The Zimmerman case

The jury’s decision in the Zimmerman case brought to the forefront a series of conflicting elements in our society, ranging from racial profiling to lax gun laws.

It can be said that the verdict is understandable from a legal point of view, since there was enough uncertainty about what happened that fateful night between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman for the jury to have had reasonable doubt. However, the decision left behind a bitter taste of injustice.

Something is very wrong when an unarmed teenager who is walking home is shot and killed during a physical confrontation–and the one who shot him walks away exempted of all guilt.

If Zimmerman had obeyed the order to wait for police instead of following Martin, after identifying him as a possible suspect for no reason, the story would have been different. There would not have been “justified homicide.”

At the same time, Florida’s permissive gun laws emboldened the wannabe police officer to put himself in a dangerous, irresponsible situation.

Martin’s death, and the circumstances surrounding it, are a scenario that the African-American community is sadly familiar with. They suffer the deaths of their children and are victims of a system in which there is usually no justice when African-American youths are involved.

This type of situation rightly inspires frustration and anger. We hope it also provides an opportunity to open an ongoing dialogue about racial prejudice, the legal system and gun control. That is where we must find a path to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.