Meanwhile in Vopland

[Eki]

This thread will probably be closed, but...

Trayvon Martin's death gains national attention | wtsp.com

Trayvon Martin's death gains national attention
5:47 PM, Mar 19, 2012


Tampa, Florida -- With no charges yet filed, anger is continuing to grow over the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by a neighborhood watch volunteer near Orlando.

On Monday morning, the mother of Trayvon Martin told NBC's Today Show that the man who shot her son "was reacting to the color of his skin."

Martin was an African-American boy visiting family in Sanford when he was shot by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old white man.

Calls released by police over the weekend reveal Zimmerman was told not to follow the teen. But Zimmerman ignored the dispatcher and later admitted to shooting the teen after an altercation.

Sybrina Fulton, Martin's mom was asked on Monday what she thought Zimmerman was reacting to.

"He was reacting to the color of (my son's) skin." Fulton noted her son had committed no crime and wasn't doing anything wrong -- just walking on the sidewalk.

Zimmerman told the dispatcher, "Something's wrong with him." He also said at one point, "This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something."

Monday college students protested outside the Seminole County criminal courts building, demanding an arrest be made in the case. It's just the latest in a string of protests over Martin's death.

On Thursday civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton is scheduled to appear at an event as the case draws more national attention.

Tampa attorney Barry Cohen, who is not representing anyone connected to the case, says Zimmerman could have a difficult time using the state's "stand your ground" law as a defense, if he was told by authorities not to follow the teen.

"That's going to prevent him from getting away with this justifiable homicide foolishness," he said.

Zimmerman, who reportedly wants to be a police officer, says he was acting in self-defense when he shot Martin.

Martin's parents are now calling on the FBI to get involved in the investigation, saying they no longer trust the local police department.

[Rudy Tamasz]

This is a tragic story. Is there any specific point you want to make, Eki?

[schmenke]

Why would the FBI have any jurisdiction?

[Firstgear]

This is a tragic story. Is there any specific point you want to make, Eki?

Check his signature - he's trying to catch a fish (ie trolling)

[Gregor-y]

Why would the FBI have any jurisdiction?

It's based on legal workings from he civil rights era where blacks (or whites registering them to vote) would be killed and local municipalities would either ignore the killings, refuse to prosecute based on claims similar to the current self defense explination, or put the killers on trial only to have a sympathetic jury (since jury selection was pretty heavily screened and blacks weren't allowed to serve) acquit them. Because a strict interpretation of the constitution does not prevent this, and because those actions were particularly egregious (though it had been happening for decades at a lower level), the only way to prosecute these crimes at a higher level was to interpret the killing based on a violation of the civil rights law, which was intended to prevent discrimination. In these cases the murders, being racially motivated, amounted to discrimination so federal law enforcement could get involved.

It's a long history spanning age-old local/federal and racial tensions that really hasn't been addressed as much as patched over by successive laws.

[schmenke]

Thanks for the explanation .

So in this particular case for the FBI to become involved it’s up to the plaintiff to demonstrate that the victim’s race was a motivating factor in the murder? Not having read much details of the incident, on the surface, it doesn’t sound like this was the case

[Roamy]

It is quite tragic, Certainly two wrongs don't make a right. But I am going to wait for all the facts to come out. One glaring error. Why do people seem to think they can just walk through a gated community at will any hour of the day or night. Not that one deserves to be shot for doing so but it does give the defense a track to run on. In this country everyone is pressing every freedom to the absolute max. It will soon bite their asses. At the same time this is going on a Black teenager was convicted of killing two british tourists in Sarasota Florida. The tourists got drunk and wandered into the "Wrong" neighborhood. Right there is a glaring problem we have "Wrong Neighborhood" As lawmakers try to destroy the Castle Doctrine it will come back stronger that ever. Gun sales in this country are soaring. It is only the beginning of a bloody era coming our way.

[Eki]

This is a tragic story. Is there any specific point you want to make, Eki?

Gun control - For or against?

[Tazio]

This is all you need to know:

Zimmerman, who reportedly wants to be a police officer

[Eki]

This is all you need to know:

Well, I certainly hope he won't become one, or there'll be more blood.