RIP Trayvon Martin

I was not in Sanford, Florida, on the night that Trayvon Martin died. And much of the rhetoric that we have heard over the last few days comes from emotion and not from facts. As a criminal defense attorney, I cringe at seeing this case tried in the press even as I've gotten swept up in the indignation and anger myself. That is why I thought a careful examination of what we know, as opposed to what we surmise, is called for.
Fact: Trayvon Martin was shot to death.
Fact: George Zimmerman stated that he felt threatened. It does not appear that he has ever said how he felt threatened or why he felt it necessary to use deadly force.
Fact: Trayvon Martin was unarmed.
Fact: Florida's stand-your-ground law does not include taking off after and chasing down a person perceived to be a threat. The law in its simplest form means that there is no duty to retreat. There is no corresponding right or duty to hunt down.
Fact: The police department of Sanford did not do any of the tests that are normally done after a death. George Zimmerman, who admitted to shooting Trayvon Martin to death, was not tested for drugs.
Fact: 911 tapes record a person, later identified as Trayvon Martin, asking for help. Those tapes also record Mr. Zimmerman saying that he was chasing Mr. Martin and was told not to do so by the police dispatcher.
We have an unarmed child shot to death while trying to get away from the person who ultimately killed him. We have an admission from his shooter. We have testimony from neighbors, Mr. Martin's girlfriend, and the 911 tapes all corroborating the facts. There are no disputed facts here.
And that evidence, Dear Sanford Police Department, constitutes probable cause that a crime has been committed.