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The folks protesting the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin claim the verdict shows our entire system of justice is corrupt. Zimmerman’s supporters claim the verdict totally exonerated him in the killing. They are both wrong.
To some, the case is simple. A black, unarmed teenager on his way home was shot and killed after a confrontation with an armed adult. One newspaper ran a headline “Open season on black boys” after the Zimmerman verdict. But it had been open season on innocent members of the African-American community long before Zimmerman was acquitted, and most of us outside of the black community neither noticed or cared much because it was black-on-black crime. Sickening stories are covered on almost a daily basis on the evening news involving innocent people getting caught in the crossfire of drug or gang wars.
A little girl is sitting on her front step eating a bag of potato chips and is killed by a stray bullet. A young boy is dribbling a basketball in his neighborhood playground and is cut down by a bullet fired by God knows who for God knows what reason. An elderly woman cowers in her home and is afraid to go to the corner store for fear of getting clubbed over the head and her handbag taken. So, yes, it is open season and has been in the inner city for some time, and it wasn’t because of the Zimmerman verdict.
Some of Zimmerman’s supporters don’t understand the verdict showed only there was not enough evidence to convict him of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter, the only two options open to the jury. Some jury members have reportedly indicated they believed Zimmerman was culpable and wished there were other options. Make no mistake about it, he provoked the confrontation, and despite the verdict, bears a heavy moral judgment that should keep him awake the rest of his life. Acquittal is not the same as morally innocent.
The Rev. Al Sharpton’s rallies are calling for justice. And I understand what the president meant when we said we have to put the frustration of the black community in context. That context is of justice largely denied that infamous trials involving the Scottsboro Boys, Emmett Till and Medgar Evers exemplified. Law enforcement’s use of racial profiling in “stop and frisk” laws and the seeming indifference to violent crime when the victim is black have created the basis for many black people believing the system is stacked against them. Our prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans, many times because of minor drug charges or simply the inability to afford a competent counsel.
None of this means we should conclude the Zimmerman verdict was tainted. The difference between this case and the historic injustice of the Till case, to use an example, is there was no overwhelming evidence to the contrary in the Zimmerman trial. It is terribly unfair to the jurors that they are being painted as bigots.
The prosecutors in the Zimmerman case made several grievous mistakes. They overcharged, giving no opportunity to those jurors who felt Zimmerman was guilty, but of a lesser crime. Incredibly, several of the prosecution’s key witnesses actually bolstered the arguments of the defense. The prosecution failed to prove that Zimmerman was guilty of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, not only because of its own incompetence, but also because there simply was a lack of solid evidence.
In view of that fundamental failure, the jury had no choice but to acquit, which should have come as no surprise even to those who only casually followed the day-to-day events of the trial. The media reported the prosecution’s ineptness throughout the trial along with the lack of evidence that would support a conviction.
I believe Zimmerman profiled Martin, if not for his race, at least for his black hoodie. My father was a decorated member of the police force, and he always feared arming wannabe cops, who sometimes are untrained and overzealous men who want desperately to prove their masculinity by flashing a badge and carrying a gun.
I recall several lunchtime conversations I had with some African-American friends who also happened to be moms. They discussed the fear they felt each time their sons left the house because the police could stop them for no reason other than that they are young and black. These moms would give their sons specific instructions: Don’t give the police any back talk; don’t reach in your pocket suddenly or under the dashboard. Chances are Trayvon’s mom may have given him similar warnings when he went out. Trayvon paid with his life for a century of misunderstanding and suspicions between the races. Some say the boy should have run instead of confronting Zimmerman, but running away is sometimes mistaken for an admission of guilt.
Weep not, however, for the verdict, for what really caused Trayvon’s death is the chasm still separating the races in America, that no matter what progress we have made and we have made progress, continues to haunts us.
Comment at southphillyreview.com/opinion/cardella.
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