Currently ongoing in central Florida, George Zimmerman is on trial for 2nd degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. Here are the facts, as told by CNN:
Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, was a 17-year-old African-American high school student who lived in Miami Gardens, Florida with his mother Sybrina Fulton. In February 2012, Martin was visiting his father, Tracy Martin, in Sanford, Florida after receiving a ten-day suspension from Krop Senior High School. The suspension stemmed from the discovery of drug residue in Martin’s book bag.
George Michael Zimmerman, born October 5, 1983, was a part-time student at Seminole State College and a neighborhood watch captain at the Retreat at Twin Lakes gated community in Sanford at the time of the shooting. He is married to Shellie (Dean) Zimmerman and is the son of Robert and Gladys Zimmerman.
February 26, 2012 – George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida, calls 911 to report “a suspicious person” in the neighborhood. He is instructed not to get out of his SUV or approach the person. Zimmerman disregards the instructions. Moments later, neighbors report hearing gunfire. Zimmerman acknowledges that he shot Martin, claiming it was in self-defense. In a police report, Officer Timothy Smith writes that Zimmerman was bleeding from the nose and back of the head.
Leading up to the physical encounter between the two, Martin talked to his girlfriend, while Zimmerman talked to a 911 dispatcher…
What happened next is a matter of dispute. Martin and Zimmerman were obviously in the middle of it, but no one else saw all that happened. One witness later told police that “she heard a commotion, which sounded like arguing,” while another mentioned “loud talking.”
And on one 911 call, placed by a neighbor, a police sergeant counted one man yelling “help!” or “help me!” 14 times in a span of 38 seconds.
Who was yelling? When the 911 calls were later played back for him and he was asked if they were from his son, an emotional Tracy Martin “quietly responded ‘no’.” But an FBI analysis, also detailed on Thursday, said it couldn’t be determined whose voice it was due to the “extreme emotional state” of whomever was yelling, a lack of words from which to compare, overlapping voices and “insufficient voice quality” on the recording.
Then at the trial last week, each mother of the men involved testified that the desperate voice on the other end of that phone was that of their son…
Zimmerman acknowledged shooting Martin but said it was in self-defense. Attorneys for Martin’s family have accused Zimmerman of racially profiling Martin and shooting him “in cold blood.”
Hence, here is our challenge…
First, let’s acknowledge that regardless of motive or responsibility, this situation is tragic. A teenager died.
Second, let’s also acknowledge that since only the 2 men were there, only the 2 of them know fully what happened.
The challenge? Martin was an African-American. Zimmerman is a white Hispanic. Would this situation be handled the same — by the media, law, and families involved — if the color of Martin and Zimmerman’s skin was the same?
Sadly… that’s a great question.
Respectfully,
AR