Profiling is bad

Josh Voorhees, Rachael Levy, and Abby Ohlheiser have a Slate article about Zimmerman:

George Zimmerman "profiled" Trayvon Martin, and was the aggressor in a series of events that led to the February death of the unarmed Florida teen, according to the affidavit of probable cause submitted by the state.
In the document that details their case against the 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, state investigators allege that upon seeing Martin, Zimmerman "assumed Martin was a criminal" and "felt Martin did not belong in the gated community," prompting Zimmerman's 911 call.
During that call, the affidavit continues: "Zimmerman made reference to people he felt had committed and gotten away with break-ins in his neighborhood. Later while talking about Martin, Zimmerman stated "these assholes, they always get away" and also said "these fucking punks." As the Associated Press notes, however, those last three words indicate that investigators have concluded that Zimmerman did not utter a racial slur during the call, as some had suggested he had after listening to the tape.
The court filing indicates that the Florida teen was on the phone with a friend in the lead-up to the confrontation because he was "scared because he was being followed by an unknown male," according to one witness. Zimmerman then confronted Martin, according to prosecutors, quite possibly because he didn't want Martin to get away before the police arrived at the scene. The ensuing struggle ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin, which Zimmerman says was in self defense.
Zimmerman is currently in police custody on a second-degree murder charge, and will appear in court again next Friday for a bond hearing, during which his new lawyer, Mark O'Mara, will ask for Zimmerman to be set free on bail. O'Mara said that he will argue that his client isn't a flight risk, as he had six weeks to flee between the incident and his arrest, but didn't.
Thursday, April 12 2:23 p.m.: George Zimmerman made his first court appearance since being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
The hearing lasted only minutes and was mostly a formality, but it nonetheless provided the public with its first glimpse of the 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer since he became the center of attention.
The Associated Press reports that Zimmerman appeared in a gray prison jumpsuit, and spoke only to answer "Yes, sir," twice in response to basic questions from the judge.
More from the AP: "Zimmerman's hair was shaved down to stubble, and he had a thin goatee, which appeared consistent with his booking photo from the day before. He had resurfaced Wednesday to turn himself in after weeks in hiding." The judge ruled that there was probable cause to proceed with the case, and set an arraignment hearing for 29 May.

Rico says the guy's a loser, and gonna go down for this one...