Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A great article by Charles Blow in the NYTimes about how the legal system failed Trayvon Martin.
"The system began to fail Martin long before that night.
The system failed him when Florida’s self-defense laws were written, allowing an aggressor to claim self-defense in the middle of an altercation — and to use deadly force in that defense — with no culpability for his role in the events that led to that point.
The system failed him when the neighborhood watchman grafted on stereotypes the moment he saw him, ascribing motive and behavior and intent and criminal history to a boy who was just walking home.
The system failed him when the bullet ripped through his chest, and the man who shot him said he mounted him and stretched his arms out wide, preventing him from even clutching the spot that hurt.
The system failed him in those moments just after he was shot when he was surely aware that he was about to die, but before life’s light fully passed from his body — and no one came to comfort him or try to save him.
The system failed him when the slapdash Sanford police did a horrible job of collecting and preserving evidence.
The system failed him when those officers apparently didn’t even value his dead body enough to adequately canvass the complex to make sure that no one was missing a teen.
The system failed him when he was labeled a John Doe and his lifeless body spent the night alone and unclaimed.
The system failed him when the man who the police found standing over the body of a dead teenager, a man who admitted to shooting him and still had the weapon, was taken in for questioning and then allowed to walk out of the precinct without an arrest or even a charge, to go home after taking a life and take to his bed.
The system failed him when it took more than 40 days and an outpouring of national outrage to get an arrest.
The system failed him when a strangely homogenous jury — who may well have been Zimmerman’s peers but were certainly not the peers of the teenager, who was in effect being tried in absentia — was seated.
The system failed him when the prosecution put on a case for the Martin family that many court-watchers found wanting.
The system failed him when everyone in the courtroom raised racial bias in roundabout ways, but almost never directly. "
I agree, and I hope that Trayvon's death serves as a rallying call for change.
The question is: what can we as individuals do about this?
"As a parent, particularly a parent of black teenage boys, I am left with the question, “Now, what do I tell my boys?”
We used to say not to run in public because that might be seen as suspicious, like they’d stolen something. But according to Zimmerman, Martin drew his suspicion at least in part because he was walking too slowly.
So what do I tell my boys now? At what precise pace should a black man walk to avoid suspicion?
And can they ever stop walking away, or running away, and simply stand their ground? Can they become righteously indignant without being fatally wounded?"
It did according to the jury instructions, and the jury itself, so I don't know why you say that.
SYG wasn't used by Zimmerman as a defense, but B37 specifically mentioned it as one of the reasons the jury found Zimmerman not guilty. Watch the interview with Anderson Cooper.
Well it was brought up in court because the media and many blames that law.
It doesn't apply to GZ's case though.
"Stand Your Ground" dictates that a person being attacked does not need to retreat. That law is not applicable in this case. Zimmerman could not retreat. He had a large, muscular man pinning him down, using lethal force against him.
Because even as a layperson it was clear to me from the description of her that she would be a biased juror. I posted that several times here on CD Forums. For one thing she had formerly had a concealed carry permit as did her husband. That puts her into a small minority of women, and says something about her point of view. Her husband is a lawyer and I didn't believe that she knew as little about the case as she claimed.
Availing yourself of your Right to carry a weapon does not disqualify you as a juror. I knew a woman who chewed tobacco. That put her in a small minority of wonen, too. Both sides had equal opportunity to reject jurors for cause or peremptorally. If the prosecution couldn't get her disqualified blame them, not Zimmerman or his attorneys.
Without bothering to read the OP's article, newsflash: Trayvon's parents failed him, first and foremost. As far as the specific incident which killed him, his common sense failed him.
How many more Trayvon threads we gonna have, for Christ's sake?
You don't like the thread then don't respond lol It's Zimmerman who had no common sense. Most smart people would report someone they felt were suspicious, they would never take it upon themselves. And how did Martin's parents fail him. Besides it has nothing to do with the case
No it didn't. The POS thug got *exactly* what he deserved. The real benefit? He can't reproduce more of the same P'sOS as he was. One less thug is great news for America.
I understand people defending Zimmerman, but getting a hard on over the death of Martin is bizarre.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
