Justice and Trayvon Martin

The really sad thing about the Trayvon Martin tragedy is had the justice system been free to follow normal procedures George Zimmerman would probably have been convicted of something eventually.  This is what happens when politics gets in the way of justice…a trial based on political correctness rather than facts.  This trial was the confluence of all that is bad with American media, American politics, and the American justice system.  When the verdict was announced, the judge actually looked relieved.  She is a trained lawyer, and knew that had there been a conviction, she would have had to rule on motions to overturn the verdict based on lack of evidence as a matter of law…and she would most likely have had to grant them.

Geraldo Rivera, someone I don’t normally quote, got it right yesterday morning.  He said this was a technical legal case.  If you picked it apart piece by piece, there was nothing there.  Each act George Zimmerman did was in and of itself not illegal.  It was not illegal to have a neighborhood watch.  It was not illegal for him to carry a gun.  It was not illegal for him to follow Trayvon Martin.  It was not illegal for him to defend himself if he felt his life was in danger.  The events that could have made Zimmerman legally culpable were not provable.  Speculation or wishful thinking is insufficient to send someone to jail for the rest of his life.  Worse, the circumstantial evidence supported Zimmerman’s account of events.

Here is what we know.  We know Zimmerman, as part of a neighborhood watch, followed Martin in his car and called 911.  We know he was told by the 911 operator not to follow him.  We know he got out of his car and followed Martin at a distance.  We know Martin called a girl friend and told her he was being followed by a “cracker”.  We know that Martin had marijuana in his system. We know there was an altercation.  The only eyewitness said Martin was on top of Zimmerman pounding his head on the edge of the concrete. There was a scream from one of the two before the gunshot. We know that Zimmerman had a broken nose and cuts on the back of his head.  We know that Zimmerman’s clothes were wet on the back, and Martin’s clothes were wet on his knees.  We know the trajectory of the bullet supported Zimmerman’s narrative.  Everything else presented in the trial was fluff.

In order to convict Zimmerman, the prosecution needed to show that Zimmerman either verbally provoked or physically attacked Martin sometime after exiting the car.  There is absolutely no evidence of either.  In fact, given Martin’s phone conversation midst the incident, there may be some indication that it was Martin who provoked Zimmerman. Notwithstanding, given Florida law which says the prosecution must disprove claims of self defense beyond all reasonable doubt…and all the physical evidence supported self defense…this was a no brainer for the jury both for manslaughter and second degree murder.

Like the Duke Lacrosse rape case, the media went looking for racism and found it, facts be damned.  When the press discovered that Zimmerman was actually Hispanic, they even created a new racial classification to continue to feeding the racism beast…he was a "white" Hispanic.  NBC doctored 9-1-1 tapes to portray Zimmerman as a racist by which all accounts he is not.  Local law enforcement was literally fired as the State of Florida, at the urging of the press, the race baiters, the United States Justice Department and Barack Obama himself, took the case over.  

Angela Corey, the whack-a-doodle state attorney, charged Zimmerman with second degree murder, the highest charge she could bring without going to a grand jury which would have no billed any charges against this guy in a second.  By the end of the trial, her prosecutors were reduced to begging for a third degree murder jury instruction based on “child abuse”.  Ms. Corey’s “have a little tea with Goldie” press conference immediately after the verdict was totally bizarre and inappropriate.  Who are these people?

CNN and NBC have gone ballistic.  David Gregory of NBC made a vague reference to legal execution in America.  Commentators are now calling for the Justice Department to file civil rights violation charges against Zimmerman.  This is the ugly side of political prosecutions.  It is a different side of the same political prosecution coin embedded in the IRS.  Americans should be concerned.  Add to this the allegations that the Florida State Attorney withheld evidence in discovery; this is going to get nasty.

The race baiters, be they political or rooted in "for profit" non-profits, need to feed the race beast to keep the power and money coming in.  While Trayvon’s death by any calculation is a tragedy, the media has completely ignored the massacre on the streets of Chicago with black on black violence reaching epic proportions.  It is being repeated in various cities throughout the country.  The media simply won’t report it.  It doesn’t fit the racist narrative.  Meanwhile, politicians won’t touch the problem with a ten foot pole.

This case is bothersome because George Zimmerman was told by a 9-1-1 operator NOT to follow whom he suspected as being a thief in a neighborhood experiencing numerous break-ins.  He didn’t follow the operator’s suggestion.  But that was not illegal…and the rest is history.

I can’t imagine the pain Trayvon’s parents feel.  His death deserves a serious and thorough investigation to find out why it happened.  But the investigation has to be honest and not tinged by political correctness. Political correctness and make believe parameters about how things are in our society only magnify the problems, not solve them.

Our legal system cannot protect everybody from everything.  Things fall through the cracks for various reasons and this is one of those times.  If laws need to be changed, then change them.  If attitudes need to be changed, change those too.   But for this case, as sad and unsettling as it may be, justice was served.  That doesn’t say a whole lot about us, does it?