A ‘not guilty’ verdict and a gloating smile. This was the final glimpse of George Zimmerman before he walked out of the courtroom a free man. After one month, 6 jurors decided that there was not enough evidence to prove the defendant was guilty of second degree murder. In Florida, the Stand Your Ground Law law allows a person to justifiably use force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat without an obligation to retreat first. When the story first hit headlines in February 2012, the media sensationalized every component of the news involving the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. Race and gender played immense roles in the opening of the trial and remained a defining issue at the conclusion of the trial. In a poll taken at the beginning of the case, 91% of African Americans saw the shooting as unjustified whereas only 59% of Hispanics and 35% of whites believed it was unjustified. Heated debates on Facebook and Twitter incited passion and anger from parents of children who believed their son(s) could have been a target of violence in the same manner as the 17 year old victim.
Even the President of the U.S. publicly stated, “I can only imagine what these parents are going through, and when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids.” In response to the President’s statement, I agree that we should all think about kids who are gunned down in our communities and remote communities as our own kids, regardless of race. Upon first hearing of the incident and the 911 calls I was outraged. I almost felt the incident was as surreal as a fictional character in a novel written by Walter Dean Myers. The elements of the story seemed fabricated, surely there had to have been more than iced tea and skittles in Trayvon Martin’s hand?
A harsh reality is several people who questioned the motives of the slain victim felt there was a justifiable reason that led to his death. His hoodie, his skin color, his prior aggressive behavior in school led to a widespread belief among supporters of Zimmerman that Martin was guilty before the trial had even taken place. Trayvon was portrayed by a portion of the media as a weed smoking hoodlum who towered over Zimmerman by 2 feet. By other sectors of the media, he was portrayed as a black kid who went skiing, loved to horseback ride, and enjoyed participating in fun activities. Zimmerman was also portrayed by the media in two different roles, one role as the innocent neighborhood watch guard and the other as an abusive white/Hispanic male with a prior criminal record of assault.
The media added fuel to the fire, leaving out pieces of the case which kept building over time as evidence unraveled on both sides of the defense and prosecuting teams. The “media hype” is a familiar one often seen in criminal cases making national headlines. We are all stirred by controversy because it evokes emotion that hits our hearts to the core. Whether you were in favor of either individual you were involved and immersed in the trial.
Even the President of the U.S. publicly stated, “I can only imagine what these parents are going through, and when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids.” In response to the President’s statement, I agree that we should all think about kids who are gunned down in our communities and remote communities as our own kids, regardless of race. Upon first hearing of the incident and the 911 calls I was outraged. I almost felt the incident was as surreal as a fictional character in a novel written by Walter Dean Myers. The elements of the story seemed fabricated, surely there had to have been more than iced tea and skittles in Trayvon Martin’s hand?
A harsh reality is several people who questioned the motives of the slain victim felt there was a justifiable reason that led to his death. His hoodie, his skin color, his prior aggressive behavior in school led to a widespread belief among supporters of Zimmerman that Martin was guilty before the trial had even taken place. Trayvon was portrayed by a portion of the media as a weed smoking hoodlum who towered over Zimmerman by 2 feet. By other sectors of the media, he was portrayed as a black kid who went skiing, loved to horseback ride, and enjoyed participating in fun activities. Zimmerman was also portrayed by the media in two different roles, one role as the innocent neighborhood watch guard and the other as an abusive white/Hispanic male with a prior criminal record of assault.
The media added fuel to the fire, leaving out pieces of the case which kept building over time as evidence unraveled on both sides of the defense and prosecuting teams. The “media hype” is a familiar one often seen in criminal cases making national headlines. We are all stirred by controversy because it evokes emotion that hits our hearts to the core. Whether you were in favor of either individual you were involved and immersed in the trial.
To know there was under-representation of minorities on the jury and on the team of attorneys, I feel the trial was a slap in the face to all concerned with providing Trayvon Martin a fair trial. Hearing defense attorney, Don West recite knock-knock jokes was especially insulting and disrespectful to the family of the deceased. West stated after the trial, “Myknock knock joke was still funny.” How is the death of any human being funny? The trial wasn’t a press conference for an election neither was it a political arena for jokes, yet Don West was arrogantly slapping supporters of Martin in the face with his pride. In reviewing the jury selection, interestingly women were over-represented on the jury and men were under-represented. 6 jurors instead of 12 were selected which seemed skewed and unconstitutional for a criminal case, in my opinion.
The breakdown of selected jurors (which they were labeled more like lottery numbers or the electronic game battleship) was presented and televised: E6, E40, B 37, B51, B29, and B76. Juror E6 was a female who heard minimal news about the case but stated the media always fails to provide factual news. By her statement alone she should have been eliminated from the jury based on biased opinions toward the media and her awareness of the trial via news. Her view seemed to have already been swayed before she entered the courtroom, yet she was chosen. There were three other males who could have been selected as jurors to add diversity to the jury although they were also omitted from the selection process. One was African American, one Hispanic, and the other was Caucasian. Neither man was selected, which raises several eyebrows about the justice system in Florida. How do you symbolically annihilate an entire race and gender of individuals who should be represented in the courtroom for due process to occur?
The manipulated court process in Florida proves time after time that minorities, especially minority men are being tried unfairly in front of judges and juries without fair representation and without lawful consistency. The final thought provoking question that is something to consider is what can we learn from the trial as a whole to unite everyone rather than divide? Do we ignore race as a thing of the past or confront underline issues within the state of Florida and other states? Do we pray as a nation for change? One thing for sure is if we continue to be spectators of laws rather than take action and work to change the laws, the individuals who lose their lives either to imprisonment or are unjustly killed will suffer along with their families.
The breakdown of selected jurors (which they were labeled more like lottery numbers or the electronic game battleship) was presented and televised: E6, E40, B 37, B51, B29, and B76. Juror E6 was a female who heard minimal news about the case but stated the media always fails to provide factual news. By her statement alone she should have been eliminated from the jury based on biased opinions toward the media and her awareness of the trial via news. Her view seemed to have already been swayed before she entered the courtroom, yet she was chosen. There were three other males who could have been selected as jurors to add diversity to the jury although they were also omitted from the selection process. One was African American, one Hispanic, and the other was Caucasian. Neither man was selected, which raises several eyebrows about the justice system in Florida. How do you symbolically annihilate an entire race and gender of individuals who should be represented in the courtroom for due process to occur?
The manipulated court process in Florida proves time after time that minorities, especially minority men are being tried unfairly in front of judges and juries without fair representation and without lawful consistency. The final thought provoking question that is something to consider is what can we learn from the trial as a whole to unite everyone rather than divide? Do we ignore race as a thing of the past or confront underline issues within the state of Florida and other states? Do we pray as a nation for change? One thing for sure is if we continue to be spectators of laws rather than take action and work to change the laws, the individuals who lose their lives either to imprisonment or are unjustly killed will suffer along with their families.
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