I suppose you could say justice was served. In one sense, the letter of the law won out. In another sense the spirit of the law was pillaged. An armed man followed a boy into the darkness and when that boy defended himself the armed man killed him. As I said long ago, had the victim been a woman, this wouldn’t have gone to trial at all. However, it was a boy being killed. It was a black boy in a neighborhood where there had been break-ins and home invasions, thus this individual felt empowered to protect the night and ended up killing someone to protect himself.
I admit that he was protecting himself. For all intents and purposes he was losing the fight. He was being beaten up by the kid he’d been following and may or may not felt like his life was in danger. He retrieved his weapon, suddenly raising the stakes of the conflict, and at that point I completely believe that he needed to shoot Trayvon Martin in order to stay alive. I also believe that had he not brought the gun into play, both individuals would be alive today. I cannot believe the teen intended to beat this man to death. However, this isn’t even the question the law asks. The question is about Zimmerman’s intent. There was no clear way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman killed the boy out of spite, willfully, or intended to do so from the moment he left his vehicle. The fact he left his vehicle to pursue someone he considered a suspect is irrelevant. It shouldn’t be irrelevant, but the law makes it so.
I believe Zimmerman is responsible for wrongful death, and perhaps a civil case will exact some measure of justice against the man. As it stands he is free to live his life and free to pursue and kill again should he so chose. What scares me more is that anyone else who decides that a someone looks suspicious now has a green light to follow that person and defend themselves should their potential victim decide to fight back.
We can call it the Punisher rule, because being a vigilante is okay in some parts of our country.
Some Thoughts:
1. My 6 year old left his Kindle on the plane. I am trying to figure out a way to brick the device so whoever found it and decided to keep it won’t be able to use it.