Trayvon Martin Killing

[quartermainefan]

Fucked up verdict. Florida is a state of some truly messed up people who wouldn't know justice if the scales fell on their head.

[Ann_SS]

I hope that Trayvon's parents sue Zimmerman for millions and end up owning him financially for the rest of his life. Racism has kept him out of prison, but killing a child should make every day of his life a financial nightmare, he deserves nothing less.

[reallyhateskateonlost]

So, a kid can't go to a store to get some candy without having someone following him because of the color of his skin, a woman can't fire a warning shot in Florida and gets 20 yrs, I'm so glad I don't live in Florida!!

[Juliajms]

I'm trying desperately not to talk about this on twitter, so I'm just going to have my one and only vent here.

A boy is dead because a stalking SOB was too much of a p*ussy to take a few punches!! It drives me insane that people are trying to justify this. I don't blame the jury as much as the law the way it is written. It just seems so wrong that you can follow someone, go looking for trouble and then pull a gun because you are a coward.

[Ann_SS]

It is the racism of the jury. The self-defense/stand your ground law is usually rejected by all white juries when black defendants are involved. It happened in Tampa not too long ago.

[Juliajms]

I'm not saying that racism didn't play a big part in this, but that doesn't mean the laws couldn't be tightened up. Bias plays a part in everything people do. As soon as someone tells me they are unbiased, I know I'm talking to a person who doesn't know themselves very well, or understand sociology or psychology. That doesn't mean the laws couldn't be tightened up, so that it's a lot harder for a jury to let someone like this walk.

Was the jury composed of all white people? If so, that in itself seems like a huge issue. Florida is a diverse state. There's no reason there couldn't be a mix of people on any jury.

[Eric83]

There were 5 white women and 1 hispanic woman.

The celebratory tweets disgust me the most. To some in this country you are guilty just because of ths color of your skin even when you are the victim.

[Ann_SS]

Yes, one woman was Hispanic, but that does not negate racism. There are a lot of Hispanics and others who view African Americans in the same racist light as Zimmerman.

There are all white juries on trials of mostly minority defendants all over this nation every day. They just tend not to be high profile cases to get the public's attention.

[Marco Dane]

This is just fuel to the fire... Something is going to pop and it will not look good...

[Wales2004]

Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law and the interpretation of it needs to be addressed.

This particular case was mishandled from the beginning so I'm not surprised at the result. Even though I recognize that the jury has its biases (as we all do), I don't fault them because they were not presented with the correct charge in the first place. I believe the charge should have been involuntary manslaughter. I think it would have been easier to make the case that George Zimmerman did not set out with an intent to kill Trayvon Martin but his actions resulted in Trayvon Martin's death.

I was extremely bothered by CNN's lack of decency in showing Piers Morgan with George Zimmerman's attention seeking brother. They should have left that to the Fox party.

I don't have a problem with George Zimmerman thinking Trayvon Martin looked suspicious. I happen to think everyone on the street looks suspicious at night--including old ladies. I do have a problem with the fact that he went out of his way to follow this kid and a law that makes the perpetrator the victim.

Those who push themselves as leaders ought to consider what message they are sending to kids. I tire of this society constantly pushing the message that the life of black males are infinitely more important than black females and that such life is only significant when taken by a white male (or non-black male). Hundreds of children died before this one and hundreds have been killed since. Chicago......

[alphanguy74]

The woman who got 20 years for firing warning shots... that is one of the ridiculous things I've ever heard.

[Wales2004]

Unfortunately. there is no judicial discretion in sentencing for that type of conviction. She should have arranged to retrieve her belongings to guarantee no contact with her husband. That's another law that needs to be addressed.

[Eric83]

She got that sentence for one reason.....

[Wales2004]

http://www.theledger.com/article/20090619/NEWS/906195060

[Nate4]

This upsets me to no end. I grew up thinking that everyone in America was equal and that justify was severed for everyone. I was swear as hell wrong.

I was listening to the 911 calls and Zimmerman wanted revenge on the world. "This assholes always get away." Trayvon just happened to be his victim.

I just cannot believe how racist people are. I'm on vacation in Florida at the moment and my cousin, who is Asian, told me infact he was racist and I was disgusting for dating a black girl because her "fat ugly lips". How can people be so dumb?

I don't get it.

All of my thoughts go out to Trayvon's parents. I cannot imagine their pain.