Why Isn't George Zimmerman in Jail?

Let's leave the names out of it for a moment and look at the facts. A 28 year old man is following a 17 year old man. The older man calls the police, as he often does in these situations, and tells the police he is following the younger man. The police tell the older man he should not be following the younger man. A few minutes later the younger man is shot dead with a bullet from the gun of the older man. These facts are not in dispute.

Any thinking person would say that the next logical step is for the police to arrest the older man for the crime of killing the younger man. But, so far, that hasn't happened. This is where logic breaks down. The older man hasn't been arrested because the circumstances of the killing are in dispute.

Mr. Zimmerman, the older man, claims that he killed Trayvon Martin, the younger man, in self defense. But Trayvon Martin was unarmed. Even if Trayvon Martin did attack George Zimmerman in retaliation for being pursued, that does not justify Mr. Zimmerman's use of deadly force.

Because of the petty prejudices and stereotypes that persist in our society, we may never know the exact circumstances of Trayvon Martin's death. But, given the facts that we do know, George Zimmerman should be in jail at least and until we get a version of the facts that prove otherwise. If Mr. Zimmerman is not charged with murder, he should be charged with manslaughter.

All of the character assassination that's going on now is nothing more than a media smokescreen to cover up the incompetence of the Sanford police force. I don't care if Trayvon Martin had smoked pot or stolen jewelry before he met George Zimmerman. When this incident took place, all Trayvon Martin had in his pockets was a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Trayvon Martin was not a lethal threat to George Zimmerman. Yet Mr. Zimmerman pulled a gun from his pocket and shot Trayvon Martin dead at close range. And Mr. Zimmerman remains free. That is a crime in and of itself.

The way this case has been handled by the Sanford police force sends a very disturbing message. You can claim self defense based on a stereotypical perception. That opens the door for a lot more unfortunate, unprosecuted incidents. We cannot afford to have a self appointed vigilante police force patrolling our streets. No matter what youthful indiscretions Trayvon Martin may have committed, his death deserves to be investigated and the man responsible for his death should not be walking the streets.