The Zimmerman Verdict

The jury has spoken with a not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.  It's now the time for the so-called experts to weigh in on the subject.    Let's not forget for a moment that this local shooting in a town in Florida has political implications.  The President of the United States had already commented on the case when it first occurred and later after the verdict was announced.

An interesting comment was made in today's Wall Street Journal by Kenneth Nunn, assistant director of the Criminal Justice Center at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.  He was quoted as saying, "I think you could make out the case that unconscious racism caused Mr. Zimmerman to profile" Mr. Martin. He went on to add, "But there doesn't seem to be enough there to justify a claim that racial animus was the predicate behind Trayvon Martin's death."

Do you ever wonder like me where a term like 'unconscious racism' came from.  Who is the so-called expert who coined the phrase, and how did it evolve into a theory.  I see talking heads using terms like this and I would love to see someone just one once ask them to not only define the term but question them as to it's factual basis.

Here's my take now on the verdict.  An argument could be made as to whether this case would have even been filed if both parties were of the same race.  Being that it was, the state had a difficult time proving the case that it was murder and not self-defense.  The state's witnesses weren't all that good, and the best independent witnesse placed Mr. Martin on top of Mr. Zimmerman and said it looked like he was punching him.  The medical examiner testified that Zimmerman's injuries were not life threatening, yet you had pictures of him that showed his nose broken and blood streaking down the back of his head.

Pictures tell a thousand words, and that may have been a big reason for the acquittal.

Mr. Zimmerman's legal problems are not over, however.  The Huffington Post reported yesterday that the U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the case to see if any criminal civil rights charges can be filed in the case.