What comes to mind when people are asked about this subject? Was the outcome justified? Was this crime investigated appropriately? There was a lot of attention and speculation when the events enfolded on the evening of February 26, 2012. Trayvon Martin was fatally shot after an altercation with the neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.
The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case received so much attention that it reached national spotlight. Even with all the attention and outcome the question still looms.Was justice for Trayvon Martin achieved throughout the extensive investigation? Many would not agree, but just like the other side of the coin; many would agree that justice was reached. The impact of this case on society alone caused a lot of debate and action from many different people ie; Al Sharpton and even President Barrack Obama. In this paper I plan to review the case in detail and present the idea that a thorough investigation was not preformed despite the fact that George Zimmerman might have been in his right to stand his ground.
On February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch Captain, was driving through the neighborhood on a personal errand. Around 7:09pm Mr. Zimmerman called the Sanford non emergency line to report a “suspicious person” walking about in the neighborhood in the rain. Police dispatchers asked for specifics and told Mr. Zimmerman to not follow the young man. (Deutsch, William February 26, 2012) Shortly after the call Trayvon Martin was found dead due to a fatal shot to the heart.
Police Officer Timothy Smith was the first to arrive to the scene.He reported that George Zimmerman was standing next to Trayvon, who was face down in the grass and unresponsive. (Sanford Police Initial Report February 26, 2012) The aftermath of what follows is what has drawn many speculations. Was justice served? For one there have been 8 witnesses to described according to them what happened between Trayvon and George.
Out of the 8, 7 have edited their comments, retracted, or lied under oath. Which begs the question if what they say was the truth, which was that George Zimmerman, was acting out of self defense?George Zimmerman used what’s called the “Stand your Ground Law” as his unofficial (the official being Self Defense) defense after he was charged with 2nd degree murder. The “Stand your Ground Law” is a type of self defense law that gives individuals the right to use deadly force to defend themselves without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous situation. (Wikipedia 2014) In Florida it is legal to “stand your ground” and during George Zimmerman’s trail the jury was reminded that George had the right to stand his ground and use deadly force if how found needing to.
The question stands, was George fearful for his life during the altercation with Trayvon? It was reported at the time of the crime that Trayvon was on top of George punching him repeatedly while George was calling out for help numerous times. There are 9-11 calls that call into question on whose voice was on the recording calling out for help. Trayvons mother and father, Tracey Martin and Sabrina Fulton, stated over again that it was their sons’ voice on the recording.(Rene Stutzman May 6, 2013) As well as George Zimmerman’s father, Robert Zimmerman, stated that it was his sons’ voice on the call. The 9-11 calls were brought to the court, but were not allowed expert testimony.
One can speculate that the voice was Trayvons since he was unarmed and fired on. Throughout the investigation the police were under a lot of pressure to make an arrest since there was a death in this altercation. Even the Police Chief, Bill Lee, put in his resignation because of turmoil he felt he was causing to the case. (Orlando Sentinel March 2012) After Mr.Lee gave his testimony in court he told CNN that he felt pressured to make an arrest and that they didn’t care if it was dismissed later. (Elliott C.
McLaughlin July 2013) As a result of being pressured to make an arrest without having a proper investigation prompted for errors as well as not having sufficient evidence for trial. Another significant impact on the investigation was the spin from the media and outside sources that this was a racially motivated crime. Once the report came out of a black teenager killed, they described Zimmerman as a “White male.” The media even went as far as to edit the 9-11 calls that Zimmerman made to the police. Specifically NBC was to blame for the edited calls, depicting Zimmerman as racist. Zimmerman filed a law suit against the NBC network for defamation stating that they intentionally made Zimmerman look like a racist.
(USA Today Feb 2013) In conclusion the Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case was an unfortunate event that happened and I’m sure that Zimmerman and Martin would have done things differently if given the chance. Was justice served after the investigation?I wouldn’t think so. Many took to the fact that because there were different races, that it was a racially motivated crime. The police were under a lot of pressure to make an arrest without a thorough investigation. What the facts do point out was that there was an altercation between a Zimmerman and Martin which resulted in Martins death to a law that states that you can stand your ground when you feel that there is a danger to your person.
Whether you agree or disagree, society deemed George Zimmerman innocent of 2nd degree murder and justified his actions.
