Sunday Discussion: The George Zimmerman Verdict

By Nathan Young on July 14, 2013

Late Saturday night, I watched the verdict that was handed down at the George Zimmerman trial. The jury of six women found George Zimmerman NOT GUILTY on all charges. After the verdict was read, social media blew up in a firestorm of disbelief. Many people on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and other social media sites criticized the jury for handing down the wrong decision. And yes, I even read some posts and tweets from people who were threatening to take the law into their own hands and kill George Zimmerman if they saw him. Here’s video of the verdict if you have not seen it yet.

In my opinion, George Zimmerman will never be safe in the public ever again. Many people have already commented that he should have been found guilty of at least manslaughter. Although he is now done with the Florida State Court, his legal troubles are far from over. Soon, he will have to deal with a civil lawsuit. It almost happens every time after someone is found not guilty in a high-profile criminal court case. I believe the family of Trayvon Martin is already getting the paperwork together with their lawyers for a civil lawsuit. But Zimmerman’s criminal trouble might not be over. Believe it or not, the NAACP has a petition going urging the Federal Government to charge George Zimmerman with a Civil Rights Suit. And I thought Double Jeopardy was still present in America?

Look, don’t bash the six women on the jury who deliberated and made the decision to find George Zimmerman not guilty. They talked behind closed doors for over 16 hours to make a very tough decision. They studied all the evidence and the testimony and made a decision. I know the mainstream media is going to use all of their resources to find these six jurors for an extensive interview. But my hope is these six jurors stay hidden. Because if they go public, their lives could be in jeopardy.

From Mashable.

I know many people are saying that Trayvon Martin deserved better than this. Yes, he was wearing a hoodie and carried a bottle of iced tea and a bag of Skittles when he was confronted by George Zimmerman. Some people are calling this a race issue because Zimmerman, who is multi-racial Hispanic, used a gun to kill Martin, who was black. Many people who are minorities like Black or Hispanic, were hoping for a guilty verdict against Zimmerman. And now, many minority people are calling for Zimmerman’s head. I find this very disturbing.

Florida has been home to some wacky court cases in the last few years. Casey Anthony was found not guilty in the killing of her daughter. And many people across the country were against that ruling. Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law has seen many questionable rulings since it was passed. I found this story from the Tampa Bay Times. I believe the “Stand Your Ground” law needs to see some changes. Marissa Alexander tried to use the law, but somehow she got 20 years in prison. Something is wacky here.

I also think the Florida State Attorney Office needs to make some changes. With several very weird rulings already that makes the whole country question the department. I think the office needs to clean house and hire some new attorneys. I also think they need to make some new rules over TV trial coverage. I think the media needs to stay out of the courtroom during the trial and there should be no TV coverage. But I think that will never happen, the mainstream media will do anything to keep TV trial coverage, such a shame!

Somehow, I believe George Zimmerman will have to move out of Florida for his safety. I think Zimmerman also needs to stay out of communities with a high number of minorities. With the possibility of the federal government wanting to come after George Zimmerman, I wonder if he needs to move to another country like Canada? I do not want to see a future news story involving Zimmerman being killed because someone wanted some revenge. That would be a huge embarrassment for America.