Our Constitution makes it clear that people of all races must be treated equally under the law. Yet we know that our society has not fully achieved that ideal. Racial prejudice is a reality in America. It hurts black in disproportionate numbers. As a nation, as a government, as individuals, we must be vigilant in responding to prejudice wherever we find it we should not be satisfied with verdict. The outcome of this case show that 58 years removed for Emmett Till a black male youth can still be lynched without any Justice. The US DOJ should be ashamed of its inability to enforce the laws, it is clear the George Zimmerman violated Trayvon Martin civil rights by profiling him from the beginning, then Criminally stalk this child not to mention the number of state laws Mr. Zimmerman violated. It is clear that the states drop the ball in this case. The verdict has made it clear that Florida’s self-defense law does not protect the rights of the victim, unless the victim is white as evident in a report released by the Tampa Bay Times “Defendants claiming "stand your ground" are more likely to prevail if the victim is black. Seventy-three percent of those who killed a black person faced no penalty compared to 39 percent of those who killed a white.” Florida Statute 776.013. It says a person "has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground' if he or she thinks deadly force is necessary to prevent death, great bodily harm or commission of a forcible felony like robbery. The law only requires law enforcement and the justice system to ask three questions in self-defense cases: Did the defendant have the right to be there? Was he engaged in a lawful activity? Could he reasonably have been in fear of death or great bodily harm? So the 3 questions that resonate are did 1.Trayvon Martin have a right to be there (yes) 2. was he engaged in a lawful activity? (Yes) 3. could Trayvon have been in fear of his life (yes) so what happen to Trayvon Martin’s rights to stand his ground. If Trayvon struck George Zimmerman first based upon the Florida law he had a right too, Mr. Zimmerman followed this child for a period of time, putting him in fear of his life Trayvon did not know who Zimmerman was all he knew was that a man was following him. We as a race of people especially males must now conform to a new rule of life that when approached by a White, Hispanic or Asian men we must comply with being the usual suspect, we already live by rules that no other race are subjected too. I am invisible. Misunderstood, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or fragments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me. (p. 8) —Ralph Ellison (1952)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 05:27:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015