My first topic will bring up countless emotions for a variety of reasons. I do feel that this is a topic that needs to be addressed and now is as good a time as any. The State of Florida v. George Zimmerman has made headlines for the past 2 weeks, but no stronger were the emotional effect of the headlines than that of the not guilty verdict. The outrage and disbelief was seen worldwide on media reports and social media. Demonstrations, both violent and peaceful, happened across the country. The question remains, was justice served? There are but two indisputable facts from that night: 1) Trayvon Martin is dead from a gunshot and 2) George Zimmerman pulled the trigger.
Many blame the jury for the verdict. I even had a black friend post as his Facebook status "Evidently, young black boys and men lives are disposable... I am sad and heart broken.... In the eyes of Justice my life is not valid. Shame on you jurors. I hope you can sleep at night knowing you let a killer on the lose. I bet you would have felt different if it was your son!" Let's look at the role of the jury. The jury is supposed to hear the evidence and conclude that a case was made beyond a reasonable doubt to find the defendant is guilty. I challenge that since day one the state did nothing to prove their case. For starters lets look at the initial charge of murder 2. In Florida, murder 2 is defined as "The unlawful killing of a human being:
1. When perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or any human being;
2. When committed by a person engaged in the perpetration of, or in the attempt to perpetrate, any..."
The state has to prove that George Zimmerman intended from the get go to murder Trayvon Martin. Evidence has to show that not only did George Zimmerman walk up to and confronted Trayvon Martin with the intention of killing him. Through witness after witness, the state could not prove this. The defense even turned some of the states witnesses on the stand. The prosecution was at fault in this instance. Successful litigators will tell you never put a witness on the stand if you do not know what they are going to say and don't call witnesses that make your case shaky. The jury had no choice but to acquit on murder 2.
Why didn't the state look for a charge that was easier to prove, like manslaughter. In Florida manslaughter has two requirements: 1) The victim is dead. 2) The defendant's actions had an immediate cause on the victims death. In Florida v. Zimmerman, these two requirements are not in doubt. Conviction on manslaughter also carries a sentence of 30 years minimum. 30 years is a small price to pay compared to robbing someone of about 65 years of their life, but at least there would have been a punishment. I know what you are thinking, the judge allowed for a manslaughter consideration. Let me tell you as a human being, the moment the prosecutor asked the judge to allow me to consider a lesser charge, my first thought is to question whether the initial charge burden of proof was met, and to question additional charges. The prosecution panicked because they made the wrong choice as to what to charge Zimmerman with. The jury came back with a verdict of not guilty, that doesn't mean innocent mind you, because of the failings of the prosecution, not because of racism on their part.
Was race a motivating factor in this case? You bet! There are so many levels of racism it is ridiculous. Does George Zimmerman follow Trayvon if Trayvon was white and wearing a polo shirt, probably not. It is sad that we live in a society in which there is a presumption of being up to no good based on the color of one's skin. This is not limited to George Zimmerman. How many times have you crossed the street to avoid a black person, or saw one get arrested and know in your heart that s/he was definitely guilty, or how many times do you pull your purse close or check your wallet when you see a black man approach? This is the same racism that drove Zimmerman to call the police and follow Trayvon. This set the stage for the tragic events of February 26, 2012. How many of you know that white men or more likely than black man to commit acts of assault or rape. How many times do you cross the street to avoid a white man. There is definitely a disproportionate amount of African Americans in American prisons as compared to Latin American and European Americans. This perpetuates the stereotypes.
On the other hand racism existed in the desire to push this case to the headlines. A young black boy was murdered by a middle-aged Hispanic/white man. Automatically among the NAACP and African-American communities there were calls that this was a race/hate crime. Was this because a black boy was murdered by a "white" man. You bet! Look at 3 other murders that happened that same day. 18 year old Ricky Jennings was gunned down in Compton. 16 year old friends Carolina Ramirez and Meldrich Melgoza were also shot dead in LA. Jennings was murdered by a black man, Ramirez and Melgoza were shot by an Hispanic male. Where were the headlines on this? It wasn't newsworthy to show race on race violence. This happens all over the United States. Look at Elzina Brown in NYC, Omar Hightower in Trenton, Christopher Williams in Cincinnati. The news has even been turned off by reporting black on white murders if you look at Antonio Santiago. What needs to be discussed is not who killed who, but that these killings happened. We need to know how to stop murders, especially of our youong people whether they been Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, blue, green, or purple. The news and clebrities could help address this.
We all saw Lebron James and the Miami Heat stand up at mid-court in their hoodies pulled over their head as an act of support for the Martin family. We have seen countless celebrities voice their concern at the injustice. A number of athletes in particular had tweeted about hoping the jury dies or that it is obviously OK to shoot a young black male. Where is the outrage at the unnecessary death of any youth. Even Kim Kardashian expressed her outrage of how someone so obviously guilty could be found not guilty even though her father was one of OJ Simpson's defense attorneys. The system is not perfect, but it is designed around a human element. The reaction to the verdict is also has a human element. Maybe we need to focus our human element on what is right, and that is improving the race relations that has taken steps back over the last decade. Celebrities and news outlets, speak of all injustice. Video game makers, hip-hop artists, Hollywood and athletes need to stop glamorizing the thug life. Stop showing us people in a negative light. Show us the positive aspects. Tell me stories of teens that prevented kidnappings or stood up to bullies peacefully. Show more of people who risked their lives to save others. Bring people together instead of dividing. Tell the world that although you do not agree with the verdict, that you support the system of justice. Many believed the system would convict, many acquit. Regardless of how one feels of the verdict, the system did its part.
George Zimmerman is not alone to blame for the death of Trayvon Martin. Every American is. Love me, hate me, everyone is entitled to my opinion.
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