It sounds like he had serious problems before the shooting, but the publicity, trial, and “fans” he gathered seem to have really pushed him over the edge. He’s very lucky to have avoided jail for killing Martin, but he’s one of those people where I expect him to do something else that will land him a long prison sentence sooner or later.
I look at it kind of in reverse. I think he had serious problems before, and due to institutional racism and our current political climate where the shooting of black bodies is defended, he ended up riding this kind of a zeitgeist into avoiding jail time. I don’t think he has been pushed over the edge, I think he was always there, but now he has “fans” that idolize his murder and defend him.
His domestic violence accusations are pretty awful.
