Sunday, July 14, 2013

State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman

Eighteen years after the nation was captivated and divided by a racially-fueled television trial of O.J. Simpson for double murder, the nation once again went through the trial of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman. In this case, George Zimmerman was accused of second degree murder and manslaughter for the death of Trayvon Martin.

In this day and age the media has become the ever-present integral matrix in our lives, where we post all content, whether its fact or opinion. And the line between fact and opinion can become blurred at times, due to the sheer volume we are bombarded with in social media every day. However, as intelligent human beings, we are compelled to remain vigilant and recognize what are the facts, regardless of how contradictory they may be to our own personal views and/or feelings.

Feelings and Opinions: Trayvon Martin was killed by the racist George Zimmerman who profiled him as a criminal, which resulted in Trayvon's death. George Zimmerman is a murderer. He is solely responsible for Trayvon Martin's death.

Facts: George Zimmerman was a part of the neighborhood watch, which was created in order to stem the recent trend of home robberies. He was attempting to improve the safety and security within his community. George saw a young man (Trayvon Martin) whom he thought to be suspicious and called the police. While George Zimmerman was advised by the police not to pursue Trayvon Martin, he did pursue the kid (which was later confirmed as a legal act). Trayvon became aware of a man who was pursuing him, and had a phone conversation with a friend regarding the situation. During the conversation, Trayvon on record racially labeled his pursuer as a "creepy-ass cracker". As a result of the conversation, Trayvon was advised by his friend to run from the person who was pursuing him. Instead, Trayvon decided to confront George and instead of attempting to resolve the situation, he assaulted George which resulted in several injuries (to which the medical examiner testified). George Zimmerman discharged his firearm in self-defense, which unfortunately resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin.

During the trial, the judge fairly dismissed any characteristics references of Trayvon Martin's suspensions from school, theft and drug use, because they were in fact irrelevant - Trayvon was not on trial - George was. 

However, characterization of George Zimmerman, his desire to enter law enforcement, his wanna be cop persona, his alleged hatred, his alleged ill will; were all allowed to be portrayed by the prosecution, despite their legal nature being argumentative at best and not supported by any evidence. 

There were no real eyewitnesses who could tell the story as it happened, only witnesses after the fact. As such, expert testimony is the primary basis we all have to go on. The only eyewitness outside of George Zimmerman, was actually Trayvon Martin himself. In this country you cannot presume guilt, but the legal system mandates that you have to presume innocence. That is the right every single one of us holds dear as one of the founding tenants of the American Legal System.

No matter how much your feelings may drive you to say that George Zimmerman was the man solely responsible for Trayvon Martin's death simply because he fired the fatal shot, or because he didn't follow the advice of the police officer, they're simply false. The truth, as shown through factual evidence - is that Trayvon Martin decided to turn confrontational and assaulted George Zimmerman repeatedly until George had no other option but to discharge his firearm in order to protect himself. 

In the end, I commend the jury for reaching the right verdict of not guilty - in this country you have the right to defend yourself. While the death of Trayvon Martin is unfortunate, the act of discharging his firearm by George Zimmerman was justified - it was a single shot fired after forty seconds of assault by Trayvon Martin in which he suffered several wounds that were submitted as evidence. 

George will never be able to get a job in law enforcement, because of this notoriety. He will always be labeled a racist and a bigot, when all he was trying to do is defend himself while helping his community. He will also have to fend off the fanatics' death threats in the short term.

I will leave you with this parting opinion of mine - Being asked a question "What are you doing here" is no grounds for instigating a fight and assaulting anyone. no matter how much you feel that the guy is a "Creepy-Ass Cracker". As a result, we are all left to wonder would could have been had Trayvon Martin calmly answered the simple question and did not resort to violence.