Brought to you by the same state that found Casey Anthony not-guilty of murder, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Trayvon Martin case.
Are we really that surprised?
Apparently, wearing a hoodie and holding Skittles and an iced tea merits enough suspicion to be shot and killed by the questionable neighborhood watchdog.
George Zimmerman, of Sanford, took the life of the 17-year-old, claiming that the teen “looks like he is up to no good,” on a recording with a police dispatcher that night.
Zimmerman’s story goes that he was acting out of “self-defense” against the unarmed teen with a squeaky-clean criminal record. He has yet to be arrested due to a lack of evidence — the same song that kept Anthony out of the big house.
Granted, Zimmerman has a right to a fair trial, but he must undergo tough and thorough questioning. No one has the right to take the life of someone’s child without a serious investigation.
The incident has since incensed the nation. Services and rallies are being held in cities across the country in Trayvon’s honor, beginning in Miami, his hometown, and Sanford, where his father’s girlfriend lived.
The Miami Heat took photographs earlier this week to take a stand against the apparent injustice. Even President Obama expressed his sympathy for Trayvon’s family.
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” the president said.
Trayvon could have been anyone’s son, brother, cousin or friend. He could have been a fellow UF student. He was just a normal kid walking home from the store.
A few students set up a table on Turlington Plaza earlier this week calling for justice for Trayvon’s death. If justice is never reached, then I hope the student group continues to seek a more fair, thorough justice system.
Another innocent life cannot be taken and forgotten while a guilty one lives freely.
The incident has triggered heavy debate over hot issues: gun control (particularly Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law), race and the skewed justice system.
Zimmerman was licensed to carry a concealed firearm, but this incident prompts another look at our gun laws. The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms, but does it go so far as to protect those who have the motive to kill?
I hope that Zimmerman’s decision to fire on Trayvon is unrelated to race, as Zimmerman himself is half-Latino. I’d like to think that, in our modern and increasingly tolerant world, race did not play a factor in his hasty decision; though — let’s face it — it very well may have.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has partnered with the state Department of Law Enforcement to assemble a task force to look into the shooting. All eyes are on Florida to make sure justice is sought for the teen.
But after all the hype dies down, Trayvon’s life was still lost — and nothing can bring the young man back. All those other issues, even when they are resolved and laws are made and amended, will never help replace the life of the 17-year-old.
Sadly, Trayvon isn’t the first and won’t be the last teenager to be killed in a situation like this. As citizens, we have to put our faith (however little it may be) into the justice system and continue to call for fair trials that take a good look at the evidence. All that can be done to save another young life must be done.
Colleen Wright is a journalism freshman at UF. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
