This case is ongoing and the twists and turns keep getting more and more bizarre. I would like to see what others think of the Treyvon Martin case and the claims that it does or does not meet Florida's 'stand your ground' law. Should the law be repealed? Does it need revised? Was there racism involved?
Here's a timeline of events and summary of the case:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2 ... of-events/
Basically, a neighborhood watch commander in a gated community in a suburb in Orlando shot a seventeen year old black male at near point blank range. That's the only undisputed fact in the case. Some witnesses say that the boy was walking home with an iced tea and a bag of candy and that the watch commander had exhorted neighbors before to be on the lookout for black youths 'who didn't appear to belong there' (for the record, the boy's father and the father's girlfriend live in the complex and neighbors knew he'd been staying there). Others say the kid attacked him, forcing him to defend himself.
In our state, there's a law that says common citizens do not need to run from a criminal if they feel they can defend themselves; they can face their attacker and do so. If someone is killed or injured while this is taking place, no criminal or civil liability occurs. The watch commander states this is what happened.
Now, today, the police department has released verified surveillance video from their garage of the watch commander being brought in. He is clearly visible in the video and has no blood, broken nose, or lacerations showing at all, not even treated ones.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/28/2 ... lance.html
I first heard about this story when the FBI and Justice department got involved. I'm afraid I had to ask that dreaded question: if the child in question who had been shot was a Caucasian with a Caucasian shooter would that have happened? I don't think so. A life is a life to me but for some reason, there seems to be more outrage and and automatic cry of racism if there's a minority involved. It's still unclear to me just why this became a federal case (seems at most our state police department could have handled it).
My second stance comes from growing up in a place where guns were used for all types of things from defense to sport and where you learn responsible gun ownership and usage with your mother's milk. I have to wonder just why the watch commander thought it was all right to draw that gun and shoot a child at near point blank range (the autopsy reports also stated the boy was found lying face down, which would indicate that he was facing away when shot, not grappling as the watch commander claimed). When you draw a gun for defense, you do so with the intent to kill
and you're darned certain that the person in question poses a threat to you. I'm just not sure those criteria were met here.
The watch commander, based on his past history of domestic violence and other violent acts, is not a man I would consider safe to have a gun. I would not have considered him safe or the right person for a neighborhood watch program.
The whole thing...something just seems terribly wrong about it. Why wasn't he ever held or charged (especially since now they do have video of him being taken in cuffs down to the station?) Why didn't the police investigate (there's supposed to be an investigation to determine whether or not the stand your ground law even applies). Where are the ballistics and why are we relying on eyewitnesses (the weakest kind of testimony and the most likely to be wrong) who came forward months later?
I can't say whether the kid was targeted in a racist manner but I do think that someone decided he didn't belong there, didn't follow procedure, and then tried to cover up the fact that legally he had no business acting as he did.
Thoughts? Comments?
Links to other groups of articles about the incident:
http://news.google.com/news/section?pz= ... 1332984681
Tayvon Martin
http://news.google.com/news/section?pz= ... 1332984685
George Zimmerman, the alleged shooter
I wasn't aware anything was wrong with it...
