Thoughts on the Death of Trayvon Martin

     The not guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin is pivotal but not totally unforeseen.  Often, jury verdicts tend to be both unpredictable and uncertain for even the most experienced trial attorneys. The most we can hope for is a just verdict and not a travesty of justice, but both are possible within this emotional trial atmosphere.  My focus in this blog is the circumstances leading up to the deadly shooting of an unarmed 17 year old boy by an armed neighborhood watch volunteer, but not the jury verdict itself.

     This tragedy began innocently enough on February 26, 2012, when Trayvon Martin left the house and walked to the local 7-Eleven and purchased a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona Ice Tea. Trayvon is wearing his gray hooded sweatshirt over his head as he walks to the counter to make his purchase. The store security camera would provide the last image his family would have of him alive.

     On his walk back, Trayvon would encounter George Zimmerman, a 28 year old neighborhood watch volunteer in his personal SUV.  Zimmerman’s voice comes through on a 911 call to police dispatch at about 7:12 PM, telling the dispatcher about a “real suspicious guy”. The police dispatcher asked Zimmerman, who had called at least 4 times that evening to report similar incidents, if he was following the person. Zimmerman replied, “Yes”. The dispatcher responded, “We don’t need you to do that” and instructed Zimmerman not to get out of his SUV or approach him. Zimmerman disregarded the instructions and followed him anyway.

     Exactly what happened next is not clear and is a matter of dispute. What is certain is that at 7:12 PM Trayvon was talking on his cell phone to his 16 year old girlfriend.  The girl told ABC News, "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run." Overheard on the cell phone is Trayvon asking Zimmerman, “What are you following me for?” and Zimmerman saying “What are you doing here? The next thing I hear, according to the girlfriend, is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the headset just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone."

     Trayvon didn’t answer his cell phone because he had been shot in the chest by Zimmerman with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. At 7:17, the first police units arrive on scene to find Trayvon face down in the grass. At the time, Zimmerman stated to police that he had been attacked by Trayvon, hitting him in the nose and knocking him back to the pavement. He stated that in self-defense, he had taken out his gun and shot the teen. In effect, Zimmerman became in the matter of a few moments the judge, jury, and executioner of Trayvon Martin.

     This tragedy could and should have been avoided. Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch volunteer, with no police certification or training, armed with a 9mm handgun and the Florida Stand Your Ground Law.  The stand your ground law states that a person may justifiably use deadly force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful threat, without an obligation to retreat first. This idea is in direct contrast to accepted police training in the use of necessary force to subdue the threat but if there is no longer a deadly threat, deadly force is no longer necessary or approved.        

     The tragedy remains; George Zimmerman is not guilty and Trayvon Martin is dead. Now Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law needs to be put on trial in the court of public opinion. The Republicans that control the Florida legislature that passed the NRA-drafted law must reexamine this state law. The law is poorly defined and too broadly applied, sending the wrong message to the wrong people.

New Perspective of the Tragedy: Yesterday, a news commentator on CNN made a point I think cuts to the heart of this tragedy when he said, “At what pace does a Black teenager need to walk not to become a victim of a tragedy like this?” According to Zimmerman, Trayvon was at fault partly because he was walking too slowly and that supposedly caused Zimmerman to become suspicious; I feel by making this statement Zimmerman was trying to avoid the accusation of racial profiling. Should Trayvon have run instead? The CNN commentator then pointed out that Black parents tell their teenage son’s not to run because that makes them look suspicious, as if they are guilty of something. Therefore, at what pace should a Black teenage walk not to become a victim, not to be in danger from another armed Zimmerman, not to be singled out as another Trayvon Martin?