The Failure of our Justice System

[Cane4Dems]

It just boggles my mind that the jury would come out and basically condone what Zimmerman did- defied police orders, followed a person by profiling (black kid + hoodie must be a criminal right?), shot him, and then was able to use stand your ground laws to protect himself

This case basically showed that anyone can follow a young "non-white" kid, confront them, shoot them, and then just claim self-defense

Didn't Trayvon Martin deserve the right to self-defense?

Last night truly was a disgrace and a slap in our faces- our justice system truly is broken. The jury should be ashamed of themselves (a jury that included mothers.....how can they support a cold-blooded killer)

“'Fucking punks. Those assholes, they always get away'.....that's how George Zimmerman described Trayvon
And yeah he is right about one thing- Fucking Assholes like Zimmerman continue to get away, committing crimes without any fear of suffering and consequences

I'm a 21 year old guy who went to Seminole High School, which is in Sanford, Fl- the city where Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman and where the case took place. I still have many friends who live in that area, and many of them are African-American. On facebook last night many of them discussed how this case shows that they too could be attacked by someone and killed....all while they aren't even doing anything wrong

Just imagine if the scenario had been reversed- a black guy shooting a white kid. We wouldn't even be talking about the case because the Black Guy would already be rotting in jail!

[russspeakeasy]

1. I hoped when I got into my 70's, I would lose my bitterness.

I have not. This travesty makes me physically ill and very angry.

[YarnAddict]

2. What the jury had to believe

It wasn't illegal to defy a suggestion (not an order) by a dispatcher (not a police officer.) Like it or not, it isn't illegal for a private citizen to profile. It isn't illegal to follow someone. Up to the point where there was a confrontation, no laws had been broken on either side.

Therefore, the whole case boiled down to what happened once the confrontation began. I have seen a lot of speculation here, that Z had his gun out, brandishing it at Trayvon. Or that Z laid his hands on Trayvon to try to detain him, and if that had happened, Z would clearly have been the aggressor, and Trayvon would have been defending himself to strike back. the trouble is, there is no evidence of any of that. The evidence presented to the jury made them believe that Trayvon attacked Z, and tht Trayvon was therefore the aggressor, the assailant, that Z was in fear for his life, and that Z had a right, under the law, to defend his own life by taking Trayvon's. Given the case that the state made, this was probably the only decision the jury could make.

Sadly.