Photo Credit: Sandra Rose
I remember waiting for the final decision on the Trayvon Martin case. I had hope that the jury would find George Zimmerman guilty. When I heard that he was found not guilty, I was in shock. How can someone kill a child and not be found guilty? The fact that he was smiling afterwards sickens me. He should of have received a long sentence. On February 26, 2012 Zimmerman shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin to death. All he had was some skittles and a bottle of tea. He wasn’t just murdered by a man; he was murdered by a prejudice man. Zimmerman changed a family’s dynamic for the rest of their lives. During prosecution, there were many questions being asked about that night.
There was one question that was on everyone’s mind: “Did the prosecution make a mistake in filing a second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman?” (Carter, Chelsea. J.; Yan, Carter) Many have questioned the decision on the charges. One criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, said that the prosecution overcharged it in the very beginning (Carter, Chelsea. J.; Yan, Carter). The charge that would have been the right fit in this case would be manslaughter and the outcome would have been different. However, according to the Florida State Attorney, Angela Corey, Zimmerman’s allegations fit the description of manslaughter. All the news outlets asked the same question, “Why did he shoot Trayvon Martin?” Zimmerman’s response was that it was self-defense. My response to that is that his prejudice mindset killed Trayvon because he judged him based on his appearance. All he wanted to do was walk back home to his family.
Ever since that day, Zimmerman has feared for his life. His brother said that he will have to look over his shoulder for the rest of his life (Botelho, Greg; Yan, Holly). The public discourse surrounding this moment was ugly and deadly. The Internet was in uproar about the decision. Everyday, people would go on Twitter and tweet out death threats to Zimmerman. At the end of the day, a family lost a son and a brother. This proves that prejudice and racism is alive and vicious. Who ever said that racism no longer exist, that person is what I call WRONG!! All I can say is that I hope one day that people won’t prejudge a person based on what they wear. Had Zimmerman not done that, Trayvon would be alive today and be in college. Why does the media assumes that if a black person wears a hoodie they feel the right to label him as a thug? Trayvon, like any other teenager, had dreams of going to college, but that was taken away from him all because of a misunderstanding.
Reference:
- Greg, Botelho, and Yan Holly. “George Zimmerman found not guilty in murder of Trayvon Martin’s death.” . CNN, 14 July 2013. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/>.
- Chelsea J., Carter, and Yan Holly. “Why this verdict? Five things that led to Zimmerman’s acquittal.” . CNN, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/14/us/zimmerman-why-this-verdict/index.html>.
Bridge Generation 
You did an excellent job in incorporating the situations that occurred outside of court to Zimmerman’s case. Some of these situations would include the threats was Zimmerman was getting from twitter and other types of social media. In addition to this, I totally agree with you on how Zimmerman should have actually been found guilty. I remember talking about this case in class but not to a full extent so I has to do some research. I still cannot believe how people in society have to judge someone based on appearance. Overall great job and I am on you side.
Wow, two things really caught my attention and I knew I had to read your blog. The picture and the title of your blog. I really loved your title because it was very creative and original, and provided your opinion right from the get-go. I loved hearing how strong your opinion is on the case and how you capitalized words like “wrong” because it helps hearing the tone in your voice and it provided a lot more emotion. I also liked how you gave some background on the case, because that gives people who didn’t do this prompt a chance to learn a little bit about what you’re writing about and why your opinion is what it is. Great job!
You did a great job expressing your points in this blog. As innocent as it may have seemed, Martin was gunned down for simply walking to the store and looking the part of a criminal in Zimmerman’s eyes. If that isn’t direct racism then I don’t know what is. You’re right, whoever said racism is dead is incorrect and they are extremely mislead. This case is a tragedy ,and a family lost a member of their family far too soon.
I totally agree with Kendall. You were straight to the point. You can really tell that you did great because you are putting how you feel about it and it was great to read. I think that you have good facts about the case and that you are on Trayvon’s side. It is a shame that he did not get to live his dreams because of a misbelief. I feel that if Trayvon was white, Zimmerman would have went to jail.