Justifiable Homicide: the Right to Murder

George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin to death but was not detained by police for seven weeks. Now the shooter has finally been arrested and charged with second degree murder, but after all the errors made over the course of the investigation, can Trayvon ever get justice?

Trayvon’s parents wanted only one thing: George Zimmerman’s arrest after he shot their son to death on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla. After nearly seven weeks, that wish has finally been fulfilled. A special prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for George Zimmerman, a Latino, on a charge of murder in the second degree. The so-called neighborhood watchman is charged with pursuing and murdering the unarmed Martin in a gated community.

It’s a surprising development; the police set Zimmerman free after initially taking him into custody following the shooting, at which time Zimmerman claimed he pulled the trigger in self-defense. That right to self-defense — the Stand Your Ground Law — is widely, perhaps universally, applicable in Florida, not only on one’s own property, but anywhere one feels threatened.

The police were therefore initially not particularly interested in investigating the case. They did not secure the crime scene or collect evidence, and they only questioned the shooter briefly, never questioning his account of what had happened.

This lack of action unleashed a wave of protest across the country, not only because a possible murder remained uninvestigated but also because African-Americans saw the shooting as racially motivated. And there were numerous indications to back that assumption. The case eventually took on political dimensions when President Obama publicly stated that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon. The officials in Florida were moved to take action on the case by appointing a special prosecutor who acted swiftly and meaningfully only after public and political pressure demanded it.

Justice for Trayvon? Not very likely

The prosecutor’s decision calmed public outrage and is restoring some semblance of confidence in the American justice system. But can it result in justice for Martin? That appears to be less likely.

While there are numerous indications of Zimmerman’s guilt — phone records of his call to the police prior to the shooting and the 911 calls of several witnesses, as well as a police video showing a completely alert Zimmerman at the police station shortly after he was supposedly injured by Trayvon — there were no actual eyewitnesses to the shooting itself. It’s one account against another, and it could be that neither criminal intent nor racist motivation will ever be confirmed or denied.

But what can be accomplished is the repeal of a highly dangerous self-defense law that was forced through by the Florida gun lobby and which exists in varying forms in other states as well.

This law leads to more death rather than increased safety because neighborhood watch guards like Zimmerman all too often shoot first and call the police later.

This law legalizes murder.