Jason Riley writes in the Wall Street Journal, Race, Politics and the Zimmerman Trial:

Excerpts:

The jury’s only job in the Zimmerman trial was to determine whether the defendant broke the law when he shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year in a gated community near Orlando, Fla. In cases of self-defense, it doesn’t matter who initiated the confrontation; whether Mr. Zimmerman singled out Martin because he was a black youngster in a neighborhood where there had been a series of burglaries by black youngsters; or whether Mr. Zimmerman disregarded what the police dispatcher told him before he got out of his car. Nor does it matter that Martin was unarmed and minding his own business when Mr. Zimmerman approached.

All that really mattered in that courtroom is whether Mr. Zimmerman reasonably believed that his life was in danger when he pulled the trigger. Critics of the verdict might not like the statutes that allowed for this outcome, but the proper response would not have been for the jury to ignore them and convict.

HKO

So much of the trial seemed irrelevant. Could George Zimmerman have averted the incident if he had acted differently. Most likely, but that is irrelevant. If Trayvon Martin were Hispanic or white the outcome would have been the same. It is not about race, it is not about gun control, it is not about stand your ground- which was not used as a defense. It was about the seconds involved when Zimmerman was on the ground.

Those who threaten and riot over this trial are reprehensible. We should never allow a jury or its judgement to be intimidated, any more than we should allow such threats against a judge.

Tag Archives

Respect the Jury

Recent Posts

Recent Comments