US: No Justice for Travyon Martin, Black Kid

Whenever skin color or other ethnic complexity is involved, the American justice system still struggles to be just. Often, there is the sense that anyone who kills or attacks a black man, especially if it’s a white police officer, can get away with little or no blame, at least until a racial riot induces a state or federal court to review the facts. It’s the Rodney King paradigm. However, it can also cause a black man who kills his white wife and her friend to be acquitted because his lawyer convinced the jury that the sentence would be the result of ethnic prejudice — the paradigm of OJ Simpson. And things get even more complicated when the ethnic groups are intertwined — Hispanics, Asians, blacks and whites.

The acquittal of George Zimmerman, 29, of Hispanic origin, on the charges of being criminally responsible for the death of Travyon Martin, 17, an African-American, seems to confirm how difficult it is to be fair in such cases. The verdict of “not guilty” was issued by the jurors — six of them, all women — after 16 hours of deliberation.

On the night of Feb. 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida, George, a neighborhood watch member — sort of a patrol agent — shot and killed Trayvon, who was unarmed, with a pistol as he was leaving a store. He was holding a drink and a packet of candy and was headed to his father’s house. He was “guilty” of having his sweatshirt hood up, like millions of American teenagers.

The shooter has always maintained his innocence, claiming that he acted in self-defense after being attacked and denying any racial motivation. The jurors believed him: The killing of Travyon was deemed to not be premeditated murder, for which George would have faced life imprisonment, or manslaughter, for which he was in danger of receiving 10 to 30 years in prison.

At the time of Travyon’s death, emotions ran high. Thousands of young people went to Sanford, wearing sweatshirts with the hood up, to express solidarity with the family of the victim. President Obama commented on the incident, saying that if he had a son he would have looked like Travyon and asking for clarity, as the local police had initially decided not to arrest the shooter.

And now the judgment is likely to have an aftermath in public opinion, as the public has been following the process on live TV for weeks, divided about whether the killing had a racial motive. The protests began immediately after George’s acquittal, outside the courtroom, where a crowd was waiting for justice they didn’t receive. That night there were demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and Oakland, California.

But in the meantime, George is a free man. And Trayvon is a dead kid — killed by the man who shot him, and by the justice system.