Last updated on April 13th, 2012 at 10:20 am
Special prosecutor Angela Corey has announced that George Zimmerman has been charged with murder in the second degree, and 45 days after his murder Trayvon Martin will finally a chance at justice.
Special prosecutor Corey prefaced her announcement of charges against Zimmerman by saying that cases should be tried not in the courts of media or public opinion. Corey then announced that Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder. She reminded the world that the constitutional victim here is Trayvon Martin. The special prosecutor said that George Zimmerman turned himself in. Corey found that that the killing of Trayvon Martin was not an excusable or justifiable homicide.
What the announcement by the special prosecutor revealed was that investigators weren’t able to verify George Zimmerman’s story as fact. This is the first step in getting justice for the killing of Trayvon Martin, but will getting Zimmerman charged be enough? George Zimmerman does remain innocent until proven guilty, but will the supporters of Trayvon Martin feel like justice has been served if George Zimmerman is found not guilty? Do the charges against Zimmerman merely raise the stakes?
Zimmerman’s recent behavior, starting a website, raising money, and the PR offensive makes a lot more sense now that he has been formally charged. George Zimmerman had to know that these charges were coming. It won’t take the political hucksters on the right long to cry out that a miscarriage of justice is being carried out against George Zimmerman. The right wing offensive against President Obama is certain to reach a fevered pitch. The howls of Obama racism got George Zimmerman charged will soon be echoed high and low from every Fox News and talk radio microphone.
The right’s politicization of this case has turned what was going to a high profile trial into a racial powder keg. A horrible senseless homicide has become a case with national implications, but while the hate mongers and their candidates try to win votes by playing to the darkest elements of our national psyche, we must not forget that what happened 45 days ago has noting to do with a hoodie or President Obama. What really matters is getting justice for the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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