State Attorney Angela “Tough on Crime” Corey of Jacksonville, will take over the investigation into the shooting death in Sanford of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

Corey has a controversial record of, among other things, trying far more juveniles in adult court than her predecessors in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties. One of those, 12-year-old Cristian Fernández, is the youngest person ever to be slated for trial for homicide in Jacksonville’s history. If Cristian is convicted at trial Corey will have the distinction of prosecuting the case where the youngest person in America received a life without parole sentence.

It appears Angela Corey has not argued for the rights of youth like Trayvon Martin. To the contrary, her tough-on-crime stance mirrors closely the views of the gun-toting NRA types who pushed through the controversial “stand your ground” law at play in the Trayvon Martin killing.

Cristain Fernandez, 12-Year-Old Accused Murderer

Several petitions were started to ask for the removal of State Attorney Angela Corey because she misled the public when she said 12-year-old Cristian Fernández would not stand trial and she was not seeking life without parole (life without parole is the mandatory sentence). She also said in the media and to the public she chose not to try Cristian in juvenile court because he would serve less than two years. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a statement countering this claim, explaining that realistically in the juvenile system he would be under the court’s jurisdiction until he was 21. If convicted, Cristian will be the youngest person ever sentenced to life without parole in America. The petition to remove Corey is here.

Florida Governor Rick Scott appointed Corey on Thursday. Originally the case was in the hands of Brevard/Seminole County State Attorney Norman Wolfinger, who had convened a grand jury for April 10. It was the governor and state Attorney General Pam Bondi that asked Wolfinger to step aside in favor of Corey. Wolfinger cited his reason for stepping down from the investigation as arising from a “conflict of interest,” which Corey said is common and can come from a variety of circumstances.

Some legal experts are questioning the need to establish a grand jury prior to arresting George Zimmerman. Attorney Michael Coard of Philadelphia told a radio audience there is enough evidence now for arrest. The grand jury process is in fact secret and anonymous. And the process will lead to information, a report, and possibly charges, but there is no dispute that Zimmerman murdered Trayon Martin. On one of his 911 calls, he utters the racial epithet “fucking coons” prior to shooting the unarmed 17-year old African American whom he outweighed by 100  pounds. There is also no dispute that Zimmerman did not follow the instructions of the police dispatcher, who clearly told him not to follow Trayvon Martin.

But back to Angela Corey. Change.org launched a petition to have 12-year old Cristian Fernandez tried as a juvenile in Florida. The petition grew from 10,000 signatures to over 160,000 in a matter of days. How did this level of interest make Angela Corey feel?  “Quite frankly, I resent people who don’t know anything about this case espousing opinions without knowing all of the facts and circumstances,” said Corey. “They’re looking at it as a social issue. But my obligation is clear: I am the chief prosecutor on this circuit and it is my job to enforce the laws that exist on this book. NOT to respond to petitions, and not to try and legislate”.

When NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer pushed the “Stand Your Ground” bill through, it was known as the “shoot first” bill. Is it possible for Corey to crack down on vigilante George Zimmerman even as he claims he was defending himself and sustained injuries? Will Angela Corey be willing to alienate her clinging-to-our-guns core  constituency? This remains to be seen.

To voice you concerns to her, reach her office at (904) 630-2400 or email her at acorey@coj.net. Tell her that you want her to issue something called an information, and take George Zimmerman straight to jail.

[Marie]

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This is great.  I just want to say that I grew up in a home listening to my father who often told me, "it all comes out in the wash" and "water always meets its level".  This terribly sad tragedy involving Trayon Martin is going to put Corey in quite a debacle.

I will be honest.  I have not watched much of the Martin case because as soon as I heard the screaming for "help", I was instantly sickened.  I still do not know if it was Trayon or the shooter. I do not know if the neighborhood was robbed often or had recent criminal activity going on.  I do not know the real intentions of the shooter.  He very well may have felt he was protecting the neighborhood.  What was clear to me though, in the little I watched, was his racial statements, and the order from the police officer to stay in his car.  Why he got out is beyond me.  Trayon would be alive today had he let the police do their job. 

Now, you have a clear NRA issue going on. Big, huge, money in the NRA. Self-defense vs. what? Walking the earth like a free man that you thought your were?  If God did not put this little problem in Corey's hands, I don't know who did.   

If a person is not prejudice, racial slurs would never leave your mouth. Was the place robbed recently by a black man?  I don't know. If it was, does it still give the shooter the right to bunch every black guy walking the neighborhood as "criminal"?   Maybe there is some truth to his concern for the young man with a hoodie.  FYI: My children live in hoodies, they are white. Would the same thing happen to them?  It is a question of honesty.  I am not in to promoting prison sentences for people who may have really felt like they were in danger but we have to have some honesty here.  Can Corey?  If she is honest, how on earth can she be without showing her lopsided values where Cristian is concerned? 

An abused child faces life without parole for pushing his toddler brother into a bookcase. The child laid for hours before his mother took him to the hospital. If that is not proof that the Cristian was in a seriously manipulative situation in the first place, I don't know what is. Yet he is taking the bigger wrap over his adult mother.  How on earth?  Cristian was a pawn for Corey to gain attention.  She never realized how many people would speak up for him.  She states that people are treating Cristian's case as a "social issue".  This is wrong.  I for one feel this is a very criminal issue.  I feel with all my heart that Corey abused her power in Cristian's case, in a criminal manner. 

Now we have the Trayon Martin case.  Is this not a "social issue".   Is a young man free to walk the earth without being harmed because of the color of his skin or is he not?   If she sites that the defendant Zimmerman was acting in self-defense, would that not require a subjective approach to what went down that day?   Would it not require one to ignore the objective facts that are evident on the 9-1-1 tapes?  If she can offer this much to an adult who took the liberty to go after an innocent young man, would she not be required to do the same, even more, for an abused 12 year-old child?  Don't both cases require a person to a subjective determination of the intentions of both defendants?  Isn't one old enough to follow directions?

Quite a debacle.

 

[Marie]

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Would Corey ignore an NRA petition?  Doubt it.

Zimmerman is lying.  If someone is following you, likely accusing you of something your innocent of, and likely making racial comments, do YOU not have the right to SHOOT first.  Point being, if Trayvon punched him, maybe he had it coming.  The guy should have stayed in the car, like he was advised to.

[Melissa]

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Corey will charge Zimmerman. She's timing it. This is all political. Someone running against her only has until the 20th of this month to file. You're going to hear that she is charging him very soon. I'd be shocked if she didn't because she's extremely predictable and her record, her approach to politics...it all says she's going to do it.

Putting that aside, this is a good opportunity for someone to file. She's distracted. She's worried about her image. She thinks this is all going to work out well for her, but it's going to become much more complicated than she initially envisioned.

Harry Shorstein would run against her IF he felt he had the backing from the legal community. So this is the time for attorneys in the area to express to him they would back him to get her out.

[Bryan]

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That is why I raise her behavior to that of Jack Thompson insanity. It did not win any friends when he finally ended up getting disbarred. Angela may say she is responsible to her community, but falsely charging a boy for crimes he did not commit and not quickly bring murder charges against a white guy for gunning down an unarmed kid is just asking for a separation from her law credentials.

We may not know all the facts in either case, but from what we know, the young woman and the young man should in their cases been charged with murder one.