The investigation of the killing of Trayvon Martin by a “neighborhood watch” vigilante (noted here) has taken a new turn as the state has taken over the investigation, and we note that the local police may have been doing it wrong. From Huffington Post:
“State Attorney Norm Wolfinger recognizes that Trayvon Martin and his family, interested persons, and the public-at-large are entitled to no less than a thorough, deliberate and just review of the information provided, along with any other evidence that may or may not be developed in the course of the review process,” a statement released from the State Attorney’s Offices Tuesday evening said. “We intend to honor that commitment.”
The shift from local to state officials comes amid suspicion about the department’s investigating techniques, according to reports.
See also this report from ABC:
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Not really surprised. There are enough questionable statements, and the shooter has enough history that it was pretty easy to tell that the local police weren’t actually looking into it. The shooter had a gun and the victim did not have any weapon…at a minimum, I would have thought the shooter needs to be facing a minimum of manslaughter charges.
I still say this town needs a riot.
Now here’s an interesting coincidence: An ad on this page says “Strange fruit burns fat.” this case makes me think of another kind of Strange Fruit.
At least the State isn’t turning a blind eye anymore. I suppose there is at least a chance of justice being done now.
And from what I have read of this case, it looks to go well beyond manslaughter. Zimmerman went out of his way to shoot that child. And at least one witness was tampered with by the police, apparently narcotic officers were investigating instead of homicide detectives and corrected ‘her’ when she told them she heard the boy screaming for help. They apparently made it very clear to her that she was mistaken, Thankfully she had the decency to come forward and let others know that her statement was not taken correctly.
After listening to the 911 tapes I find that it is highly unlikely that George Zimmerman acted in self defense. The call clearly indicates that he took pursuit of Trayvon. When I think of George Zimmerman I think of a one man KKK. Everyone is saying that George Zimmerman should be brought in front of a judge and jury to determine his guilt or innocence and I totally agree. What I haven’t heard anyone say is that Trayvon, having been acting suspiciously was not afforded the same opportunity. George made sure of that. I would like to know how I can get my signature on the petition calling for George Zimmermans arrest.
First of all, even the NEIGHBORS had been complaining about Zimmerman’s actions, and prior to the murder, there had been an EMERGENCY meeting to discuss his tactics. We have no evidence, other than Zimmerman’s word, that Trayvon was doing anything other than walking home to deliver the Skittles to his brother and finish watching the basketball game. It appears that the town had a killing in 2007 under similar circumstances which went uncharged.
I just posted the tapes in case anyone wants to listen.
First degree murder, terroristic whatever whatever, and a hate crime all rolled into one. The police are complicit accessories after the fact.
I would say that if Zimmerman is not in prison by the end of the weekend a riot is totally appropriate. Sometimes a little scary civil disobedience is the only way to teach the man. Having said that, I do not advocate it because more innocent brown people would get their heads bashed in by these racist pigs they call a police force.
Just pointing this out, since nobody else has.
Zimmerman is apparently Hispanic;
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/os-trayvon-martin-shooting-zimmerman-letter-20120315,0,757781.story
I’m not defending his actions, the circumstances around this shooting strike me as extremely suspect and he could very well still be racist (and what kind of 28 year old volunteers for captain of the neighborhood watch?), but if you’re going to make statements like “When I think of George Zimmerman I think of a one man KKK” and “more innocent brown people would get their heads bashed in” you’d better know that both victim and perpetrator were brown in this instance.
I live in central FL, about 30 min from Sanford. The Hispanics here are just as prejudiced as whites. Hell, the hispanics don’t even trust other hispanics. I’m half Cuban and half white, and I hear the racism from both sides. Since both groups are still considered minorities, gains by one group are sometimes at the expense of the the other. This has been especially evident in the past decade where the hispanic population in our area has grown much faster than other ethnicities. Just because both players are “brown people” doesn’t mean that race isn’t an issue. Just look in a box of crayons & you’ll see 15 shades of brown. None of this matters, though. Take the Stand Your Ground law, add the presumption of innocence, and they won’t get a conviction. THerefore, they won’t make an arrest.
kyoseki: This may just demonstrate the flexible nature of racism. Zimmerman is a Jewish (sounding) name, so references based on guesses to white supremacists are strange. The claim that he is hispanic sounds strange if his name sounds Jewish,but again, guesses are just guesses. For all we know his father was Mayan adopted by a nice Jewish family on Staten Island and his mother was half Basque and half Irish.
I am reminded of a race sensitivity seminar I did with kids from an especially diverse and also in some ways troubled neighborhood in the Twin Cities, where I learned that kids who were Polish were being discriminated against (that’s an old one that I thought had gone away mostly), that being “Mexican” was the worst thing you could be (not “Black”) and everyone assumed that if you were Tibetan that you were in a gang. That there was a more complex racism than one might expect is not surprising, but the details would have been unexpected by anyone who did not know the local neighborhood.