I've been thinking about this Trayvon Martin case....At first I obviously went with my mommy emotional instinct. A seventeen year old boy, unarmed and walking home, when he is suddenly followed and eventually shot. My heart broke for this family. It seemed so senseless...who would want to hurt a teenage boy? The thing that
really got to me was why would Zimmerman follow this boy after being told not to? In my eyes, Zimmerman was clearly the instigator.
Then I began to do some research and I found some interesting facts.
* George Zimmerman is far from a racist. As a matter of fact, on Dec 4th, 2010 there was an incident involving the son of a Sanford police officer. Sherman Ware, a black homeless man was beaten to a bloody pulp by the police officers white son. It sparked outrage in the community but no one in the black community was willing to step up. GEORGE ZIMMERMAN organized a town hall meeting. He stood up for the minorities in his community. He wasn't getting paid. He was doing what he thought was right. George Zimmerman may be many things but a racist, he is not.
* George Zimmerman was a criminal justice student. He was studying to become a police officer. I see how this could work against him in some ways...I myself have called him a wanna be cop. However, he was a neighborhood watch volunteer. He was an active member of his community. He wanted to keep his neighbors safe.
Both Trayvon and George have some bumps in their past.
Zimmerman;
Zimmerman was accused of domestic violence. His fiance, at the time, filed a restraining order against him and he, in turn, filed one against her. There were no charges filed and they agreed to stay away from each other.
Zimmerman was also charged with "resisting arrest with violence" and "battery of a law enforcement officer", both third degree Felonies. However, the charges were reduced to "resisting arrest without violence"
Martin;
The defense team released photos and text messages from Trayvon Martin's cell phone. In the photos, Trayvon as shown as more of a
'thug'. The text messages told of a boy that had problems. Yes, he smoked pot. But that will not make a difference, in my opinion. What does stand out in my mind is that it became
very clear that Trayvon was not afraid of confrontation. In fact, it seemed he was more like the kind of kid that went out looking for fights. I am including a link below in which you can read more about what was found on Trayvon's phone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/trayvon-martin-text-messages-photos_n_3345629.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/us/zimmermans-lawyers-release-text-messages-of-trayvon-martin.html?_r=0
It seems as though both Zimmerman and Trayvon had some history of violence. This, however, will not be admissible in court. The character of the defendant should not have an impact on the finding of guilt in a criminal case. But Zimmerman is claiming that he shot Trayvon Martin in self defense. Obviously, they got into a physical altercation. So, did Zimmerman punch Trayvon first? Photos taken after the incident show that Zimmerman had no marks to his hands, indicating that he had not hit anyone. His face and the back of his head, however, were bloody and tended to by paramedics. Below are photos of Zimmerman's face and the back of his head
These injuries seem consistent with his story that Trayvon threw him to the ground, punched his face and slammed the back of his head into the ground. The medical examiner found no injuries to Trayvon Martin except for the fetal gunshot wound. This leads me to believe that Zimmerman was not able to get a punch in. A witness claims to have walked by and seen the two men fighting. Zimmerman claims that he screamed to him to please help. The screams for help can be heard on this 911 call. You can hear it by clicking the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxJieDtLo0
Obviously there is a lot more to this case then meets the eye. But I now believe that it is
very possible that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman first. Did he deserve to die? No way...he was a boy. A boy that believed that violence was okay. Yes, Zimmerman should never have followed him. But I cant help but feel for George Zimmerman. I do not believe that he was out to kill a black kid that night. He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. He should not have followed Trayvon. But the chances that Trayvon attacked him first are not slim.
This is a terrible tragedy. A young life lost. But we need to teach our children that if they are being followed by an adult, they need to CALL A PARENT OR THE POLICE. Not take matters into their own hands. I do not believe that Zimmerman was out to kill Trayvon Martin that night. Trayvon had a history of violence and fighting. Violence gets us nowhere. My heart goes out to all of the parties involved in this tragic case. I am going into this case with an open mind. A teenager lost his life. And if Zimmerman is found guilty, then he will pay for his mistake. But I believe that this case could go either way.
