I'm going to
try and make this my last post on this topic. From what I have seen, the involvement of Sharpton and (from afar) Jackson has been anything but helpful. Sharpton in particular has been
responsible for spreading some of the early myths surrounding the case that threw a lot of gas on the fire nationally. For example, the notion that the police returned the gun to Zimmerman and did "slipshod" police work. Add to that
Jackson's attempts to directly paint the death of Trayvon Martin as a prime example of how in America "Targeting, arresting, convicting blacks and ultimately killing us is big business." If that isn't "race baiting", I don't know what is.
As for the Martin family... I cannot begin to imagine losing a child, in essence, over "nothing". But I think that the root of this escalation may be one of expectations. Martin was killed on February 26th.
Eleven days later his family held their first press conference demanding the arrest of Zimmerman. This was
five days BEFORE the SPD announced they had completed their initial investigation. They didn't find clear evidence to file charges against Zimmerman, and referred the matter to State Attorney Norm Wolfinger for a determination of whether or not to prosecute the shooter. Seven days later, Wolfinger announced that a grand jury would hear the case and the
Florida Governor announced that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would assist local authorities in their investigation.
While all of this was happening. The Martin family, and their supporters kept ratcheting up the pressure on the officials. Notice that there is no evidence in the Orlando Sentinel's
rather detailed timeline of stories that ever indicates that case was ever considered "closed" against Zimmerman. However at this point in time
the outside pressure had started to take it's toll on the case. The SPD police chief stepped aside, followed by an announcement that a Special Prosecutor would take the case and Wolfinger was swept aside.
Meanwhile, the narrative that was playing over the airwaves and on the Internet, fueled by the lawyers of the Martin's and their supporters, was that there was no real investigation, the gun had been given back to Zimmerman, and that the investigation had been stopped by the prosecutor (a friend of Zimmerman's father). One of the family lawyers, with Trayvon's mother at his side,
on CNN went so far to say that the SPD was part of a "conspiracy" in the case.
Back to expectations, and the notion that the Martin family "wasn't getting anywhere" with the SPD. Right off the start, the family was demanding that Zimmerman be arrested even
before the initial investigation was completed. Unfortunately, due to things like Constitutional Law, you cannot just "arrest" someone and charge them until you've ascertained that a crime has taken place and built some semblance of a case against the person you wish to arrest. It's not standard procedure to arrest and try someone on a hunch or a feeling that they're lying to you. Given the family's early demands, it's not hard to see why there might not have been a good relationship between the two groups.
Additionally, if you listen to people familiar with the criminal process, you'll learn in cases where things are not clear cut, that it can take weeks or even a couple of months (or more) before a decision is reached to formally charge a suspect with a crime and begin to prosecute them. It seems pretty clear from press reports that the SPD initially found they couldn't conclusively debunk Zimmerman's self-defense claim and where themselves suspect of it. Therefore it was turned over to the state office for additional investigation and for a final determination for, or against, prosecution. It was that process that was underway, along with an announcement of a grand jury, when the media circus interrupted things. Ultimately, I think what's largely driving this is that the Martin family wants this case prosecuted on their timeline, instead of the normal arc.
I had to laugh on the way home today when I heard a minister who was a supporter of the Martin family on the radio sum things up by saying (paraphrased) "All Trayvon's family wants is Peace, Justice, due process, and the arrest of George Zimmerman." The good minister has no idea of the oxymoron comprised by those last two points!
And on that point,
the latest dispatch from Al Sharpton has declared that unless they hurry up and arrest Zimmerman, "civil disobedience will escalate if Zimmerman remains free."
And so it goes...
Like it or not, it is a big part of who we are. We can go and change clothes or cut our hair, but it is much harder to change the color of our skin. Even the 911 operator asked about race.
