14 July 2013
Trayvon Martin Verdict
When the jury in Seminole County found that George Zimmerman was not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin last year while on patrol of the gated community of Sanford, Florida, it made the right decision. The tragic death of a hapless black teenager in his own neighborhood was the inevitable result of the combination of Florida’s unwise “stand-your-ground” statute and the reckless nature of that community’s security measures. Together they made it possible to arm a man of poor judgment and entrust him with the inviolability of the community’s boundaries under the protection of a super-self-defense law that encourages short-tempered reactions to physical attack.
The state of Florida and Sanford ought to have been on trial for Trayvon Martin’s death. George Zimmerman was put in an impossible situation with which he was not qualified to deal. Indeed Mr. Martin’s death was unjustified, but it was correct not to have held Mr. Zimmerman responsible.
When the jury in Seminole County found that George Zimmerman was not guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin last year while on patrol of the gated community of Sanford, Florida, it made the right decision. The tragic death of a hapless black teenager in his own neighborhood was the inevitable result of the combination of Florida’s unwise “stand-your-ground” statute and the reckless nature of that community’s security measures. Together they made it possible to arm a man of poor judgment and entrust him with the inviolability of the community’s boundaries under the protection of a super-self-defense law that encourages short-tempered reactions to physical attack.
The state of Florida and Sanford ought to have been on trial for Trayvon Martin’s death. George Zimmerman was put in an impossible situation with which he was not qualified to deal. Indeed Mr. Martin’s death was unjustified, but it was correct not to have held Mr. Zimmerman responsible.
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