Trayvon Martin courtesy of Martin Family
By Lauren Williams / MotherJones.com
After more than three weeks of testimony and nearly 17 hours of deliberation, the jury in the Trayvon Martin case has found George Zimmerman not guilty
Zimmerman shot and killed the 17-year-old after a scuffle in a gated condominium complex in Sanford, Fla., on February 26, 2012. The case became a racially charged national story almost immediately due to the circumstances of Martin’s death—a black, unarmed teen shot after being tailed by Zimmerman for merely looking suspicious—and the fact that Sanford police did not arrest Zimmerman until 46 days after the killing.
But the actual trial boiled down to not racism or police inaction but whether or not Zimmerman wanted to kill Martin and if Zimmerman’s life was in danger when he pulled the trigger. To get a murder conviction, the prosecution had to prove to the six women on the jury that Zimmerman acted with malice or intent when he killed Martin. This was tough to prove, given that the victim wasn’t around to offer his version of events. During the trial, the defense sought to paint Zimmerman as a poor fighter who was overpowered by Martin and who came to fear for his life during the scuffle. During his closing statement, attorney Mark O’Mara brought a slab of concrete into the courtroom, arguing that the teen used the sidewalk as a weapon.
“That is cement. That is a sidewalk. That is not an unarmed teenager with nothing but Skittles trying to get home,” he said. “That was someone who used the availability of dangerous items, from his fist to the concrete, to cause great bodily injury.”
The prosecution contended that Zimmerman killed Martin not because he had to, but because he wanted to. On Thursday, the judge in the case ruled that the jury could find Zimmerman guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter. This option—described as a possible compromise by numerous legal observers—was not accepted by the jury.
Read the rest of this story at MotherJones.com
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Why didn’t Zimmerman just follow Martin in his car, noting whether he tried to get into a house for burglary or something else? Why get out of his car and confront the teen? (I sure don’t buy that “looking for a street name” defense Zimmerman put out, and the jury shouldn’t have either.) Z. was told not to confront. That ‘concrete is a weapon’ idea is bogus. The whole trial rested on some dumb interpretations of a dumb Florida law. I don’t know why anyone visits or lives in Florida anymore…
I’m a white person who was raised in the South. But I’m not prejudiced enough or dumb enough to not know that Zimmerman got away with murdering a kid!
I wish coverage of this trial would subside. I startle every time I hear or see “Zimmerman” in the news. This was a case where the prosecution had no evidence and no witnesses, making it very tough to convict. Columnist Blow in the NYT today summed it up well: after an event like this, the kid’s life lost follows everyone involved.
My question is why was there only 6 on the jury and not 12?
Why six jurors? Good question. I wondered about that too. Florida law. Twelve jurors are only required in capital trials- death penalty cases. The problem is obvious. Six juror pools obviously make it more difficult to attain racial/ethnic diversity. Sanford Florida is 80% white. The Florida voting system is a nightmare, and the racial impacts affect how many non-whites are in the voter pool which is drawn upon.
Interestsing. I didn’t know that about Florida law.
The country’s top lawyers agree that the prosecution overreached by making the second degree murder charge. There was simply no evidence available to convict on that count.
Many of us are sick about this case, and it is sad to see the the state’s prosecution screwed it up just like they did in the original O. J. Simpson murder trial.
There has been very little talk about Trayvon being allowed to stand his ground. When Zimmerman left his car with a loaded pistol, the odds were against Trayvon Martin.
Very few people are properly trained to carry a loaded weapon in public, and clearly Zimmerman was not properly trained with how to behave with a loaded pistol. Once things go south on you, it is too easy to pull the trigger and end the immediate problem whatever it may be.
That’s what I always thought. The procession should have gone for manslaughter and the outcome would likely be very different than what it is now.
Prosecution I meant to say. Not procession.