Yesterday George Zimmerman was found not guilty of 2nd degree murder/manslaughter in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. He's still in some major trouble because of all the hype that has surrounded this case and the racist allegations. George really didn't have a chance when the media got hold of this story.
I'll admit I was disappointed that he didn't get manslaughter. I personally didn't think it was a case of racial profiling but he chose to take a gun with him to check Trayvon out after 911 told him to stay away. He made choices that ended up to be fatal to an innocent young man. I have a problem with anyone getting away with that. At the same time, when a lawyer explained the threshold for self defense vs. manslaughter it made sense. It still doesn't feel like justice was served to me.
Here are my thoughts on what happened based on what I've skimmed. I have not been raptly attuned to this case tho I have watched it. AND, most importantly, I was not in the court room and neither were most of us and we did not hear the evidence that the verdict was decided on.
The first error and this is why I hold George responsible for this killing, is that he took a gun with him to investigate this young man when he was told NOT to by 911. That was the fatal decision that set this whole thing in motion.
I suspect I understand why he did that after hearing some testimony. He was scared. From the sound of it, George is less than a physical specimen. He was obese and couldn't fight. The gun made him feel secure. I think the decision he made was part of his psychology. It made him feel "like a man" when in other areas he didn't feel terribly confident, for good reason apparently. I imagine he decided to ignore the 911 operator's warning because he wanted to be a hero and catch the person who'd been committing thefts in the area. This was his big chance to be THE MAN! If he hadn't had that gun I'm betting he would not have gotten out of his car.
So he approaches Trayvon. No idea what triggers them to start fighting but this is where Trayvon made his fatal mistake. Trayvon chose to straddle George and abuse him. He picked the wrong target. Trayvon, I think, was a classic, hormonal 17 year old male. Meaning they have the sense of a flea when their testosterone levels jack up. I think, from Trayvon's POV, here's this fat little dude trying to be a tough guy after scaring him a bit following him and his hormones are racing and he's going to teach him a lesson. If he would have just stood there and waited for police to show. If he would have chosen to react in a non-violent way, he probably would have lived. Instead he thought he found an easy target to pound down. Feels good to do that kind of thing when you're a young, hormonal male.
Well he attacked a man who, at his very core, was a terrible coward. Who was terrified that Trayvon was going to kill him. I supposed it's possible but I'm guessing he may have stopped with a good beat down but when you attack a coward who thinks he's going to die, rightly or wrongly, and he has a concealed weapon...well this is what happens.
It sickens me that both of these men made the decisions that they made that brought them to this result. Neither was innocent. Trayvon shouldn't have had to pay with his life. He might have done some jail time for assault but death? Not ok. George will also pay with his life, in a different way. Unless someone decides to kill him which I think is possible at this point. He will have difficulty getting/holding jobs probably for the rest of his life. He basically screwed himself even though the jury found him not guilty. He is guilty of killing Trayvon.
When I heard about the threshold for manslaughter, that all these things, choosing to carry his gun and ignore 911, choosing to confront Trayvon, in the end, didn't matter. All they needed to prove was that George felt his life was in danger and that he needed to strike back with whatever force he had available to help him save his own life, to prove self defense. I think his defense proved that.
I wish there was a charge/sentence for murder because you made HORRIFICALLY BAD decisions that led to the death of another. I think George would have been better served to do some time. He could then say he paid for his bad decision making that ended in the death of another. Trayvon is beyond answering for his bad decisions. He paid the ultimate price.
