Whether or Not Trayvons Martin Case Was Justified Correctly - Essay Example

Trayvon Martin’s Case In the case of Trayvon Martin, African-Americans usually have a commonly shared and a negative response to the killing of Martin by George Zimmerman, who was declared innocent in the trial whereas different whites have different views. More than eight in every ten African Americans claim that the killing of Martin was not justifiable and react at Zimmerman in the case, claiming that there should be justice by trying Zimmerman in a federal court for breaching the Florida teenager’s civil rights. Particularly in this case, there are wide racial gaps. The paper shows how Trayvon Martins’ case was wrongly justified. The case may involve issues on race (Jefferson, 9). Eighty seven percent of the African Americans say that there was no justice in the ruling; amongst whites, only 33 percent support the African Americans’ claims. A thin majority of about 51% of the whites endorse that the verdict was innocent in the trial whereas African Americans strongly disapprove the claims. Only a small percentage of the African Americans approve the claims by the whites. On the public views, there is also a follower tinge. Amongst thirty percent of the republicans, disapprove the verdict while seventy percent of them approve the verdict. Instead of focusing on the skin color people should focus on hearts (Anthology 15). In reference to the criminal justice system, a total number of 86 percent among the African Americans claim that blacks among many minorities get unequal treatment in the law; only 41percent by the whites make such claims whereas the other 54% claim that there is equality for the marginal groups. Less than 40% of jailed people are ethnic and racial minorities (Birzer 27). Eighty-one percent of the African Americans claim that the federal government should observe the civil rights defiance and charge Zimmerman in a federal court. Fifty percent of the whites oppose such charges, whereas 27percent of them agree to the charges showing the presence of White supremacy in action (Yancy and Jones 9). Sixty percent of the Hispanics claim that blacks among other marginal groups fail to receive fair treatments like the whites do and a ratio of two to one disapproves the ruling. Martin weighed ten pounds lighter, but six inches taller than the Hispanic who put Trayvon’s life to an end (Anthology 1). It was at night during the shooting and Martin was on his way home when he saw a vehicle behind him, which followed him for some time. Martin ran away to the backyards sidewalks from the street sidewalks (Jefferson 5). People should not have a license to possess weapons such as guns and the reason behind it is that his intended threat was not a threat in real sense. Zimmerman hunted his supposed threat since he had a gun and was ready to use the weapon on his threat. However, Trayvon was unarmed, making him innocent. From this, one can tell that if he had a weapon, it would be suspicious. Trayvon is a guiltless victim who sets the mistaken example (Yancy and Jones 15). Zimmerman as the neighborhood watch is a good person when he protects people from a perceived threat while he is the bad person when he attacks Trayvon. His wrong perception of Trayvon resulted into the shooting. There is no firm evidence of Trayvon being the one that started the disagreement (King 48). If he were really, the one who initiated the disagreements, everyone else in his position would do so if a stranger were following him or her. Some can confront the stranger, whereas others can just run away. A fight should not have led to such kind of tragedy, but instead the case that Zimmerman had a weapon in addition to his poor judgment is a fatal combination (Anthology 18). At this moment martin feared for his life because Zimmerman was a stranger who followed him both on foot and in a vehicle. In accordance to the law, Martin had the right to defend himself, but Zimmerman had no right (Jefferson 24). His fists were his only weapon. This made Martin lose the fight to Zimmerman although Martin cannot assert of defending himself in this case. Although in the law, it does not state that, he should have let Martin attack him by pulverizing his head on the sidewalk. The shooting of Trayvon was all over the news both nationally and globally when the Stanford Police Station failed to take possession of Zimmerman’s weapon and to arrest him (Birzer 50). However, the law states that this is not a legal case of self-defense, but a murder case. Martin had the right to run away since he was in an odd place (King 33). Martin confronted him by punching his face and smashing his head to the sidewalks and at this instance, Zimmerman shot Martin (Birzer 10). Martin did not have any wounds, which Zimmerman could have inflicted on him during the shooting, whereas Zimmerman had wounds on his head since Martin hit his head against the ground. Zimmerman did not have a chance to inflict any wounds on Martin because he stopped Martin’s violence immediately by shooting him (Yancy and Jones 7). This evidence shows that Trayvon was guilty because he did not have any wounds on him. In addition, the shooting was at a close range, implying that both were confronting each other within inches. Laws, which allow hidden permits on carrying guns and a high scope in alleging that individuals who fear physical attacks can protect themselves forcefully, assert that it is a case of self-defense, which are currently the troubling styles. This reflects the vigilantism disorder and lawlessness since it brings violence in the communities that people live in (Birzer 22). Zimmerman’s discharge for shooting Trayvon allows people to do so, giving a way for many more cases of the same kind, which involves permitting eager vigilantes to carry around hidden guns assuming the law to be in favor of them averting self-defense. George had several detain records, which include domestic brutality on his girlfriend and battery of an officer of the law (Birzer 25). The law should not allow everyone to carry around guns only the licensed individuals such as the professionals subject to strict waiting periods, gun training laws, and licensing of the issuance of guns (King 60). In case it leads to a fracas, the person with the gun can gutlessly remove it and attack the other individual claiming of it being a self-defense case in spite of the injuries inflicted on the other person (Jefferson 11). This gives the armed persons the freedom to kill anyone that he or she disagrees with claiming that he or she was in fear of death or bodily harm and any person can use this as an excuse. Some laws in Florida such as “Stand Your Ground” allow citizens to use their weapons declaring self-defense (King 60). This case is an evidence of what happened to the Florida teenager. Zimmerman Shooting Trayvon directly with a gun was a guarantee that it would result in the death of Trayvon (King 75). Zimmerman and Trayvon were in a disagreement resulting in the fight. Trayvon could be alive if only Zimmerman did not kill him. This argument shows that Zimmerman’s ruling was unjustifiable. There was a lot of supposition in the argument by the defense. The prosecution failed to object much on the suppositional testimony (Yancy and Jones 30). This went to the extent of the media commenting about the case. Zimmerman was reckless only because he was armed, giving him the courage to use his gun on Trayvon. In spite of his statement during his ruling, Zimmerman was aware of the law (Jefferson 18). There was need to convict him of not less than a second degree slay. He shot Trayvon, resulting in his death and in spite of some individuals supporting that he was justified in this case he was unjustified (Anthology 23). Zimmerman should not claim to be in defense of himself this should apply to Trayvon. In this case, Zimmerman was the stalker because he was following Trayvon all along when he was walking. Conclusively, when Trayvon questioned Zimmerman why he was following him, Zimmerman did not have the courage to ask Trayvon why he was in the neighborhood at that time of the night (Yancy and Jones 6). If a person identifies a stranger in the neighborhood, he or she should familiarize with him or her, which would enable the person to know the intentions of the stranger. Zimmerman profiled Martin even before holding a conversation with him giving him the wrong profile of Martin (Jefferson 30). As neighborhood’s watch, Zimmerman should have known most of the individuals in the neighborhood, and for once, he did not know he should have taken a step to get to know them well. If Zimmerman had not killed him, only God knows who Trayvon could be today (Anthology 17). Consequently, Trayvon’s case was wrongly justified. Works Cited Anthology. A Gathering of Words: Poetry and Commentary for Trayvon Martin. New York: Inner Child Press, 2013: (23-1). Print. Birzer, Michael L. Racial profiling they stopped me because Im-. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013: (50-10) Print. Jefferson, Antonette. Law, Race, and the Constitution in the Obama-context. New York: AuthorHouse, 2013: (30-5). Print. King, Alveda. From Stumbling Blocks to Building Blocks A 21st Century Perspective on the Moral Decline of America and How to Fix It. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation, 2012 (60-33). Print. Yancy, George. Pursuing Trayvon Martin: historical contexts and contemporary manifestations of racial dynamics. Lanham: Lexington Boos, 2013: (30-7). Print. Read More