As the defense presents its case this week in Florida’s George Zimmerman trial, the Washington Post reports what it calls five myths about the confrontation last year that ended in the death of Trayvon Martin, 17. The Post’s number 1 myth is that on the night of the shooting, the police ordered Zimmerman to stay in his vehicle. Police dispatchers in Sanford, Fl., don’t give orders to people. It’s also a myth that Zimmerman broke Martin’s nose.
A widely circulated photograph of Martin wearing a Hollister T-shirt allegedly shows him much younger than he was the night he died, but it was taken only seven months before he died. It’s not correct that Martin's death led to an overhaul of “stand your ground” self-defense laws. Neither Florida or any other state has dropped their law. Finally, Zimmerman was accused of making racial slurs that proved his prejudice toward Martin, including talking about “F—ing coons,” but a prosecutor said the second word was “punks.”