Posted on 07/04/2013 11:33:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
I started this article over a year ago, when the wounds of Trayvon Martin’s death were still fresh. I never finished it, in part, because the emotions were still so raw. There hadn’t been enough time to process what had happened to that young man who only wanted to get back home with his Skittles & tea and watch basketball, only rage and disgust. Then there was the feeling that nagged me, a sense that Trayvon Martin’s killer might get off. The rage and disgust are gone–not gone, never gone–subsided; but I still can’t shake that feeling.
Keeping up with the case, as presented so far, the prosecution has done a fine job of establishing many of the facts, but a number of the prosecution’s witnesses have played into the hands of the defense. Some of the testimony has bolstered their claims that, at the moment of the shooting, it was the killer who felt his life was in danger, that regardless to what happened prior to the shooting, the killer thought he needed to kill in order to survive.
Whether that’s true or not doesn’t matter. What matters is what the twelve jurors believe to be true. And if we’ve learned anything after the Rodney King, OJ Simpson, Casey Anthony, and so many other trials of the recent past, juries are a tricky thing. You can, like me, listen to all of the testimony, but we’re not sitting in that jury box watching through their eyes, thinking with their minds, feeling with their hearts. Their job is not to determine whether the killing of Trayvon Martin was right or wrong, just or unjust. Their job is to determine whether the defendant abided by Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. Did Trayvon Martin’s killer “reasonably believe… …it [was] necessary to [‘stand his... ...ground and meet force with force, including deadly force’] to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony?” Was he within the law?
I don’t think that question is an easy one to answer for any jury, so much so that I would not be surprised by a hung jury, and I certainly wouldn’t be shocked at an acquittal. Trayvon did put up a fight, the same way I taught my children to if they were ever accosted by some creep that could have easily been a pedophile. I’d go so far as to say that Trayvon would have whipped his assailant’s ass, were it not for the gun.
So, what would that mean? Would we see rioting in the streets, again, if Trayvon’s killer is found “not guilty”? I hope not. I hope people could look past the apparent miscarriage of justice and understand that a verdict of “not guilty” is the only way to change how things are done in Florida, not to mention other states with similarly barbaric statutes.
Don’t get me wrong. Trayvon Martin deserves justice. His death is nothing less than murder, plain and simple. But too many states have essentially legalized murder with laws that allow anyone to kill anyone else on the pretext that they fear for their life. MMA training or not, there is nothing fiercer than a teenager who’s afraid for his well-being. I would have been afraid. I wouldn’t have been carrying a gun, though. A verdict of “guilty” will put the killer in jail for a bit, but it will also justify the law. Florida can say, “See, the law works.” Nothing changes, until the next poor, unsuspecting victim falls prey to an overzealous vigilante with deluded aspirations of grandeur.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Which outcome would be best for everyone?” Travon Martin is already a martyr. No verdict will bring back all that lost life and potential. Trayvon’s legacy will be measured in how his tragic death affects this country and its laws. While I would love to see Trayvon’s killer locked away for what he did, moving this country in a more humane direction would be the bigger prize. A verdict of “not guilty” may not accomplish that, but I think it’s the only chance. Brace yourselves.
young man who only wanted to get back home with his Skittles & tea and watch basketball,
So the author is a psychic? He knows what was in Martin’s mind that evening?
George Zimmerman’s Black Ancestry is Revealed
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2876811/posts
George Zimmerman: the black, Hispanic, Peruvian, kind-hearted non-white, not-racist poster boy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2876692/posts
George Zimmerman Has ‘Black Roots’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2876518/posts
That is exactly the point: his reality IS fantasy. What a first class maroon.
THAT needs to be on EVERY thread....EVERY DAMN THREAD!!
How about only six (6) jurors in this case all females
Fernando Quijano III’s Summary
OBJECTIVE
I am seeking a position where I can best utilize the various skills I’ve developed over the years as a writer, artist and sales manager to better serve the public.
QUALIFICATIONS
My unique background in Professional Writing, Fine Arts and Retail Sales Management makes me ideal for any position requiring a knowledgeable, literate people-person. My ability to approach a situation from diverse perspectives makes me an excellent problem solver. My work in the community has instilled in me a strong desire to work for the best interests of the public. I am also naturally fluent in Spanish, and I have a strong computer background with working knowledge of programming and system design concepts, including some HTML, and various software applications, including but not limited to MS Word and Adobe Photoshop.
Specialties
art, basic, bookkeeping, customer service, data entry, driving, fashion, marketing, merchandising, microsoft office, networking, organizational skills, payroll processing, photography, promotional materials, sales, scheduling, telephone skills, workshops, writing,
Fernando Quijano III’s Experience
President
Maryland Writers’ Association, Baltimore Chapter
Writing and Editing industry
July 2012 – Present (1 year 1 month) Baltimore, Maryland Area
Op-ed Columnist
The Urban Twist
February 2010 – Present (3 years 6 months)
I write “From the Bottom Up,” an op-ed column that appears regularly on The Urban Twist
Workshop Instructor
Writing Outside the Fence
May 2009 – Present (4 years 3 months)
Writing Outside the Fence
I lead writing workshops for the ex-offender community in Baltimore helping them develop writing skills and develop techniques from basic to advanced within a variety of genres.
Vice President
Maryland Writers Association
Writing and Editing industry
July 2010 – June 2012 (2 years)
As Vice President of the MWA I proposed a program to offer free memberships for one year to participants of Writing Outside the Fence and the writing workshops at the Brock Bridge Correctional Facility. This program, once passed, has successfully expanded the organizations outreach into the community.
Manager
ABC Phones
October 2009 – January 2010 (4 months)
I was hired as a sales executive, but I was promoted to Acting Manager within five weeks of my original hire. I currently manage a crew of three.
Manager, Swatch
I managed a crew which varied from three to seven employees depending on season. I was responsible for sales, marketing, local promotion, training, payroll, bookkeeping, and customer service.
Deputy Field Organizer
Campaign for Change
Nonprofit; 1001-5000 employees; Political Organization industry
September 2009 – November 2009 (3 months)
I volunteered to travel to Manassas, Virginia to work for Barack Obama’ election campaign. I helped to organize voter registration drives, phone banks, and door-to-door canvassing. I trained volunteers at all levels of the campaign. I also set up a system for local donations, and helped to set up the campaign office’s wireless network.
It wasn’t skittle and TEA, it was Arizona Watermelon drink, an element of a popular DRUG call “Purple Drank.”
They aren’t able to grasp that no one has a right to just walk up and smack anyone who seems to insult their imaginary sense of manhood.
Poor wittle Twayvon had more than enough time to get from the 7-11 store to the place he was staying, before Zimmerman even got involved. Why didn't he? Even after the encounter started, poor wittle Twayvon again had enough time to get to his destination. Why didn't he? Poor wittle Twayvon didn't need to be sneaking around the neighborhood looking into peoples' windows. Why did he? If poor wittle Twayvon was worried about someone following him, he could have called the cops. Why didn't he?
The answer is simple-he was a thug who was up to no good, and a fight with a white guy was exactly what he was looking for.
If you are 28 or so years old, and you don’t know exactly where a teenager disappeared to in the dark, what are your chances of preventing him from going to his father’s (girlfriend’s) house if that is where that teen is going? Bupkis. If you listen to the non-emergency call, you know Zimmerman was eager for the police to arrive, and not at all desirous of confronting Martin. In fact, if you believe the lovely and gracious Rachel - not that I do - Martin was at his father’s place, and went back. More of a homing torpedo than an undirected “asteroid."And even aside from that, how precisely was Zimmerman reduced to firing his pistol (when he knew that the cops had been dispatched to his location and could arrive at any time and would certainly take him to the station and interrogate him - and keep the pistol - if he did)? Zimmerman’s account matches up with the forensic evidence, the time line, and the independent testimony of John Goode. The prosecution story, to the extent that it differs from Zimmerman’s, doesn’t match up particularly well with much of anything.
The prosecution is about to rest, and I question whether the defense will trouble to move that the case be thrown out for lack of evidence. Instead I expect the defense to run directly at Attorney Crump and his “Dee Dee” scam. Either “Dee Dee” is a composite character, or Rachel isn’t Dee Dee, or Dee Dee isn’t who Crump said she was when he used “Dee Dee” to prevent this case from being dropped for sheer lack of credible reason to disbelieve Zimmerman. Let alone any way to disprove his account “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
I can hear DeeDee or whoever he was talking to on the phone just egging him on:
“C’mon nigga, be a man. Go back and whip that crackahs ass”.
I firmly believe she egged him on to prove his manhood and enhance his street cred.
St. Skittles then did exactly that, which as we all know, turned out to be one of his less than stellar decisions.
That's just plain scary.......I think Hitler had the same belief and unfortunately the power to act on that belief.
I wouldn't doubt that's exactly what happened, but I don't think she had to try too hard to persuade him.
Only the NSA knows for sure.
I couldn’t get past the dribble of the first paragraph.
The author apparently believes he’s entitled to his own facts.
I stopped reading at “12 jurors.”
This idiot is so uninformed about this case that he doesn’t even know there are only 6 jurors involved, and yet he feels the need to preach to us about it as if he has some superior insight.
I have one thing to say:
Dear Lord Above,
May this man meet and ‘converse’ with those who like ‘St. Trayvon’ only wanted to ‘meet and greet’ in the dark of the cold rainy night. And may he experience the same things George Zimmerman experienced on that cold rainy night in Sanford Florida.
Amen
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