Trayvon Martin Research Paper

February 26,2012 on a rainy day Trayvon Martin was returning to his father's girlfriend's house in Sanford, Florida, after he went to the local 7-Eleven. He brought a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea for his little brother. As he walked home, the unarmed 17-year-old was on the cell phone with his female friend. Trayvon was spotted by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch, who was patrolling the gated community, at the Retreat at Twin Lakes, in his vehicle. Zimmerman called 911 to report what he described as Martin a “suspicious person”, telling the operator he looked like he was "up to no good, on drugs or something". Zimmerman was warned by the operator not to follow the teenager. But he did, getting out of his vehicle and taking

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

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,

Orenthal James Simpson, as known as O.J. O.J. was accused of robbing his own memorabilia back in a Las Vegas hotel room on the night of September 13, 2007. O.J. along with a group of men were accused of breaking into the hotel room. O.J. is a retired American Football player also known for being acquitted for the murders of his Ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and friend Ron Goldman back in 1995. (2007-2008 State of Nevada v. Orenthal James Simpson)

17 year old african american boy Trayvon Martin was going into a 7 Eleven to get a snack before he flew back home. He walked out of the store and was being stalked by a strange man who turned out to be a volunteer cop. The cop had then told the station that there was suspicious juvenile. The police said not to pursue but he did anyways. He then shot Trayvon in the chest instantly killing him. This was not the only occasion that a police officer beat up an african american for no reason at all. Police brutality towards african americans in america needs to end. Excessive police brutality towards african americans is an issue/ongoing problem that needs to be addressed because it is unjust. Readers can expect to learn the cause and reason why this happens.

On February 26, 2012 a 17 year old black teen was wondering around a neighborhood in Sanford, Florida wearing a hood over his head was gunned down and killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. The evening of February 26, Martin was heading back to his father’s townhouse from a convenient store when Martin decided to cut through a neighborhood that had been riddled with multiple robberies that year. Zimmerman saw Martin with his hood over his head and Zimmerman decided to contact the Sanford Police Department on account of suspicious behavior. However, before the police were able to arrive on scene an altercation occurred between Zimmerman and Martin which resulted in Martin being shot in the chest where he died on the scene.

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,

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 murder case of Nicole Brown Simpson was and still is one of the most famous cases ever known. OJ simpson was a former NFL star and actor. He has pretty much been famous all of his life. When his ex-wife and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were found murdered outside of Nicole’s house on June 12, 1994, OJ was the prime suspect. OJ was charged with the murders, but after almost nine months of trials, he was found not guilty. The trial of OJ Simpson may have found him not guilty, but many believe that he, in fact, was guilty.

This case gave me an insight on things I never expected to be true I never knew a person could get away with murder/manslaughter. This case was greatly affected by race. George Zimmerman saw a young black man going home and for some reason thought he was a threat he probably sterotyped Trayvon, the moment he saw him. There was no reason to pull a gun Zimmerman was much bigger than Trayvon if there was a scuffle. Also since Zimmerman was never charged he has gone on to hurt other people such. George Zimmerman has anger issues and should have had more extensive screening. This has been proven by the following incidents:

I remember the day that George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the murder of Trayvon Martin. I also remember watching every day of the trial on television. During the trial there was more attention focused on Trayvon’s friend and her improper use of English, the meaning of his Facebook pictures and how they portrayed him as a thug, and other issues that took the focus off of the crime. Trayvon’s friend, who was on the phone with him during the time of his murder lacked credibility during her testimony, and it was obvious that the legal defense team did not properly prepare her to speak in front of a judge and jury. These things angered me as I watched like so many Americans, but when the verdict was read and George Zimmerman was found not

The notorious case of George Zimmerman, a Florida man who shot and killed Trayvon Martin ignited a national debate surrounding The Stand Your Ground law. On February 26, 2012, Martin was returning from a nearby convenience store when he was shot and killed. Zimmerman claimed he was being physically attacked by the unarmed teenager, causing him to fire in self-defense. Various people have been led to believe the misconception that this law had nothing to do with Zimmerman’s acquittal for the killing of Trayvon Martin. Police Chief Bill Lee stated that the decision not to arrest Zimmerman "had nothing to do with Florida 's controversial 'Stand Your Ground ' law" because "from an investigative standpoint, it was purely a matter of self-defense." The New York Times also believed “Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law… has not been