Yes, George Zimmerman was acquitted of the killing of Trayvon Martin. Yes, sadly, George Zimmerman should have been acquitted of the killing of Trayvon Martin given Florida’s ridiculous Stand Your Ground laws. None of this gets around the fact that Trayvon Martin would be alive today if he were white. George Zimmerman had black kids up to mischief on his mind when he followed Trayvon Martin. All evidence points to this being true.
When I first heard about the call to pursue a Federal Civil Rights case against George Zimmerman, I balked at the idea. There is no doubt in my mind that George Zimmerman is a soft racist, just like some of my family, just like some of my friends (and boy does it baffle me that they don’t realize they’re racist). That, in and of itself, is not a good reason to pursue Federal charges. The more I thought about it, though, the more it makes sense.
George Zimmerman is not your average soft racist. He is a soft racist with a gun. He used that gun to kill a black kid. A black kid that he was following because he was black and “something’s wrong with him”. This, despite the fact that he was told not to follow the black kid. Why? Because “these assholes always get away”.
George Zimmerman put himself into a position that allowed him to kill Trayvon Martin. Florida law allows you to put yourself into a position to kill another human being. The combination of the two led to Trayvon Martin’s death. We have a racist man using a racist law to kill a black kid. This seems to me to be exactly what Federal Civil Rights trials are meant for.
And I know it’s besides the point, but boy does George Zimmerman make it difficult for to like him or feel sorry for him even a little bit. He thinks the killing of Trayvon Martin was “God’s plan”. Defense attorneys were wise to keep him off the stand. A sympathetic figure he is not.
I agree he probably was racist…at least in that particular circumstance. But believing it is different than proving it in court. Especially federal court where the bar is a little bit higher. Waste of time I say.
Would it be difficult to get a conviction, yes. Impossible? I think it depends on what is admissible in court. Something I know next to zero about in a case like this. I would think, though, that things would be admissible well outside the confines of what was admissible in the murder trial. Zimmerman’s own words both before and after the trial could come back to haunt him.
prosecutors weren’t asked to prove that GZ is a racist. they were asked to prove that GZ did not act in self defense, that he acted (the act of shooting itself) in hatred. no way they could have done that.
GZ’s prejudice and racist beliefs and hatred put him in that confrontation (which is argued not an illegal thing).
It’s fucked up. The right to self defense is extended to someone with mal intentions in the first place. Racists have rights, too. What a tragedy.
Knowing that the definitions vary by State (Florida being a completely fucked up state) Lets look at the general definitions of Murder and does it appear to apply in the GZ case.
First degree murder: Killing another that involves elements like deliberate planning, premeditation, or malice. Unless there was some secret plan, where GZ looked in his mirror and said “I’m going to kill me the first Black kid I see tonight”, Definitly does not apply.
Second degree murder: Killing another with malice – doing a harmful act without just cause or legal excuse – but without premeditation or deliberation
Closer to what happened but Much like above, Racist does not imply Malice, so I think the prosecuters erred in going for Second Degree murder.
Third Degree murder: Also known as manslaughter:
Voluntary manslaughter: A killing that would have been murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the defendant committed the killing because he mistakenly believed he needed to use deadly force to defend himself or another. The exact definition of voluntary manslaughter may vary somewhat between states.
BOOM, We have a winner. This is EXACTLY what happened. This is what the prosecuters should have tried to prove instead of Second degree.
involuntary manslaughter: A person can commit a lawful act, but in doing so use a level of negligence that rises above typical civil negligence. If this negligence causes a death, that person can be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Kind of fits as well, GZ was only “Defending” himself, but through his own negligence he created a situation which resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin. I could live with it, if this had been the result.
In a different post, JP postulated that if Trayvon had been the “Victor” he’d also be a convicted felon.
I postulate, that if GZ had been black Neighborhood watchmen and Trayvon a white teenager. GZ would have been arrested the same night and would now be a future lifetime resident of the Florida Penitentiary system.