A bloated George Zimmerman, on trial at last for the killing of Trayvon Martin, placidly observed opening proceedings this week, at one point even appearing to doze off in the middle of them.
His astonishing weight gain and copacetic composure aside, Zimmerman still looked as belligerent as ever. Not flinching in the slightest when his lawyer ludicrously argued that he'd shot the defenseless teenager because the boy had suddenly armed himself with a deadly weapon: the sidewalk.
That pathetic premise, coupled with lame knock-knock jokes and a startling string of obscenities presented in both the defense and prosecution's opening arguments respectively, is already making this one of the most bizarre legal contests of the year -- at least.
The former neighborhood watchman slash vigilante has been charged with second-degree homicide for menacing and then slaying Martin as the teen was innocently walking home from a convenient store where he'd just purchased a soft drink and candy.
Zimmerman deliberately chose to stalk Martin on that day despite a 911 operator instructing him not to. He then physically confronted the unarmed teenager with a firearm, mortally wounding him in the inevitable tussle that ensued.
From the start, longtime wannabe-enforcer Zimmerman has sought to hide behind stand your ground protections for the crime, a controversial state statute which allows people to resort to lethal force whenever they believe their lives are threatened by an attacker.
But that bogus self defense claim only further enraged victim advocates and Martin supporters, since it's more than clear that the only individual who posed a serious threat the day Trayvon Martin lost his life was defiant George Zimmerman himself.
Zimmerman's penchant for half truths and outright lying was exposed in the earliest stages of his arrest and arraignment. In fact, the defendant even had bail revoked and was returned to jail for *fibbing* in sworn affidavits about his finances.
Although his trial is now finally underway, it's still too soon to say whether this remorseless murderer will ultimately prevail.
But somehow I think not.
