Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Pursuit of Justice: A Federal Civil Rights Case against George Zimmerman

As the call for change in existing self-defense laws rages on far beyond the post on this an countless other blog sites, much has been made of additional and alternative mechanisms for justice for Trayvon Martin. One idea that has been floated is a federal civil rights case.

Personally, I have no plans to hitch my justice-seeking wagon to the star of a potential federal civil rights case against George Zimmerman. My position isn't at all based on cynicism about the federal government's ability or willingness to effectively prosecute civil rights violations. In fact, I feel confident that Eric Holder, the Justice Department, and the Obama administration are committed to pursuing justice against these types of illegal activities and the booster laws which encourage rogue vigilantism. That said, I just don't think what George Zimmerman did - even in the most light most unfavorable to him - amounts to a civil rights violation under current federal law.

For the government to win a civil rights case against George Zimmerman, they would have to show that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin because of racial bias. In other words, he killed Travyon because he didn't like black people. While it is an accepted fact that George Zimmerman began following Trayvon Martin on the night he was killed because he looked "suspicious" and like the other (black) burglars who had been robbing the neighborhood, those thoughts and actions alone do not portend that George Zimmerman would not have fired a fatal shot through Trayvon’s heart had he walked the earth with a lighter shade of melanin.

What George Zimmerman's statements and actions do imply is that he racially profiled Trayvon. This implication becomes more clear when you look at the lack of similarity and the numerous dis-similarities between Trayvon and some of the "suspicious" men who were actually arrested for committing these crimes. And though profiling is certainly a reductive, offensive, and flawed rationale for George Zimmerman’s actions towards Trayvon, even an admission of profiling in and of itself would not likely assure victory in a pursuit for justice for Trayvon.

The truth is very little of the information that has come to light about this tragedy lends itself well to proving that race motivated George Zimmerman to eternally rob Trayvon of his most fundamental right to life. For that, there would need to be some kind of evidence of strong hatred of black people, a hatred that motivated George Zimmerman not just to follow Trayvon, but a hatred that caused  him to pull the trigger and end his life. Perhaps if George Zimmerman belonged to an anti-black group, or had a long pattern of spewing anti-black sentiments there would be a basis for finding racial animus. But put simply, George Zimmerman is no Joe Arpaio, and the evidence available does not point to such a vile and deadly motivation.

Perhaps Trayvon Martin’s parents Tracy Martin and Sabrina Fulton can be vindicated by a civil court for the wrongful death of their young son. Whatever they determine their journey forward is, I pray for them to have peace and healing in what have been undoubtedly painfully trying times. I also hope that they find comfort in knowing there are many who feel love, care, and compassion for them and for their son and his place in the struggle for justice for all of our children, including the kind of justice sought for young Darius Simmons and Jordan Davis. #blacklivesmatter

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