As more details about the Martin/Zimmerman case emerge, the messier it becomes.
I want to quote some excerpts from a recent ABC/Good Morning America story about the case.
Zimmerman had claimed he had called police about Martin, whom he found suspicious, then went back to his car when Martin attacked him, punching him.
Taken at face value, the above claim seems to suggest that Zimmerman made no direct contact with Martin until Martin struck Zimmerman. However, that suggestion is false.
Martin’s girlfriend had said in a recording obtained exclusively by ABC News that she heard Martin ask Zimmerman “why are your following me, and then the man asked, what are you doing around here.” She then heard a scuffle break out and the line went dead.
So, Zimmerman did initiate the confrontation between Martin and himself.
During Zimmerman’s call to 911, the dispatcher asked him if he was following the teen. When Zimmerman replied that he was, the dispatcher said, “We don’t need you to do that.”
Zimmerman could have watched Martin from afar. Instead, Zimmerman directly confronted Martin.
Zimmerman shot Martin dead the night of Feb. 26 after following him for several minutes. Zimmerman told police Martin looked suspicious because he was wearing a hoodie, and when he confronted him the two fought — ultimately resulting in a single bullet in Martin’s chest.
I have no doubt that Martin started fighting Zimmerman just as Zimmerman described.
Yet, I have to wonder if Martin thought that he had just cause to fight Zimmerman.
Zimmerman claimed that Martin was up to no good, but Martin could have perceived Zimmerman as being up to no good. After all, Zimmerman was neither a police officer nor a security guard, and yet, he was following Martin while armed with a gun. What if Martin decided to attack Zimmerman before Zimmerman could make use of his gun? Can we rule out the possibility that Martin saw that Zimmerman was armed? What if Martin thought that he had to stand his ground?
I will admit that Zimmerman may have had just cause to shoot Martin after Martin started fighting. However, Zimmerman started this mess, and now he has to live with the fact that he killed someone.
The lynch mob that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are leading will not agree with me on this point, but I believe that Zimmerman has already received enough punishment from a criminal perspective. His killing of Martin will haunt Zimmerman for the rest of his life.
If Zimmerman is exonerated by a grand jury or by a jury in a court of criminal law, then I expect Zimmerman to be sued by Martin’s family. In a civil court case, the standard of proof of guilt is not as strict as it is in a criminal court case.
As I see it, in the Martin/Zimmerman mess, there are no heroes, no winners and no innocent people. As the Tanakh says, “Man’s deeds are corrupt and loathsome; no one does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man mindful of God. All have turned bad, altogether foul; there is none who does good, not even one.”
Thankfully, divine judgement will eventually come to both Martin and Zimmerman, as it will come to all of us, and when it comes, there will be justice.
It’s a shame that those reverend race hustlers Jackson and Sharpton act as if their judgement is divine. Those two have trouble obeying the Tanakh’s commandments not to commit adultery and not to bear false witness.
Quote Source: Tanakh (1985: Jewish Publication Society), Psalm 14:1.
