National news of the acquittal of George Zimmerman has the general public outraged. Zimmerman racially profiled and killed young Trayvon Martin last year while on his way home from the store with Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea.
When I heard the verdict of not guilty Saturday night I was in tears. I was so emotional about this verdict, mad, angry, and disappointed that the judicial
system has failed people of color once again. As an aspiring attorney wanting to pursue a law degree related to human rights and civil rights law, to hear the verdict was very disheartening. So, I decided to do an analysis of my own to fully understand what really happened in that courtroom.
The prosecution did not do their job. The real question that leads to this conclusion is not what they did do but what did not do.
They lacked to define who was Trayvon Martin. He was not just a high school student. He was a Black high school student, a Black son, a young Black child with a Black mother and father, a Black teenager coming home from the store, in the rain with a hoody on. The hoody which caused Zimmerman to racially profile him. Did they ever consider the fact that he was wearing the hoody because of the weather?
They lacked preparation for Rachel Jeantel’s testimony, who was the prime witness in the trial on Trayvon’s behalf. First, I would like to say how Florida’s education has failed this young Black female. She is 19 years old and in the 12th grade. Why is she still in high school? Jeantel did not annunciate her words properly, she did not speak clearly, and obviously had a speech impediment. Prosecution, you had since April to prepare for this case. If you seriously and sincerely wanted to have Rachel Jeantel on the stand as a prime witness to you should have enrolled in speech pathology classes, coached her on not what to say but how to express what happened while she was on the phone with Trayvon Martin while he was being pursued by Zimmerman. Also, what did not help was the comment that an attorney stated, “You’re from a Haitian background. I’m pretty sure you can be louder.” Was that comment even 
necessary? Thank you for displaying your biased attitude in a courtroom. Since the court was having difficulty understanding Jeantel the jury did not take her testimony seriously. She was an uneducated, Black, female. Women are barely taken seriously let alone people of color. So the time spent prepping this witness is apparent.
They lacked to explain the laws thoroughly and clearly enough for the jurors to have a proper understanding and apply the law accordingly. In reference to the elements of self-defense and the Stand Your Ground Law, the concept of this law was created based on the notion that law enforcement cannot be present and protect you at all times. It gives an individual the right to protect him or herself in the presence of imminent danger. Legally, imminent danger is defined as “now” and defined as defending your life. The Stand Your Ground Law relates to Trayvon Martin’s defense more than it does the Zimmerman. Zimmerman was the initiator. Zimmerman pursued Trayvon Martin. The dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow or pursue Trayvon Martin and to wait for the police to arrive. Zimmerman was disobedient to what was told to him by the dispatcher. Trayvon Martin was pursued and he practiced the Stand Your Ground Law by defending himself against Zimmerman when he apprehended him. Martin attempted to retreat and get away from Zimmerman before they engaged in confrontation. Retreating from a possible conflict is also a part of self-defense.
The media keeps reporting that the Stand Your Ground Law is the issue, but it’s not the real issue. Below is a list of the following states that practice the Stand Your Ground Law:
Alabama
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Utah
Notice the majority of these states are Southern states where their primary source of livelihood is agriculture and farming. Stand Your Ground Law does not only apply to how you defend yourself in the presence of imminent danger, but allows you to also defend your property. Many of these states have farmers that own acres of land. It allows these owners of land to protect their property if it has been threatened.
The statement Attorney General Eric Holder made about Stand Your Ground Law was interpreted as if it is not going to do its job as a law, meaning to protect American citizens, then it should be banned.
Lastly, they overcharged Zimmerman with second-degree murder instead of voluntary manslaughter, which is third-degree murder. The state should have charged Zimmerman with voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is a crime related to “heat of passion.” For instance, I come home to my cheating husband; I react out of emotion by grabbing a golf club and killing my husband and his mistress. Although, I reacted at that moment, killing my husband when coming home from work was not my initial intention.
Both first-degree and second-degree murder demonstrates intent, but first-degree murder is premeditated while second-degree murder is not. A primary example of second-degree murder is felony murder where a person is killed while a felony is being committed. That is the standard in most states and it is the same in Florida. So why overcharge Zimmerman with second-degree murder?
That is also another problem with law. Definition of law can vary per state just like any other law. Every state has its own laws, and not all states have the same definition of second-degree murder.
Overall, I do honestly believe that Zimmerman did not intend to kill Trayvon Martin, his primary intention was to catch the “bad guy” and be the town hero. Zimmerman was a vigilante obsessed with being a cop. He wanted to be the neighborhood watchmen that kept the town safer at night.
Race played a factor in this case and that was completely omitted from the trial. I am happy to know that the NAACP is filing a petition for Zimmerman to be federally charged with violating Trayvon Martin’s civil rights. Zimmerman did violate them by profiling Trayvon Martin. The decisions made in this case was racially influenced so for the prosecution and the state of Florida to be in denial about how our judicial system is driven is absurd and foolish.
America the biased.
America you are in denial.
The Apathy Prevention Project 