In my opinion - Zimmerman stands responsible for the death, in the same way as a drunk driver who drives up on the sidewalk. The character of that drunk's victim is irrelevant to prosecuting the drunk. As a wannabe cop Zimmerman thought his (erroneous) judgement to pursue and encounter overrode his college law enforcement training, his rules of engagement for Neighborhood Watch, and the 911 dispatcher's order to not pursue. The result was inevitable, and highly avoidable.
I drafted that paragraph in conversation with a relative. I'll add one point I heard on the news this evening: The Peruvian guy (Zimmerman) had previously made 40+ phone calls to 911 to report black people where they didn't belong - according to him. I wonder if that illustrates a hair-trigger pre-judgement of what he was seeing the evening he found Martin 'where he didn't belong' ie visiting his father who lived in that gated community.
But really, I would rather see discussions of this sort continue over on Doc's ForumsForums political site rather than here.