Martin Hodgson watched all 6,720 minutes of the Zimmerman Trial. Here are his thoughts.
—
14 full days, 56 witnesses, 7 Statements by the defendant, 200 pieces of Evidence, 3 911 calls, 6 non-emergency calls by the defendant and 6 jurors. That was the trial of George Zimmerman, charged and as we now know found not guilty of second degree murder for shooting Trayvon Martin dead.
The trial lasted approximately 6720 minutes, I watched and heard them all live as they happened. Having worked on a capital case (Angel Diaz) in Florida my interest in the matter was more than, but not excluding, the issues that seemed to capture the attention of so many around the world and here in Australia. I wanted to write something during the trial, I wanted to write something when the verdict came down but what do you write when you see nothing that isn’t just part of the daily struggle.
There was nothing particularly unique about this trial or even the case for that matter. A dead black child the result of a gun shot wound is not much news to report in the US of A. And despite all the publicity, all the media and all the talk I knew during those 6720 minutes of trial time that it didn’t matter what happened in the trial, Zimmerman was getting off. How could I be so sure? Find me a trial in the south where a white man has been convicted by an all white jury of killing a black man.
Oh, you hadn’t heard that one before! Well, you can spend all day looking, but you won’t be able to prove me wrong. That is the dirty little secret of race that really plagued this trial. It wasn’t that Zimmerman may or may not have racially profiled young Trayvon, we know he did. We know from his statements (“these fucking punks, arseholes”), the witness whose evidence wasn’t allowed on the stand ”I know George, and I know that he does not like black people…He would start something. He’s a very confrontational person. It’s in his blood. Let’s just say that.”, And Zimmerman’s previous 6 calls to police regarding young black men apparently up to no good who it turns out did nothing. Or the witness that would have given evidence about the Zimmerman families racism (Not allowed as evidence), Zimmerman assaulting a police officer in 2005 (not allowed as evidence) or Zimmerman’s ex-fiance who took out a restraining order against him for Domestic Violence. No, none of that could be allowed in to prove this was an angry racist, a violent one who didn’t really like Black people. It wasn’t just that George was racist, that we were allowed to know, it was the systems overt racism that had to remain behind bars.
All of which made the jury of his peers, that nice representation of society (31% Black in that part of Florida), the 6 white women, perfect for ensuring history would not be made with the conviction of a white man killing a black man in the south. Oh, but one of the jurors was Hispanic I hear you say…., So was George This as DL Hughley rightly pointed out is not about the white man, not about supposed “Brown Solidarity”, this is a “Black Non-Black thing”.
This is what helps all explain away the fact that one was a boy, the other a man. One was armed with a packet of Skittles and the other a gun, one more than 50lbs heavier and that heavier male with the gun also having trained in mixed martial arts for 18 months being deemed the one in fear of his life and justified in shooting that black boy dead. It’s what helps you explain a medical examiner who said you can voluntarily walk around and talk 15 seconds after having your heart ripped out of your chest. Yes he said it, check the transcript. While you are there you can read another expert testify that Trayvon was the bigger threat even with Zimmerman having a gun, a great deal of practice on the firing range and close combat MMA training. Normally we’d call bullshit, but to continue to free white men for killing black men you have to continue to suspend belief in all the evidence and that is just what the jury did, just as it was planned out for them and just the way they saw it even after it was all over. Juror B37 has since stated when asked if she felt sorry for Trayvon that she felt sorry for George.
That’s how it plays out, that you can end up dead and the guy that kills you earns the sympathy. That a child who commits no crime can be shot in the heart and his killer not only get off but get his gun back. It’s a non-Black Black thing. Just like we have a non-Indigenous Indigenous thing in Australia. Where you can be a highly paid columnist found guilty of racism and yet with your TV show, radio show, blog and newspaper articles still feel “Silenced” and have one particular political party go into bat for your free speech rights. That’s how Marlon Noble can be locked up in WA for 10 years for no crime and that’s how Mulrunji can have his liver split in two but his killer not convicted just those who protested his death.
It’s a Black Non-Black thing and until we own that the next Trayvon killer, the next Mulrunji killer, has a license to kill.
—
photo: AP
Originally published on 1DeadlyNation
These will sound like weird questions, and I’ve been accused of being “sudo intellectual” for raising them, but please bear with me: How do you know that Zimmerman was “not black”? Is it based on his appearance, and if so, what are you using to define people as being black and not black? Did Z. refer to himself as “white,” or is this just what outside observers have decided to label him? If the answer is “I can just tell by looking at him,” then that’s not a very good answer. That’s hardly better than saying someone is guilty just… Read more »
Anyone else notice how silent the gun lobby has been in response to this case?
If NRA spokespeople were consistent in their ideology, they would logically say something like the following:
The only way to stop someone with a gun is with another gun. If only Trayvon Martin had a gun on him, he might still be alive today….
This is speculation, this question does not make sense. I am not sure if a minor can register to carry a gun legally. Or do you mean an illegal gun? This would it make even easier for Zimmerman’s arguments of self defense and might sent Martin to jail straight away. You could also ask, maybe a better question, why did Zimmerman carry a gun and not for example a taser device, baton and handcuffs, pepper spray, a bullet proof vest and other devices for self defense etc. – He had a mobile phone and he could call for help anytime.… Read more »
Ames says: July 20, 2013 at 8:03 am …. when Martin confronted the guy Yes, it was Martin who confronted Zimmerman. The result of this confrontation were various serious head and face injuries of Zimmerman, and I do not think that dead people can do that, and also little boys cannot do that. Zimmerman was beaten up first, and next was the deadly shot. It is wrong to presume that a dead person is innocent and the person who survived is guilty solely because the dead person was still a minor (but taller than Zimmerman) and because he was of… Read more »
It is the prosecutor who has to provide evidence that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. To prove beyond reasonable doubt that Zimmerman is a murderer and was deliberately killing this young man is by my opinion not possible. I also see no reason – especially considering the injuries of Zimmerman – why this shooting could be racist motivated. To present the dead man, Martin, as a little helpless boy in the press by publishing pictures of him taken 5 years ago is another story of brainwashing the public opinion, Martin was 17, and by his size he was… Read more »
This is a case of a man deciding another man was dangerous because of the way he looked. He instigated the scuffle by following Martin (even though he was told not to). He projected his own fear unto Martin, and when Martin confronted the guy who was pretty much stalking him (probably terrified), he got shot. You can’t drop race from the equation. Whichever way you spin this, this young man would not be dead if the shooter hadn’t been afraid of black men.
Sheer speculation stated as fact.
Not even speculation: crap.
When the dispatcher told Zimmerman ‘we don’t need you to follow him’, he broke off and was on his way back to his truck when Martin circled back and attacked him.
“Martin circled back and attacked him.” — I love how Zimmerman supporters take *his* version–a version never subjected to cross-examination–as *fact*. Not guilty may have been a plausible verdict, given the conflicting accounts of varoius witnesses, but Zimmerman’s “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth” story requires Trayvon Martin to be the most unreasonable of people ever to have walked the earth. He *seems* to have the goal of taking his Skittles and Iced Tea and going back to the place he was staying, but really, he wants to break into someone’s home. Then, when he notices he is being followed… Read more »
“…Trayvon Martin to be the most unreasonable of people ever to have walked the earth.”
Marijuana doesn’t exactly increase a person’s ability to reason.
Menkes, you would appear not to know any of the effects of THC. It is not linked to an increase in aggression. Quite the opposite. And, besides, the amount in Martin’s system was consistent with ingesting the drug a week prior.
ASY, you would appear not to have comprehended what I said in the least. Of course I was a bit cryptic, so I wont blame you. I didn’t say it increases aggression, I said it effects a persons ability to reason, or judgment if you will. It most certainly can make a person extremely paranoid, which now that I think of it could indeed lead to increased aggression. Lord knows I’ve seen that first hand. As for the level of THC, well, post-mortem toxicology is problematic for a variety of reasons, none the least of which is the nature of… Read more »
Menkes, you still have a logical problem. From his standpoint, Martin had both senses and faculties working when he concluded that he was being followed. Paranoia is an unreasonable suspicion, but, in fact, he was being followed. So which is it? And you believe that a person who is paranoid–that is, frightened enough to imagine threats where there are none–then shifts into a murderous rage with absolutely no provocation (as Zimmerman would have it)? Well, I detect the strong odor of fish. Either Martin was paranoid–and, by definition, mentally checked out–or he detected a real threat and defended himself against… Read more »
“I also see no reason – especially considering the injuries of Zimmerman – why this shooting could be racist motivated.” Based on what was presented in court, I can see why the jury might have concluded that. However, there is some data that wasn’t presented which makes it a lot more visible. The dataset is a .pdf file of police call reports released by the Sanford Police Department and then subsequently yanked down, but not before it was independently preserved. It can be found here: http://www.motherjones.com/documents/327330-george-zimmerrman-911-call-history I started digging through this data from most recent working backward. Starting with Trayvon… Read more »
Sure but at the same time, Martin’s tweets and texts didn’t make it to the Jury, nor did the fact that he was suspended while possessing stolen goods in conjunction with a burglary earlier in the school year which might have made Zimmerman’s claim that Martin was looking in windows a hell of a lot more believable.
I’m curious to know—with so much pertinent information withheld from the jury—based solely on the information they DID hear, what would you have expected a fair jury to find him guilty of beyond a reasonable doubt, and what of the information they did hear would that be based on?