OF THE
TIMES
1. Prominent conservative websites published fake photos of Martin. Twitchy, a new website run by prominent conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, promoted a photo - purportedly from Martin's Facebook page - that shows Martin in saggy pants and flipping the bird. The photo, which spread quickly on conservative websites and Twitter, is intended to paint Martin as a thug. As Twitchy later acknowledged, it is not a photo of Trayvon Martin. [Examiner]
2. The Sanford Police selectively leaked irrelevant, negative information about Martin. The authorities told the Orlando Sentinel this morning that Trayvon was suspended from school for ten days "after being found with an empty marijuana baggie." There is no evidence that Martin was under the influence of drugs at the time of his death, nor would prior possession of marijuana be a reason for killing him. It's unclear what the relevance of the leak was, other than to smear Martin. [Orlando Sentinel]
3. On Fox News, Geraldo said that Martin was dressed "like a wannabe gangster." Bill O'Reilly agreed with him. The sole evidence is that Martin was wearing a hoodie. Geraldo added that "everyone that ever stuck up a convenience store" was wearing a hoodie. [ThinkProgress; The Blaze]
4. Without any evidence, prominent right-wing bloggers suggested that Martin was a drug dealer. Right-wing blogger Dan Riehl advances the theory, also advanced in a widely linked peice on a site called Wagist. There does not appear to be any evidence to support this claim whatsoever. [Riehl World View]
5. Without any evidence, a right-wing columnist alleged that Martin assaulted a bus driver. Unlike Zimmerman, Trayvon has no documented history of violence. This allegation continues to be advanced by a blogger on the Examiner even after the real reason was leaked to the police and confirmed by the family. [Miami Herald; Examiner]
6. Zimmerman's friend says Martin was to blame because he was disrespectful to Zimmerman. Zimmerman's friend Joe Oliver said that Martin would not have been shot to death if Trayvon had just said "I'm staying with my parents." Of course, Zimmerman was not a police officer, and Trayvon had no duty to tell him who he was or where he was going. [NBC News]
Comment: Sadly, stories of children murdering children - assuming that this is what happened in this case - are all too common in today's world. Although numerous charlatans are found among 'psychic detective' types, a number of murder cases have been solved thanks to tip-offs from people who can see/sense/intuit/read into the crimes.