I haven't watched even a minute of the George Zimmerman trial. My husband (who has a law degree, although he never practiced) has watched enough for both of us. I knew when I went to bed last night that the jury was still deliberating.
When something newsworthy or even (sometimes) just mildly interesting happens, I'll find a handwritten note on my laptop when I wake up. (He stays up later than I do.) I knew when I saw one this morning that it would be the verdict. I read it, more than half an hour ago as I sit here now, and I still feel like I've been punched in the gut.
This is America, where white men with guns rule. It's like the wild, wild west all over again.
Am I surprised? A bit. But honestly? Not much. It would be easy to blame it on Florida justice – it's not difficult to come up with at least a couple recent decisions out of the Sunshine State that seemed to be totally wrong. (Casey Anthony and the 2004 Presidential election come immediately to mind.)
More than likely it just comes down to this: The prosecution didn't prove its case.
At any rate, I'm sick and disheartened and angry and sad.
My husband attends church regularly; I don't. My spiritual life is rich and full; I don't feel the need to sit in community with others at a specific hour of the week. I pray a lot, mostly prayers of thanks, because I have a lot for which to be grateful.
I will, however, be in a church later today, at a special healing service for a minister who serves the church my husband attends. I will spend the hours from now until the service walking on my road and weeding my garden and thinking about a boy armed with Skittles and a man carrying a gun he shouldn't have had.
And when I get to church, I'll be praying for the healing of America.
Because we are most surely broken.
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3 comments:
I didn't watch enough of the trial to know for sure but my impression is that the prosecution didn't do their job and both sides resorted to what sometimes would have been comedic if it hadn't been such serious business. What was clear to me was that a cop-wanna-be profiled a teenager and put himself in a position that not only wasn't necessary since said teenager was committing no crime, but proved to be deadly. I do fear this will embolden others who just can't wait to judge and act impulsively.
I wasn't at the trial and didn't hear the evidence - so I can't know what information the jury was deliberating on. The trial isn't about "is George Zimmerman a terrible person?" it's about did Zimmerman's action fit into the description of a specific charge, i.e., manslaughter vs. murder. As frustrating as it is when a verdict isn't what we expect, I know that none of us would like to live in a system that DIDN'T have very specific rules for guilty verdicts.
That being said, I will always hold Zimmerman MORALLY responsible for taking a life. Martin was walking home from the store; Zimmerman was deliberately looking for "criminals." He started it. Everything that happened is his fault.
The "stand your ground" law should have been applied to Martin, not Zimmerman.
Agreed, M. And it may not be over for Zimmerman ...
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