55 - Color-blind justice is on trial along with George Zimmerman

The following letter was published on April 22, 2012 by
The Boston Globe
Boston, Massachusetts

In my opinion, George Zimmerman acted as if he had thrown a baseball through a window of the home of Trayvon Martin’s parents with his apology to them for the killing of their son (“Fla. shooter apologizes; bail set at $150,000,” Page A1, April 21). Like many in America and around the world, my heart goes out to Martin’s parents in their pursuit of justice in an area of the country where it could slip away.

Many laws are developed and legislated for the sake of modifying, controlling, and preventing criminal behavior. In Zimmerman’s case in Sanford, Fla., color-blind justice in America is on trial.

As I see it, a 17-year-old African-American minding his own business was followed and killed by a man with no authority to pursue him. When Zimmerman made a 911 call to report that Martin was in the area, the dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin; Zimmerman followed Martin anyway; whether Martin turned to defend himself or chose to run, he was unarmed.

If justice slips away, and Zimmerman is exonerated in Florida, all communities that have “stand your ground” laws will experience some gun carriers shooting and killing people of color, hiding behind the law, and apologizing later.