General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Emptywheel: Zimmerman affidavit is shit. [View all]DemocratSinceBirth
(101,853 posts)First they said he would never be arrested. Now they are saying he will never be convicted. After he is convicted they will be saying he will never be given a long sentence.
I lived two miles or so from where the incident happened from 1998 -2011. I have lived within fifty miles of Twin Lakes nearly all my life. That area is in my DNA. I know some of the actors in this tragedy but not Mr. Zimmerman. If anybody else would have been in George Zimmerman's shoes that evening they would have certainly been charged with a capitol offense, the Stand Your Ground law notwithstanding.
I don't think George Zimmerman was some latter day Joseph Paul Franklin but he did harbor suspicion of young black males. This suspicion and his penchant for guns and psuedo-police work cost Trayvon Martin his life and him his liberty.
The ironic thing is if Norm Wolfinger, the State Attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court Of Florida. embraced the recommendation of the lead investigator on the case that Zimmerman be charged with a capitol offense this issue would never have been racialized.
Lots of elements in this case; profiling, another moron with a gun, shoddy police work, and subtle racism.