George Zimmerman is being prosecuted to appease the tribal forces of hatred unleashed by media lies, the propaganda of Al Sharpton, and a totally unjust sense of identification by the “black community” with violent thugs like Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman was a man any of us would want as a neighbor. He volunteered in his community and took a stand when most people do the bare minimum. Seeing a suspicious individual he called the police and looked into what was happening. Seeing him flee, he continued to gather information so the cops could find him. Facing a violent beatdown by a young man with a well-documented attitude problem, he shot the perpetrator in the chest after screaming for his life for over a minute.
Wanting to be a cop some day, he trusted law enforcement, interviewed with them at length the night of the shooting, the day after the shooting, and, according to his former lawyers, as recently as this week. Knowing he was innocent, he thought that the truth would surely move the special prosecutor in the same sensible direction as the original prosecutor. He forgot that America of 2012 does not care about him. He’s a second class citizen at best, not because he’s Hispanic, but because he’s non-black, a gun owner, and has become the object of organized hatred. Hence, mutatis mutandis, this minority man, a registered Democrat, who volunteered to mentor black kids becomes a “white Hispanic” racist overnight.
This woman Corey is demented. She somehow thinks it’s her job to hug and kiss Trayvon’s parents, ignore the “reasonable doubt” standard that applies to self defense, and push this weak case in spite of its manifest flaws. Her supersilious smile shows a woman without proper moral instincts. She talked about this prosecution the way you’d tell a class of third graders they’re going on a fieldtrip. She’s all about praying with Trayvon’s parents and hugging and kissing these “sweet people” and all sorts of other bullshit. No discussion of what tipped the scales that might make the public think: hey, maybe it wasn’t a real case of self-defense. Facts be damned, second degree murder here we come.
This ain’t about Trayvon’s parents who clearly were failing at raising this kid. This ain’t about how much Corey loves her staff and fellow lawyers. She was frankly somewhat dishonest, pretending to maintain an aloof neutrality, even as she has set in motion a process that already threatens George Zimmerman with a 30 year minimum prison sentence, and even as she showed an inappropriate emotional identification with the “victim’s” parents. She doesn’t represent them or victims for that matter; she represents the state of Florida and its laws, not Trayvon’s grandstanding divorced parents.
She is Zimmerman’s enemy. She is the enemy of anyone and everyone that, faced with a violent assault, would use a firearm in self defense. She is the enemy of common sense and justice and real victims of real criminals.
For her, and many other prosecutors, “criminal” is not a type of person or someone committing a certain type of behavior. Rather, it’s anyone she can by hook or by crook nail with a conviction. I saw this with my own eyes while clerking for a federal judge: prosecutors who “push the envelope” with people who were so far from criminal it was mind-boggling. The only people I’m praying for in this drama are Zimmerman and the future jury; God just let them have a modicum of common sense and decency. For God’s sake, if Casey Anthony can get off on reasonable doubt, surely this guy can!
I’m so pissed off about this I can barely talk. But if there’s one lesson to anyone that may shoot someone in self defense it’s this: shut up. Don’t yap to the cops. Once you’re standing over a dead body, they are not your friends; they and the prosecutors seek to rack up points above all else. If they’re not that way, good for you, but you have to assume the worst. For the most part, this is the human type involved. Think Nancy Grace. They can’t be trusted, and they’re not your friends at that moment. You probably think criminals are one group, and you are in another group. “Hey cops, I’m like you; I hate crooks, that’s why I just shot one!” But once you’re on their radar, anyone who can possibly be prosecuted is in the same group, the criminal group, the group that has much to fear from prosecutors. Get a lawyer, and shut your trap.
The credulous Zimmerman, believing in law enforcement that he idolized to the end, likely sealed his own fate with some slight discrepancy in his story. That’s all it takes. With his belief in race blindness and the American way, he forgot that the special prosecutor was out for blood to prevent a riot, to show their politically correct bona fides, and because prosecutors really don’t give a shit about you once you are anywhere near a crime scene. If there’s a dead body, get ready to be cuffed, no matter what. Indeed, Zimmerman had faced exactly that from the much-maligned Sanford PD. But prosecutors are supposed to create an additional layer of professionalism not focused on winning, but rather on pursuing the truth. In reality, like most advocates, most just want to win. Why else are you always seeing them exposed for some violation or another of their ethical mandate to share exculpatory evidence and the like?
Zimmerman’s about to learn the meaning of the old adage, “It’s better to be judged by twelve, than carried by six.” Let’s hope to God the jury realizes what a raw deal this guy has gotten and is continuing to get in this case.
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Great post, Chris. Incidentally, this prosecutor seems to be another of the too-frequent example of somebody who lacks the temperament and intellectual chops for law practice but manages to glide along in some government sinecure.
Truthfully there’s lots of dumb lawyers in Florida, and those that hang around government forever are some of the dumbest.
Roach,
I always believed that desirable states like Florida would have the most stringent bar exams, and thus would have a better crop of lawyers than a state like South Dakota where they’d be happy to have anyone practice law, no disrespect intended.
Not sure. Actually our bar MBE score required was higher than Texas and is about 1SD higher than Georgia’s. So maybe they’re even dumber elsewhere!
Also, she took bar a ways back, probably wasn’t as hard back then. Standards are rising, as jobs are becoming less plentiful. Baby Boomers had a golden window. I know plenty of broke geniuses from Gen X and it’s probably worse with Gen Y.
I am not a doctor, but I know a few radiologists. They tell me that in sunshine states, or states where the potential for income is the highest like, FL, CA, NY, the board examines for radiology are most difficult. In states where they desperately need doctors the standards are lower. So I just assumed it would be similar for lawyers. I have no firsthand knowledge other than speculating from what I’ve heard from my physician relatives.
It’s obvious that there is a large dose of political motivation at work, but I don’t understand the political logic behind the murder charge. It seems to me that charging Zimmerman with murder rather than manslaughter provides only a marginal political benefit but dramatically increases the risk of losing the case.
Is this some sort of plea bargaining strategy? Or is she assuming the case is going to be thrown out by a judge, meaning that the indictment is her only opportunity to score political points? Or is she just stupid?
I don’t understand the legal process or the facts of the case well enough to have a strong opinion on whether Zimmerman should be charged or what exactly he should be charged with, but this 2nd degree murder charge definitely leaves me scratching my head.
The board exams for radiology, and I believe all other medical specialties, are national.
In my day the final oral exam was available once a year, and was given in Lousiville, KY.
Manslaughter is a lesser included offense; if she can’t prove that, jury can find the lesser included offense. Defense may gamble and not permit jury to consider lesser included offense–happened in that nanny case up in Mass a few years ago–but that is serious serious brinksmanship.
Okay, all makes sense now, from a political perspective at least. So I guess from a prosecutorial standpoint, the only reason not to indict with the most severe crime is that it may make you look vindictive? Because you can always catch the defendant with a lesser included offense, right?
These lesser included offenses also seem to be a short of insurance for the prosecutor, correct? Like I’ve heard that sodomy is often included in charges, even though it would never be charged in it’s own right, because prosecuters know that if the defendant is also convicted on the sodomy charge it adds to the sentence and also is an easy to prove fallback if the more serious charges fall through. And prosecutors often load up the indictments with lots of these little charges, right, so they can still add up to a substantial sentence?
For instance, I had a classmate once who had served time in the juvenile system because he had been involved in a large bar brawl. Someone was stabbed and died, and a witness pinned it on him. In the trial it turned out that he wasn’t the stabber, but they still decided to put him in jail for assault, even though there were about a dozen other people in the fight that didn’t get charged with anything. I suppose this is what you meant when you said prosecutors are looking for anyone they can “by hook or by crook nail with a conviction”.
That’s right, plus “overcharging” helps their ability to get a plea bargain. Some people consider it unethical; if there’s no probable cause on a charge–and I think here it’s a stretch to say there would be–then it’s relaly unethical in my opinion. The problem Zimmerman will face is a 30 year mandatory minimum for 2nd degree murder, versus whatever years they’ll agree to for manslaughter. Sucks to be him.
He should not plea. Fight. He will be found not guilty. Then we will have to endure more black racist rioting.