This has got to be one of the saddest stories of the year: a 17-year-old teen by the name of Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, on his way back to his father's home in Sanford, FL after buying some snacks from the a convenience store. What is worse is that the killer has not been charged, as he claimed "self-defense," although he followed the teen even after a 911 dispatcher told him not to.
The teen was visiting his father from Miami. They were watching a championship basketball game when he decided to walk to the convenience store during half-time for snacks. As he is walking back, Zimmerman, 28, calls 911 to report a "suspicious" individual due to a number of break-ins in his neighborhood and follows the boy. The boy, who was on the phone with his girlfriend, lead onto the fact that Zimmerman was following him. The boy asks Zimmerman why he is following him, Zimmerman asks the boy what he is doing in his neighborhood. Shortly after that a scuffle ensues, and Zimmerman shoots and kills the boy.
It is obvious that the reason why this teen looked suspicious was none other than him being black and "dressing the part" with a hoody on. The boy was not doing anything out of the ordinary, and he did not have any weapons on him. He did not deserve to die; however, Zimmerman deserves to be charged with murder.
There is a law in Florida that states that anyone who feels "threatened" can use deadly force in self-defense and not be charged, and Zimmerman used this law to his advantage. The law is so flawed--anyone call kill someone and call it "self-defense," and the witness (victim) is dead, so you take the word of the person who killed? I doesn't make sense to me...
...What also doesn't make sense is the fact that this man, who looks like he is twice or three times the size of this child, is claiming self-defense when he pursued the young man (after being told not to--I can't reiterate that enough), and all that Trayvon had on him were a few snacks and his cell phone--no gun, no knife, no kind of weapon.
What do you think about this case? Should Zimmerman be prosecuted?
