On February 26, 2012 in The Twinlake Estates subdivision located in Sanford, Florida, a seventeen-year old boy went to a local convienience store and purchased candy and a can of iced-tea. He spoke with a friend on his cellphone as he walked toward the townhouse he was living in. This is all so mundane as to be nonremarkable. Boring, even. It happens all over the world on a second-by-second basis.
As he walked along, there is no way that Trayvon Martin could have known that a man named George Zimmerman existed. Probably could have cared less. The two may as well have been in seperate universes. The mention of Zimmerman's name would have assuredly drawn a total blank from Martin.
On the other hand, at some point on Trayvon Martin's walk, George Zimmerman became seriously aware of the youth's existence. He not only became aware, but seems to have become infatuated with that fact. He was so infatuated that he felt he had to announce it to the world, and this he did by notifying the local police department. Not only that, Zimmerman became compelled to follow Martin. Stealthily.
He stalked Martin even when ordered not to. It's on the tape and everyone, but everyone, swears by the tape. This was the initial and disastrous impetus for all that followed.
Had a young man not become the most important fixation in Zimmerman's life, the be-all and end-all of his existence at that moment, Trayvon Martin might well be alive today.
Trayvon Martin didn't know that George Zimmerman was alive. George Zimmerman knew that Trayvon Martin was.
With this fact in mind: of the two, which one, and only one, can possibly be held responsible for instigating the events that led to the death of Trayvon Martin? And since when is instigation defense?