George Zimmerman who shot dead unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26, was arrested by Seminole County law men in Florida, Wednesday, April 11, after state attorney Angela Corey completed investigations and had the killer charged with second degree murder.
Florida state attorney, Angela Corey, announcing the indictment of George Zimmerman.
The controversial killing which first saw police freeing Zimmerman on the grounds of self defence, triggering weeks of public protests, has stirred questions about the justice system in the state and sparked accusations that race played a part in the police decision and the shooters actions.
US media say the Zimmerman case will be difficult. And according to the BBC “legal experts say that prosecutors must prove the shooting was rooted in hatred or ill will, while the defence, to prevent the case from even going to trial, have to prove by a relatively lower legal standard that its client acted in self-defence.”
In a nutshell this is what happened:
Martin was walking in the rain towards his father’s home in the central Florida community of Sanford. Zimmerman was driving by and felt Martin looked suspicious. He had his Glok pistol on him. He stopped his truck, started following the teen. He called 911 to report the boy as a suspicious character. Scared,the boy ran when he realized he was being followed. Zimmerman tells the police the boy is running. They tell him, don’t chase the person. But Zimmerman chased him in the dark and caught up. People hear screams and shouts for help. Bang! The boy is dead with the iced tea and candy he was eating. Zimmerman told police he killed Martin self defence as the boy attacked and battered him. Zimmerman was released and launched appeals to the community and country to support his healing for the deep wound at the life changing encounter in which he was a victim.
Even an honorary LLB or JD can figure this one out. Just go by Zimmerman’s evidence and the 911 calls. Don’t listen to the race and other side issues.
The judicial process will take its course. “We did not come to this decision (to arrest Zimmerman) lightly,” Corey told the media when she made her public announcement of the arrest. “Let me emphasise that we do not prosecute by public pressure or petition.”
But without public pressure, this case would have gone by the wayside.
About Mark Lee
Mark Lee has been a long-time journalist writing, editing and producing in print, radio television and new media.
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