It is a sensational story. An unarmed, black 17-year-old male is shot while walking in a residential neighborhood in which he was visiting while coming back from the store with a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. The only thing that we are certain of is that the man who shot him thought that he looked suspicious,and that the man who shot him says that it was self defense.
The basic problem that I have is the willingness of so many to accept George Zimmerman's account of events as fact. Without the public outcry of the black community and some whites there were no plans to charge him with anything. This case should have always been headed for trial to determine the facts. You cannot kill someone and say it was self defense without offering facts to support your claim. That's what is meant by an affirmative defense. Yes, I killed someone but I had good cause.
There is nothing cut and dried about Zimmerman's claim of self defense. There still has not been a medical report confirming Zimmerman's allegation that Trayvon Martin broke his nose. We don't know that Trayvon initiated the fatal confrontation. He could have resisted Zimmerman's attempt to detain him. On the 911 call, Zimmerman expresses his frustration with how "they" always get away. He doesn't specify who "they" may be.
I find it of interest that the partial police summary clearly states that Trayvon was found face down. Was Trayvon on top of Zimmerman when Zimmerman shot him? He would have had to be on top to be banging Zimmermans head on the ground or was it the sidewalk? If Trayvon was on top and he was face down when the police arrived, did he fall over on Zimmerman when he was shot and Zimmerman wriggled out from under his body? No pun intended, but Trayvon would have been dead weight and wouldn't it have been easier for Zimmerman to push Trayvon off of him rather than slide from under Trayvon? And if he did push Trayvon's body off, is it likely that Trayvon would have landed face down? I don't know but it's something for forensic experts to consider and answer.
Why is there an assumption that Trayvon was obliged to treat Zimmerman as someone with authority? One thing that Zimmerman has not alleged is that he ever identified himself as part of the neighborhood watch to Trayvon.
Why is it that some people apparently have no problem with ZImmerman following Trayvon? Put yourself in Trayvon's shoes. There is a strange man following you. You don't know what he wants but he keeps following you. I would be wary and fearful and act defensively. How was Trayvon supposed to guess that Zimmerman was a member of the neighborhood watch and thought that he was thereby authorized to follow people?
Zimmerman lost track of Trayvon but was so determined to follow him that he got out of his vehicle to track him down. He alleges that he couldn't find Trayvon and was heading back to his vehicle when Trayvon initiated contact with him.
Evidently, the right to defend oneself only applies to Zimmerman. Trayvon was followed by an adult male whom he did not know. For all he knew Zimmerman was a pedophile or a kidnapper or both.
Zimmerman states that Trayvon asked, "do you have a problem with me?" Why didn't Zimmerman identify himself as a member of the neighborhood watch and explain why he was following Trayvon? Instead, according to Zimmerman's account, he shrugged off the question and indicated that he didn't have a problem with Trayvon at which point, according to Zimmerman, Trayvon said, "Well now you do."
The majority of people have opinions on this case including those whose opinion is that the media has stirred up the frenzy about racism. Nope, living while black in this country is what makes some of us talk about racism as a factor in Zimmerman's conclusion that Trayvon looked suspicious. That and the willingness of some to declare that Trayvon was a thug and offer as proof that he was suspended from school three times and may have smoked pot. He wasn't a thug; he was a teenager. But even if he were a thug,it doesn't matter; he's dead and Zimmerman killed him, and now Zimmerman must show that he had just cause for doing so.
Zimmerman will have a trial. He will get a chance in a court of law to convince a jury that he shot and killed Trayvon for justifiable reasons. Trayvon cannot tell his side of the story. It is up to the DA and forensic experts to make certain that his side of the story is told.
I've read stories that state that Zimmerman cries a great deal. So do Trayvon's parents.
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ReplyDeleteIn some it's more than a willingness, it's like sticking a pin in a balloon or lancing a boil -- and all the stinking mess that comes out!
ReplyDeleteI got a disgusting e-mail from an acquaintance early this week, shrieking about some couple somewhere who had been murdered by black assailants and claiming there was a nationwide conspiracy to cover up crimes by black people (and our black president) while making a scapegoat our of poor, almost white, Mr. Zimmerman. It included some cracks about "those people" not being educated enough to read newspapers anyway.
You'd never know, upon meeting this polite, avuncular Southern gentleman and a professed Democrat, that he was capable of such disgustingly twisted and stupid thoughts. He hates and fears Mexicans too, for what it's worth.
I'd hate however to make this octogenarian church goer the stereotype of white males as much as I hate to give equal status to George Zimmerman or the local officials who decided he didn't need to face charges. I just hate stereotypes and the way they are used to reduce the public to a bunch of barking apes on a rampage.
Even if we had to beat on our rusty, rickety justice system with a hammer to make it start up, it's running now and there's a chance this will serve as a warning to other police departments and local officials whose predecessors were happy as all Dixieland to look away while night riders and lynch mobs terrorized certain people.
The law, as you stated, was designed to enable people precisely like Mr. Martin protect themselves rather than require them to run from deadly assailants. It was sponsored in Florida by a woman who was able to chase away a car full of men with broken bottles promising to rape her and cut her to bits and in principle, I agree with it, but I think it's time for a review and perhaps an adjustment of the wording, since in the absence of any evidence supporting Zimmerman's claim we may be giving way to much benefit of the doubt.
My only hope, and it's a shaky one, is that reason and objectivity prevail in a country famous for it's hysterical tendencies.
It is truly a wonderful thing to be a simple man. I mean one who just asks questions simply because it makes rational sense to do so. Even, and especially when the thoughts being questioned are your own. Yes, especially when they are your own. Such is how one arrives at truth. Or so we hope anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those white guys who initially was out front condemning Zimmerman's action as murder, ready for him to be arrested, tried, convicted, and executed all in the space of a day. I was wrong.
After new, yet by far from conclusive information (soon to be evidence) became available I began to question my preconceived and premature conclusion/judgement. I realized it is time for rational, non emotional judgement based on all the information and facts to find its rightful place in my mind. I was reminded by that silent conscious that sits on my shoulder that all men are entitled to be considered innocent until proven guilty
So we move forward, allowing our system of justice to work as it was designed. My hope is the jurors are capable of focusing on the information and facts presented, making the right and just decision based solely on a impartial analysis of everything placed in front of them during trial.
This is the 21st century. My belief is that justice will be ultimately and properly served. Zimmerman is likely looking at 25 plus years to think about his action that resulted in the loss of a precious human life. Based on my current understanding of information (facts) of course.
It's a wonderful thing to be human, provided one has a sense of security, some happiness, meaningful employment or occupation, human relationships, family, enough to eat, a place to live... You said one thing that I agreed with whole-heartedly right off the get-go Les. Trayvon was on the starting gate of manhood. A truly exciting time in life. It is always more tragic when someone is cut down when they could have had so much more life ahead of them. I think of Reagan's famous speech in Normandy when he talked about the trick of the mind that made us believe the fallen soldiers were somehow mature, that the boys were really sacrificing two lives, the one they were living and the one that would never be.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any serious individual ever wanted Zimmerman to be convicted in the court of public opinion. In a case of an accused murder, a trial is warranted. There is no plea bargain. It's been that way since long before the United States became a republic or the constitution was ever drafted.
At least two things stand out in my mind about this case. Firstly, the notion that the police chief could get away with simply sweeping it under the rug. No reason to doubt Zimmerman's initial statement, therefore not enough evidence to go to trial. The sheer ludicrousness, vanity, self-importance, lack of any understanding of the ways of law or the times that we live in. The sheer, self-serving stupidity and cronyism in favor of a personal friend. We're not talking about fixing a traffic ticket. The chief must have believed he was still living in some backwater around the turn of the century. I actually have every confidence that the governor and the attorney general of the State of Florida would have arrived at precisely the conclusion that they did regardless of the very justified public outcry.
The other problem may turn out to be of great benefit to our society at large. The idea of a train chugging along from state to state sponsoring, conquering opposition and passing this insane parade of stand-your-ground laws. NRA + ALEC=EVIL. Please go back to hell. Satan is waiting for you. If only Tom Petty could sue them on copyright infringement. This has now come to the attention of important and respected politicians and others, notably Cuomo and Bloomberg in New York. Hopefully, we can abolish these laws, or at least tweak them sufficiently so that they only protect the threatened.
As far as innocent until proven guilty. That's not really the same as truly being innocent as a baby lamb.
Agreed. But a suspect must be given the presumption of innocence. Anything less is unacceptable from a judicial viewpoint.
DeleteI certainly would not want to be jury member in this case. Being im.partial will no doubt be a huge challenge.
"Why is there an assumption that Trayvon was obliged to treat Zimmerman as someone with authority?"
ReplyDeleteThere was no obligation, even if Zimmerman had ID'd himself as a neighborhood watch captain. Unless Sanford, Fla., has a very unusual ordinance, Zimmerman's status carried no more official weight than mine would if I were to dress up as Gen. George Patton and expect soldiers to salute me or be cited for insubordination.
What Zimmerman claims to have done was a de facto citizen's arrest. Legally, that's as weak as water, especially in the absence of any evidence of wrongdoing.
You're right, Sheria, that for there to be any chance of understanding what happened, we need for this case to be tried in court. Zimmerman's story, given under oath, must be vigorously challenged and carefully scrutinized. The onus is on him to justify the killing he unquestionably did.
Whatever else comes to light from the trial, I have a strong hunch it will become clear to all who aren't steeped in NRA extremism that, had Zimmerman not been carrying a loaded gun, Trayvon Martin would still be alive. And Zimmerman would not be considered by millions a murderer who meddled his way into a situation he could not, or would not, handle in any other way than to fire his gun at another human being.
Let's look at a few things for a second. Zimmerman was asked what race Treyvon was he said probably Black which meant that he could have been Hispanic as well. Which means that Zimmerman also hates Hispanics. Don't believe me remember the Mexican woman in Chicago that joined the Minuteman Militia? Then you have self hating Blacks such as Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson and Allan West. Also what happened to all the bandages they said they had to put on Zimmerman. Also when you have a broken nose,YOU CAN'T BREATHE! Then Zimmerman's friend Joe needs to be questioned. What kids go around calling themselves "Goons" as Joe said his kids do. He also said that calling black people the "C-word" is a term of endearment in Louisiana, NO IT ISN'T! Zimmerman also said that Treyvon looked close to his age, but he said that he was a kid on the night of the shooting. He called him a A--hole. He was looking for a fight. BTW, Rev. Sharpton and Jackson are trying to calm Black people down, not incite them unlike the Fox approved New Black Panther Party which is not like the "Old" Black Panther Party. The Estate of Huey Newton CONDEMNS the NBPP. Every time you see a NBPP official they're on Fox. There's also a You Tube of them helping the Arizona Minute Man Militia "guard" the border. Can you say "False Flag Operation" boys and girls?
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