The article “Zimmerman Is Aquitted in Trayvon Martin Killing” offers insight to the events leading up to the death of Trayvon Martin and questions if George Zimmerman was indeed guilty of second degree manslaughter. His lawyer, Mark O 'Mara, believes that the reason why this case had gone to court was due to Martin being black and Zimmerman being white. This leads us to question the reason why Martin was shot in the first place. According to O 'Mara, “George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except firing the gun in self-defense.” Serving on the local neighborhood watch, Zimmerman felt it was his responsibility to protect his neighborhood from crime. The night of the incident, he called in the suspicion to the local authorities who did not authorize him to persue Martin. The events following his disreguard to this request are of debate, but the cuts found on Zimmerman 's head are proof that there was a struggle between the two; according to testimony Zimmerman claims that he was attacked by Martin who then bashed his head into the sidewalk. The lethal wound received by Martin was also considered in the verdict due to it being at an angle only capable if Martin had been leaning over Zimmerman. Although many speculate that that racial profiling was a key component of this investigation, the jury sided with Mr. Zimmerman and after being on trial for 16 months, he was released from custody following the hearing. The non criminal homicide of Martin by Zimmerman
Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a 17 year old African American from Miami Gardens, Florida. He was badly shot by George Zimmerman; a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman called 911 to report that there was “suspicious person” walking through the neighborhood. He was told to not do anything, but he did anyway. As he approached Martin, he attacked him and shot him straight to the heart. According to CNN, “Zimmerman acknowledges that he shot Martin, claiming it was in self-defense.” (“Trayvon Martin Shooting Fast Facts”). When the case was taken to court George Zimmerman was found not guilty even after he
On February 26, 2012, an African-American teen, Trayvon Martin, was fatally shot by a neighborhood watchmen, George Zimmerman. Zimmerman assumed that Martin looked suspicious then he called the police after being told not to pursue Martin he continues to and the situation ended in a tragedy. The case gained national attention and stirred up many protests around the U.S. All the facts proved that Zimmerman was guilty of wrongfully killing Martin and Martin was not an actual threat just a black man wearing a hoody. After a year, George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin. Once again, the justice system failed African American people. This case proved although there was a Black man in the highest position in the U.S., the justice system was still broken. Across the states riots broke out and protest and the president had to address the issue. President Obama gave an unscheduled speech addressing the issue. The president
During the 1960 Civil Rights Movement, demonstrators were brutalized and killed, sometimes at the hands of law officers, whereas many slayings remain unsolved. “In some cases where local authorities failed to go after the attackers, or all-white juries refused to convict, the federal government moved in with civil rights charges.” Fifty-Two (52) years later in 2012 a murder of young unarmed African American teen Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman from Sanford, Florida, was found not guilty of second-degree murder and acquitted of manslaughter. The verdict sparked a heartfelt online message regarding the decision, which stated “essentially a love note to black people” which ended with “Black people. I love you.
On the night of his death, February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was in Sanford, Florida on a visit to his father's fiancee and her son at The Retreat at Twin Lakes. As Zimmerman noticed him he called the police non-emergency number to report a suspicious person in community, describing Martin as a very suspicious guy reporting that he had his hand in waistband and was walking around looking at homes. Also, Zimmerman is quoted saying that “he is just walking around looking about in the rain”, and “This guy looks like he is up to no good or he is on drugs or something”(Wikipedia). Although the way he described him led to think of what view Zimmerman had of innocent, unarmed Trayvon who seemed like any other teenager walking about on the way
Martin, while staying with his father and stepmother, walked to the local 7-11 for snacks, famously depicted in social media as Skittles and Arizona Ice Tea. On his journey back, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whose hoodie was up; Zimmerman then called the police to consult law enforcement officers on how to approach the “suspicious” character. The Sanford Police advised against confrontation, but Zimmerman took matters into his own hands, and proceeded to pursue Martin, fire his weapon, and kill the seventeen-year-old (“Trayvon Martin”). Martin was declared dead when the police arrived at the scene, where Zimmerman stood with the act as self-defense (“The Trayvon Martin Case”). This case was very controversial in that Martin was fired upon without any real threat towards Zimmerman, leading to accusations of racial profiling of black youths. To make matters worse, Zimmerman was found not guilty, due to lack of sufficient evidence, and acquitted of the second-degree murder charges (“Trayvon Martin”). This caused major unrest throughout the nation, sparking outrage and protests among many African Americans and equal rights advocates, alike. Critics of Zimmerman not only call foul on
One night in a Florida gated community a young man named Trayvon Martin, was walking down the streets of a mostly white community, stopped by George Zimmerman who was a neighborhood watch resident.Mr. Martin was stopped for being “suspicious” and “up to no good” according to Mr.Zimmerman. Trayvon was fatally shot by Mr. Zimmerman out of “self defense”. Really “Self defense” he was carrying a bag of skittles and a Arizona Tea. This young man was nothing but harmless but was victimed for being African-American.George Zimmerman would rather later stand trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin was found not guilty,until April 2012 he was found guilty of second degree murder.Although there are positives and negatives of this argument, the Black Lives
Just for wearing a hoodie, carrying an Arizona Tea and for being black he was shot and killed. In the book “Deadly Injustice: Travyon Martin, Race, and the Criminal Justice System“ the authors go on to discuss what happened that night and in the trial that preceded. It also helped me deliberate with how certain deaths are portrayed online. This being one of the biggest cases to hit the news and was brought to almost everyone in the United States attention, even the President at the time made a statement about what had happened to this young man. Social media spreaded this article like a wildfire and soon everyone knew what had happened that night in Florida. One of the main reasons why it was difficult to convict Zimmerman of this crime was because of the “Stand your ground” law After this the tension between black males and police officers rose to an even higher extent. African Americans often feel as if they are treated by police unfairly and with situations like this happening it help supported how they felt. Additionally with cases like in Ferguson and what happened in Lousivelle when four innocent teens were accused of robbing a woman with a weapon where they were later found not guilty of the
The shooting of Trayvon Martin is one of the most controversial incidents of the decade. Trayvon Martin was a young African American teen fallen victim to the evil of racial discrimination. One evening while walking home Trayvon was shot by a hispanic man named George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was on neighborhood patrol on a rainy day in Florida, and he noticed a black male walking through the neighborhood. He immediately jumped to conclusions and called the police who told him to leave the man walking alone because there was no need to follow him anyway, but Zimmerman did not listen. He confronted the young black male and after a little altercation Zimmerman shot the boy in an act of “self defense”. Zimmerman killed someone because of a profile created based on the color of someone's skin. Now besides the fact that a young boy was killed due to racial profiling, what’s even worse is the
George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, was driving to Target to run a errand on the night of February 26, 2012 when he observed a suspicious person, leisurely walking in the rain, looking at all the houses, wearing a grey hoodie as he would tell dispatch in his 911 call made at 7:09 p.m. Moments later an altercation occurred between Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin, which left Trayvon dead from a single gunshot wound to his chest and Zimmerman with a bloody nose and a cut to the back of his head. Zimmerman asserted that the shooting was done in self-defense because he thought Trayvon was reaching for his ( Zimmerman’s ) concealed gun and he feared for his life. Eye witness accounts of the event backed his claim that Trayvon was hitting him, but Rachel Jeantel, who had been on the phone with Trayvon,
This paper will be covering the controversial case of the shooting of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman. This was a polarizing trial for it pitted gun rights activists against gun-control activists and people who were generally against the new gun rhetoric that is in Florida. George Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch for the gated community and would always do his job diligently. However, one night he witnessed someone in a grey hoodie walking on the sidewalk wearing a hoodie. Zimmerman thought this person was suspicious and continued to follow him. After Zimmerman called in that he was following this individual, he was told not to leave his vehicle. Instead, he followed the person into who knows where and the rest of the story is up for debate. The defense team stated that Trayvon had jumped out of the bushes and begun to attack Zimmerman violently to the point where he felt that his life was in danger. The prosecution believed that Zimmerman had initiated a fight with Trayvon and he was at the mercy of Zimmerman at gunpoint for a significant amount of time.
The issue that is the subject of my debate paper is the George Zimmerman trial. George Zimmerman, 28 years old at the time, shot and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch patrolman and Martin was visiting his father who lived in the gated community where the shooting occurred. Zimmerman called the non-emergency number to report a suspicious male walking in the neighborhood. He was told by the non-emergency dispatcher the police were on the way and to not follow the individual. The police arrived on the
On February 26,2012, a 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed. He was killed at 7:16 PM at the Twin Lakes, in Sanford Florida, while Trayvon Martin was returning from a local store, where he bought an Arizona ice tea, and skittles. A 28 year old hispanic man name George Zimmerman spotted Trayvon Martin, who he thought acted suspiciously. Moments later, there were an altercation between the two individuals, which resulted in Trayon being shot. The most important question is, why was Trayvon Martin killed? This is an unjustified murder. This murder is unjustified because, Trayvon Martin was ttrying to defend himself, Zimmerman was watching the neighbor hood and spotted Trayvon, who he thought arousing suspicion, and Zimmerman thought he had to shoot Trayvon. Zimmerman was false for shooting him.
Trayvon Martin lost his life on Sunday February 26, 2012 due to a gunshot to his chest shot by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida while walking back home from buying an Arizona and skittles from 7-11 at 6:34 pm. George Zimmerman spotted Trayvon walking through his neighborhood and found him suspicious and decided to call the Sanford police at 7:09PM. When he called the police he told them he found him suspicious, “I’ve never seen him in the neighborhood. I know all the residents. It was raining out and he was leisurely walking, taking his time, looking at all the houses.” (Linder, 2014). Police were immediately sent to his location but suddenly Zimmerman stated that Tyron had begun to run away and Zimmerman began to go after him. The dispatcher told him not to go after him and instead to meet the officers, “The dispatcher suggested that Zimmerman meet the arriving officers near the mailboxes.” (Linder, 2014) and he agreed to. Zimmerman later stated that when he was walking back to his car Tyron came at him asking what his problem was and he replied back saying he had no problem and Tyron then punched him in the nose after stating he had a problem now. The punch was what knocked him to the grass and Trayvon continued to punch him while Zimmerman kept screaming for help, “I started screaming for help. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe.” (Linder, 2014). Tyron had been talking on the phone with a friend, Rachel Jeantel,
Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old boy that lived in Florida. He lived with his mother and often visited his father. While he had undergone some troubles, he overall was not a terrible kid. Although he was notably young and minded his own business, others did not. On February 26, 2012, the young boy’s life was taken away from him. The man who killed him was George Michael Zimmerman. He served as a neighborhood watch captain around the area where his old man lived. CNN stated that all he had was skittles and tea in his hand. Now tell me does that seem threatening to you? According to Zimmerman, he was claiming “self-defense” and that Trayvon was “a suspicious person.” Florida law states that one is granted the “stand your ground” law and that is what Zimmerman claimed to do in an act of defense. Zimmerman was arrested, but he was not charged or convicted of Martin’s murder even though people know that Zimmerman killed him for absolutely no actual cause.
The State of Florida v. George Zimmerman was a criminal prosecution of George Zimmerman on the charge of second-degree murder stemming from the shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. This case has been regarded as one of the most controversial in a long time, sparking riots and new movements along with an opening of greater conversations about this country’s gun laws, legal system and racial profiling.