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snowywolfowlBefore I begin to comment here on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case I feel I should perhaps make the following disclosures. First, I'm Canadian, so I really don't get a say in anything, least of all what laws Florida wants to make or how they wish to enforce and interpret them. Secondly, I am the uncle of three young American citizens that do live in Florida, so I certainly have a stake in Florida making the best possible choices here.
Lastly I'm sure there is no shortage of opinions on this. If you'd prefer not to have mine feel free to ignore. Otherwise my thoughts on this are behind the cut:
First off, I would like to start by offering my honest congratulations to Mr. Zimmerman on his acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. I will admit that while at the beginning of the incident I was hoping he'd be found guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison over the course of his trial my views on it have changed considerably, to the point where I truly and honestly am glad he was acquitted of the charges. It's also my hope that he is not subjected to any further legal action specifically regarding human or civil rights violations as I think those charges would only be politically motivated and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Now for those of you who follow this blog and are wondering if I have lost my mind please refer back to the title of the post. I did give fair warning that today is Backwards Day and that the fiery land deep under ground is covered in a glacier. I assure you however that this is not a joke post, or reverse psychology in action, or some poorly written attempt at sarcasm.
To repeat I am honestly glad George Zimmerman has been acquitted and will be able to walk freely throughout his neighbourhood armed with the same gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin. I'm glad not because I feel he was in anyway justified to kill Mr. Martin but because a conviction would have been the worst possible outcome. While a conviction would have sent him to jail it also would have led the media, the government, the legal profession and the main body of the public to say three very dangerous words, namely that "The System Worked". Instead by this acquittal the State of Florida, and indeed all of America, has to sit up and ask itself if "The System" is in fact working or if it is in fact dangerously broken.
In February 2012 a 17 year old teenager was shot and killed on the streets of Florida. This weekend a jury, after listening to the evidence presented, held that an adult man with no police training, acting outside of any police oversight, is allowed to chase and confront an unarmed minor on a public street at night, and if challenged, kill them with no legal repercussions. While I am sure it is no one's intention to empower child predators, vigilantes and armed robbers I cannot see how this verdict doesn't provide them with a plausible legal defense should they decide, for whatever reason, to kill their victim. Add in the fact that in a separate case a Florida woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband and Florida is not only a "Stand your Ground" state, it is now also a "If in Doubt, Shoot to Kill" state.
If that sounds very dystopian to anyone I doubt you are the only one. The good news however is that laws are not set in stone. They can be changed and should be changed as the society they are meant to regulate and govern changes. This means that now the decisions to be made are in the right place, namely the hands of the citizenry. If the people of Florida and America truly feel that being able to pull a gun on someone for anything that seems the slightest bit amiss is good, right and desirable, then so be it and God Bless. If instead they feel that this isn't quite what they had in mind and that perhaps lethal self-defense should truly only be used as a "last resort", then that's fine too.
To cap it off I would like to give some final best wishes to Mr. George Zimmerman on his future court dates. While I personally hope he doesn't see human or civil rights charges from the government I can't in good conscience deny Mr. Trayvon Martin's family their day in court with a wrongful death lawsuit. Considering Mr. Zimmerman had multiple opportunities to not chase, confront, and then kill an unarmed minor he may have more difficulties there and so I wish him good luck there as well.
I am sure he will need it, as will we all.
Lastly I'm sure there is no shortage of opinions on this. If you'd prefer not to have mine feel free to ignore. Otherwise my thoughts on this are behind the cut:
First off, I would like to start by offering my honest congratulations to Mr. Zimmerman on his acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. I will admit that while at the beginning of the incident I was hoping he'd be found guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison over the course of his trial my views on it have changed considerably, to the point where I truly and honestly am glad he was acquitted of the charges. It's also my hope that he is not subjected to any further legal action specifically regarding human or civil rights violations as I think those charges would only be politically motivated and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
Now for those of you who follow this blog and are wondering if I have lost my mind please refer back to the title of the post. I did give fair warning that today is Backwards Day and that the fiery land deep under ground is covered in a glacier. I assure you however that this is not a joke post, or reverse psychology in action, or some poorly written attempt at sarcasm.
To repeat I am honestly glad George Zimmerman has been acquitted and will be able to walk freely throughout his neighbourhood armed with the same gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin. I'm glad not because I feel he was in anyway justified to kill Mr. Martin but because a conviction would have been the worst possible outcome. While a conviction would have sent him to jail it also would have led the media, the government, the legal profession and the main body of the public to say three very dangerous words, namely that "The System Worked". Instead by this acquittal the State of Florida, and indeed all of America, has to sit up and ask itself if "The System" is in fact working or if it is in fact dangerously broken.
In February 2012 a 17 year old teenager was shot and killed on the streets of Florida. This weekend a jury, after listening to the evidence presented, held that an adult man with no police training, acting outside of any police oversight, is allowed to chase and confront an unarmed minor on a public street at night, and if challenged, kill them with no legal repercussions. While I am sure it is no one's intention to empower child predators, vigilantes and armed robbers I cannot see how this verdict doesn't provide them with a plausible legal defense should they decide, for whatever reason, to kill their victim. Add in the fact that in a separate case a Florida woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband and Florida is not only a "Stand your Ground" state, it is now also a "If in Doubt, Shoot to Kill" state.
If that sounds very dystopian to anyone I doubt you are the only one. The good news however is that laws are not set in stone. They can be changed and should be changed as the society they are meant to regulate and govern changes. This means that now the decisions to be made are in the right place, namely the hands of the citizenry. If the people of Florida and America truly feel that being able to pull a gun on someone for anything that seems the slightest bit amiss is good, right and desirable, then so be it and God Bless. If instead they feel that this isn't quite what they had in mind and that perhaps lethal self-defense should truly only be used as a "last resort", then that's fine too.
To cap it off I would like to give some final best wishes to Mr. George Zimmerman on his future court dates. While I personally hope he doesn't see human or civil rights charges from the government I can't in good conscience deny Mr. Trayvon Martin's family their day in court with a wrongful death lawsuit. Considering Mr. Zimmerman had multiple opportunities to not chase, confront, and then kill an unarmed minor he may have more difficulties there and so I wish him good luck there as well.
I am sure he will need it, as will we all.
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no subject
Date: 2013-07-17 10:13 am (UTC)And regardless of the outcome of the trial and future trials, Zimmerman is not a free man. He will never feel comfortable walking the streets again. The price he will pay for taking the law into his own hands is living in fear that someone else will do the same.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-17 01:33 pm (UTC)It would be nice if the broken system would change, but I'm not holding my breath. Lots of things are broken right now and it's frankly discouraging.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-17 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-17 11:38 pm (UTC)All I know if I were working in law enforcement or criminal justice down there I'd be taking a lot of Advil. Now that there is a precedent for killing someone after chasing them you are going to have more people discharging firearms for less provocation, more people killed in crossfires that had nothing to do with the actual conflict, and probably even some criminals using this as a get out of jail card. As a kid I was taught to fight back if someone tried to grab me and all the women's self defence courses I've heard of teach being willing to hit an attacker with anything at hand.. How is that a viable strategy if an abductor could just shoot the person if it doesn't go well. If there are no witnesses to the shooting, you've got reasonable doubt.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-17 11:54 pm (UTC)I guess in a cruel way for George Zimmerman the zombie apocalypse really has arrived. Unfortunately for the rest of us we all get to play the zombies.
no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 01:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-07-18 02:56 am (UTC)