The Verdict Is In

The verdict is in but a lot of people don’t like it. Right from the very beginning the media framed this whole thing. It’s yet one more example of the media making the news instead of reporting the news. I remember seeing the story when it first broke on television and I remember experiencing feelings of disgust and hatred (to be honest) for this sleaze-ball Zimmerman. I think back on this now having learned more of the facts and I realize that this is how they fed it to us. They should be the ones baring the brunt of the indignation because they are the ones who fueled the fires of prejudice.

They started right off the get-go by profiling those old photos of Trayvon Martin showing him as a young boy, maybe 12 or so, while he was actually 17 years old and well over six feet tall when the incident took place. And on it went from there.  

Yes, the US is a gun culture, and yes, George Zimmerman should have stayed in his car, and yes, he was apparently a wannabe. But he was a neighborhood watch captain and there had been 8 burglaries around his neighbourhood in the preceding 14 months. And while we don’t know if Trayvon Martin was engaging in anything illegal that night, he had been suspended from school for being in possession of a “‘burglary tool’ and a bag full of women’s jewelry.”

Then there is the eyewitness John Good. He testified to seeing the younger Martin on top of Zimmerman, pummeling away on him “ground and pound” style. After yelling out to Martin “cut it out” and “I’m calling 911”,  Good ran off to make that call but he testified that Martin was in physical command of the situation and was obviously winning the fight when he ran for the phone.  

Dr. Vincent DiMaio, a former chief medical examiner in Texas, testified in Zimmerman’s defense, saying that Zimmerman “…had at least six injuries after his clash with Martin – including two on the back of his head that appeared to indicate impacts with concrete – one on each temple, one on his forehead and one on his nose… Lacerations to Zimmerman’s head suggested the use of ‘severe force,’ he said, lending credence to his claim that Martin slammed Zimmerman’s head into a concrete walkway after knocking him to the ground with a punch that broke his nose.”

But everyone seemed to want to wade in with their own sentiment. For crying out loud, the President of the United States comes out and says … “If I had a son he would look like Trayvon”!!! Really! And that is relevant how?! I mean what is that?!!!

Anyone who doesn’t think that the kind of prejudice and racism being alleged isn’t experienced every day by various groups has their head in the sand. But Zimmerman wasn’t charged with being prejudiced. He was charged with murder. Why should George Zimmerman, or any other individual for that matter, bare the wrath for all of the social injustice felt by the black population in America?  Zimmerman is Hispanic. What about the prejudice experienced by that group?

People should not have to be subjected to us drawing unwarranted conclusions about them based on their appearance. Neither should people have to live with the violation of having us break into their home to steal their personal belongings. That too is a justice issue.

So what about that? Can you relate to people’s frustration over the state of our legal/judicial systems? Last week, Police issued a warning to residents of Halifax that a violent offender had been released into their community. This is a relatively common occurrence, but the details of this case just seem to accentuate the huge problems in our own justice system.

Just take a look at the facts in this case as they have been reported:

Twenty seven year old Damien Christopher Clyke has just completed a four year sentence for armed robbery which he committed while wearing a ski mask.

He has past convictions for a number of other violent crimes, including assaults on three correctional officers while in custody.

He has more than forty convictions and his victims include family members, strangers and peace officers.

He has been professionally assessed as a high risk to re-offend in a violent manner.

The parole board documents indicate he is likely to commit an offence causing death or serious harm to another person after being released from prison and that “he continues to possess violent tendencies, has gained no insight into his offences and has expressed no motivation for change”. They also say that he suffers from a mental illness.

There is no shortage of blame to go around when it comes to the brokenness all around us. The system is most definitely broken. People are definitely broken. I am definitely broken because I am way too quick to judge when I see a story break on television.