Tag Archives: Trayvon Martin

Comparing Apples to Oranges in Oklahoma

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The Wall Street Journal’s editorial staff is asking why Al Sharpton, et al, are not devoting the same amount of attention to the murder of Christopher Lane in Oklahoma, allegedly by three bored teenagers, as they did to the George Zimmerman case. The editorial begins as follows:

Three teenagers were charged Tuesday in the killing of a white college student in Duncan, Oklahoma…

(Emphasis added to make my point as painfully obvious as possible.) That’s not even the entire first sentence, but it has already explained how this case is different from Zimmerman’s case. To be clear, Lane’s death is a tragedy and a horrible crime that deserves thorough investigation and punishment of the guilty parties. (I shouldn’t have to add that caveat, but I suspect someone somewhere will try to say I don’t care as much about this case.)

Here’s how it’s different: the suspects in Lane’s death are already in custody and facing criminal charges, including murder. Trayvon Martin died on February 26, 2012, but Zimmerman wasn’t arrested until April 11, 45 days later.

No one is disputing that what the three teenagers allegedly did is a crime.

So far, no one has tried to claim that the three teenagers in Oklahoma acted in self-defense, and no one will ever be able to make that claim plausibly. The Zimmerman case involved the killing of a black teenager (who was not committing any crime) by an overzealous neighborhood watch volunteer who, for reasons we’ll likely never know for sure, thought he looked “suspicious.” The narrative of people finding young black men “suspicious,” just for being young black men, plays itself out every day in this country. Certain people are seizing on the fact that the Lane case involves a young white man killed by three young black men as a sleazy way of trying to create a false equivalence with the Zimmerman case, or to fabricate some kind of “both sides do it” narrative.

It’s pretty sickening, really.

Think of it this way: many people expressed a high level of skepticism about the allegation that Zimmerman was motivated by Martin’s race. See if those same people apply the same high level of skepticism to the Lane case.

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Now That I Mentioned the Legal Side of the Zimmerman Case…

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…There isn’t much I can add to the social, societal, or sociological aspects of the case that hasn’t been said by others with greater wisdom.

“Stand your ground” laws lead to greater racial bias.

A Black woman, Marissa Alexander, who fired warning shots inside her home, allegedly in self-defense, received a twenty-year prison sentence from a Florida jury in May, in ridiculously stark contrast to the Zimmerman case.

Separating racial issues from the Zimmerman case is, quite simply, impossible. Attempting to do so is dishonest.

This:

Also, this, from Jason Easley:

[T]he delusion that African Americans would immediately turn to violence is a symptom of the racism that conservatives like to claim does not exist.

This, from Brittney Cooper:

My rage is made all the more sure by those who are “encouraging” black people not to “riot.” They urge us to follow and respect the rule of law.

Because, of course, it is black people who need to be reminded of the rules.

Even though it is we who peacefully assembled by the thousands all over the country and marched in order to turn the wheels of due process. And it is we who waited patiently for 15 months for this case to be brought to trial. And it is we who have yet again been played for fools as we waited fervently for justice to be done.

On the other hand, George Zimmerman deputized himself, sought a confrontation and then became judge, jury and executioner for a kid who committed no crimes.

To ask black people to respect the rule of law is an exercise in missing the point, not to mention an insult.

And this, from Syreeta McFadden:

Only in America can a dead black boy go on trial for his own murder.

And most of all, this:

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They Should Have Charged Zimmerman with Manslaughter

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Prosecutors should have charged George Zimmerman with manslaughter instead of second-degree murder or, if possible, charged manslaughter as a lesser-included offense.  The capias (PDF file, via CNN) issued by the State Attorney only charged second-degree murder, which requires proof of a “depraved mind regardless of human life.” The problem with that is that the only real evidence of the circumstances of the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin comes from Zimmerman himself. It was not difficult for the defense team to demonstrate reasonable doubt about Zimmerman’s “depraved mind.” Manslaughter, while carrying far lesser penalties, would have been a slam dunk, most likely.

Florida attorney Roberto Martinez offered a good summary of how the undisputed evidence would have supported a charge of manslaughter, concluding as follows:

The man’s actions created a course of conduct that led to a dangerous situation: the physical confrontation and the fight. The dangerous situation subjected the man and the teen to the risk of death or injury, as the man was carrying a loaded gun.

Manslaughter is defined as: “The killing of a human being by the . . . culpable negligence of another, without lawful justification . . . ”

Does the evidence support a finding of guilty of manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt? Continue reading →

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