Law v. justice
In our legal system a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. But if you’re a young black male, you have a good chance of being considered guilty until proven otherwise. Trayvon Martin didn’t even get the chance to try to prove his innocence. George Zimmerman served as policeman, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. Martin is dead, and Zimmerman is a free man.
Given the facts of the case, Florida law and the absence of eyewitnesses to the altercation between Martin and Zimmerman, the legal case against Zimmerman was never strong, and the prosecution appears to have overreached: it should have sought a conviction on manslaughter rather than second-degree murder.
Jurors said they wrestled hard with the case but had reasonable doubt as to whether Zimmerman was guilty of second-degree murder given Florida’s stand your ground (SYG) law, which states that a person may justifiably use force in self-defense.
