George Zimmerman
George Zimmerman, the overzealous member of a neighborhood watch, who shot and killed unarmed teen Trayvon Martin was acquitted by a jury of 6 women. He admitted to the killing but the jury decided he was not criminally responsible for his actions. I can tell you this, if the teen had been white and the shooter black, Zimmerman would be in shackles waiting for sentencing right now.
The verdict goes completely against the way actions that cause deaths are handled in other cases. I appreciate the thoughts of Josh Marshall, editor and publisher of Talking Points Memo:
I’m not surprised the jury didn’t convict Zimmerman of 2nd Degree Murder. I am surprised it doesn’t qualify as manslaughter. The law in Florida has some peculiarities which heavily favored Zimmerman. But this was a situation he created through actions that I don’t think anyone can credibly argue weren’t reckless and showing extremely poor judgment. If a kid who was literally minding his own business ends up dead as the result, it’s hard for me to see it as a just outcome if there’s no criminal culpability whatsoever.
Yes, if your actions cause the death of someone then you can be convicted of manslaughter, but not in this case. That just seems wrong to me.
A friend of mine said the facts came out and justice worked. Except the jury didn’t have all the facts. One of those involved in the incident is dead so he couldn’t tell his side of the story.
Even in 2013, we still have a problem with race in the country. Zimmerman was biased by profiling Trayvon Martin. How else do you explain disregarding instructions not to confront him that night? He chose to confront Martin.
The jury was six women and according to news reports five of them were possibility white – more details will come out now that the trial is over but if true then it will prove again that a majority white jury is bad for African-Americans. If Zimmerman had been black and Trayvon Martin white, you would’ve have seen a different result.
Further proof of a segregated court system, the same prosecutor in the Zimmerman trial got a conviction against a black woman who fired a warning shot in the air. The woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Last Friday, Jacksonville mother Marissa Alexander was sentenced by a Florida judge to 20 years in prison for firing what she says was a “warning shot” into the wall after a physical altercation with her husband, Rico Gray.
Alexander’s case was prosecuted by Angela Corey, the Florida State’s Attorney who is also prosecuting George Zimmerman. Alexander was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and because she discharged a firearm during the incident, the case fell under Florida’s “10-20-life” law, enacted in 1999, which mandates a 20-year sentence for use of a gun during the commission of certain crimes.
Corey initially offered Alexander a three year deal if she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, but according to CBS affiliate WTEV, Alexander did not believe she had done anything wrong, and rejected the plea. Her bet did not pay off: the jury in the case returned a guilty verdict in less than 15 minutes.
Fla. woman Marissa Alexander gets 20 years for “warning shot”: Did she stand her ground?
No one died in this case yet the woman was convicted.
The only positive that may happen now the trial is over is Martin’s family can file a civil suit to get a cut of Zimmerman’s conservative welfare.
There is also a possibility, though slim, that the Department of Justice could file federal charges for violating Martin’s civil rights. While I do think Zimmerman was guilty of manslaughter, I don’t think the killing was premedtated. I don’t think he shot Martin because the kid was black, but his actions took a life and he should’ve been punished.
