{"id":17411,"date":"2013-07-09T10:15:30","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T17:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=17411"},"modified":"2013-07-10T08:40:23","modified_gmt":"2013-07-10T15:40:23","slug":"some-thoughts-on-the-george-zimmerman-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=17411","title":{"rendered":"Some Thoughts On The George Zimmerman Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I think it’s important that George Zimmerman has had a trial.<\/p>\n

I don’t know if George Zimmerman is guilty of murder under Florida’s laws or not. That’s partly a subjective determination which can only properly be made by a judge or jury. Martin’s death was not so clear-cut that a cop or prosecutor ought to have decided that Zimmerman should face no consequences. In our system, that decision is, and should be, made in a courtroom.<\/p>\n

Given the US’s historic and ongoing racism, I think it’s reasonable to particularly fear such decisions being made by cops or prosecutors in cases where the person killed was a young black boy. It is reasonable to wonder, when a clearly innocent, unarmed, black kid is shot to death and the police decide no charges are needed, if the same decision would have been reached if the body were white.<\/p>\n

That all remains true if Zimmerman is found “not guilty,” which strikes me as the most likely outcome (and one I’d probably vote for myself, if I were on the jury). From the progressive, anti-racist point of view, victory doesn’t require a guilty verdict. Even in a hypothetical perfectly non-racist system, injustice would still happen, and sometimes people would get away with murder. This is because our justice system, when it’s working properly, is and should be biased in favor of the dependent<\/del> defendant.<\/p>\n

I don’t blame people for being unhappy with Zimmerman being found not guilty (if he is found not guilty), or for correctly seeing it as part of a pattern<\/a> in which black lives are taken less seriously by our justice system. But I also think that, given the facts of this case, it wouldn’t require racial bias for the jury to find that Zimmerman acted in self-defense.<\/p>\n

Russell Simmons<\/a> writes:<\/p>\n

Even with this important day coming soon, I remind myself that we have already accomplished a tremendous amount in the memory of Trayvon. All we ever asked for was for equal justice for the young man who was killed that drizzling night in Sanford, Florida. If George Zimmerman had rights, so did Trayvon Martin. And that is why Mr. Zimmerman was properly arrested and charged with murder in the second degree. He will soon be judged by a jury of his peers, and that is the best we can do.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Victory should not require any particular verdict in this trial. That there was a trial is the victory.<\/p>\n

Of course, some people consider it ridiculous that there was a trial at all, or that the jury is being allowed to reach a verdict. Over at Ethics Alarms<\/a>, Jack writes:<\/p>\n

Last week, Judge Debra Nelson, presiding over Zimmerman\u2019s trial, rejected the motion by Zimmerman\u2019s defense team to dismiss the case before a single defense witness had been called, because the prosecution had not met its burden of proof. Media analysts were quick to note that such motions are routine, but this one wasn\u2019t: it was obvious and undeniable that the prosecution\u2019s case could not support a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A courageous, fair and ethical judge would have dismissed the case: Judge Nelson did not. Judges usually default to the position that we should let the jury decide, but when the evidence won\u2019t support a legitimate guilty verdict, as in this case, that position is irresponsible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not for the first time, Jack genuinely can’t imagine that any reasonable person could ever disagree with the right-wing view. This case is not nearly as clear-cut as he suggests. <\/p>\n

According to Findlaw<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Florida’s jury instructions (which are based on the Florida statute) spell out three elements that prosecutors must prove to establish second degree murder<\/a> beyond a reasonable doubt:<\/p>\n