This article from the Orlando Sentinel website appears to explain why the Sanford, FL, police haven’t arrested George Zimmerman, the shooter of Trayvon Martin. The article says Zimmerman claimed he was attacked by Martin, knocked down, had his beaten against the ground, and cried for help, before shooting the 17-year old. His story apparently has been corroborated by a witness.
Tags: ethics, FL, George Zimmerman, Orlando Sentinel, Sanford, Trayvon Martin
Ethics Bob 
March 26, 2012 at 10:12 pm |
Bib: This makes it a real messy case. Zimmerman was chasing the kid, and the kid attacked in self-defense and got shot. Especially under the Florida law, who’s guilty of what? I’d say under normal principles, Zimmerman was guilty of manslaughter, But under Florida law? Tough.
So the prosecutors’ decision will be influenced by the lynch mob, and, too, the president’s characterization of the victim as the son he never had. This is fair neither to Zimmerman nor the Florida law enforcement officials. If Zimmerman is not charged—even if they don’t think the law will let him get convicted, you have a riot, and maybe several. If he’s tried and acquitted—even if that’s what the law dictates, you’ll have another Rodney King situation. The parents and the New Black Panthers and Sharpton don’t care about the law. They don’t care about the witnesses. They want Zimmerman punished, period.
Do you still think it was wise of Obama to inject himself into this on the side of the victim before the facts were in? Because the tensions have only escalated since he did.I think he contributed to what increasingly looks to me like unavoidable race riots.
March 26, 2012 at 10:25 pm |
Ah, it IS messy; I wish it weren’t. And we may never know what happened. But in light of the public frenzy–not just Sharpton and the New Black panthers–I still think the President needed to say something other than no comment. And I keep reading his statement over and over and I can’t think of how he could have done it better.
There’s no way I can read his statement as you do, as injecting himself on the side of the victim.
I wish the case were less messy, and i’m concerned about what hotheads and crazies might still do, but I don”t think that Obama said anything to encourage their actions; quite the reverse. I still think I, and more importantly (duh) the President, got it right.
March 27, 2012 at 10:39 am |
IF this version is true, doesn’t the Stand Your Ground law apply to Trayvon, also? If Zimmerman was, as the girlfriend (supposedly) heard, following Trayvon, asking him “Why are you here?” and in possession of a gun, wouldn’t Trayvon feel his life was in danger and be justified in using any force necessary to protect himself? As of today, I don’t believe anything I have heard so far about this incident and will wait for the grand jury when people actually have to swear to tell the truth. I don’t believe all these rumors warrant further comment by anyone.
April 1, 2012 at 11:08 pm |
C’mon, gentlemen, really??!! You cannot claim self-defense when you have stalked and terrorized someone and was told not to pursue the person which you have racially profiled as suspicious.
Let me ask you a question: Do you think if a black man had shot and killed a white teenager armed with iced tea and Skittles that he would see the light of day?
Regarding witnesses, have you ever heard of confirmation bias? Black young thug. White upstanding citizen. We heard all we need to hear on the 911 tapes to arrest this man. A charge is not a conviction.
A prom photo of Trayvon was released by his parents and a commenter, Na’rone Mrtwolanes Thomas, from Southgate, MI made this point:
“I guess its ok to kill a child, but its not ok to argue with your spouse, fight pit bulls, spank your children, or talk back to a police officer….i can on and on, but if you kill a17 year old kid you will be justified and you won’t be charged…america just said so, so how will it feel when its your child that gets innocently killed by an angry temperamental dumb f*ck…will you justify it then?…”
April 2, 2012 at 12:28 am |
Judith, glad to have you back, even if you’re shouting at me. I posted the Orlando Sentinel piece because it was the first piece about the story the police told. We know enough to say that had Zimmerman acted responsibly Martin would be alive. We also know about confirmation bias—I even wrote about it in The Ethics Challenge. And we’re pretty certain that had Zimmerman been black and Martin white, he’d be locked up.
But we don’t have enough information to convict. I hope the investigations underway will be conclusive. I also hope that hate mongers of the left and of the right don’t cause more violence in the meantime.