Thanks, Rev. Al!

I'm delighted that George Zimmerman is in jail and facing murder 2 charges. And when I think about how that happened, it's clear to me that Rev. Al Sharpton brought this campaign together and carried it and pressed it and made major contributions to the public stir that brought about action. He deserves our thanks for that. He deserves our appreciation for going to Florida, marching, campaigning, and devoting substantial parts of his TV show to this case.

Join me is saying, "Thank you, Rev. Al." He deserves it.

In passing, let me also say that when we on the left have victories, we don't really in my opinion celebrate them. No. We just go on without stopping to give thanks, to praise others' important work, to reflect on what we've done. We just hurry off to the next issue. to the next fight. To the next injustice. For what it's worth, I think this is a terrible mistake. When we get what we've been complaining about, writing about, marching about, blogging about, fulminating about, we need to stop. If only for a second. And give the appropriate gratitude to those who brought about what we wanted so passionately.

So, thanks, Rev. Al. I appreciate what you did in the Trayvon Martin case. And I know you'll watch over it, as we all will, to be sure that ultimately justice is done.

Thank Goodness

Very Short: I am gratified that George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder in the killing of unarmed Trayvon Martin. That is appropriate. It took far too long, but at least this initial step has now been taken.

Let's not forget, however, that this charge is only the very first step toward justice for Trayvon Martin. Now comes the harder part. This charge will probably not stop all of the extrajudicial spinning by "legal advisers" and "family friend[s]", but now that's not as important. It's up to the Special Prosecutor and her team to put together a case that proves Z's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury.

I hope they will do just that.

Grandstanding In Sanford

Waiting for Godot. A clown show. These are facts: Unarmed, wearing a hoodie, and carrying Skittles and a cell phone, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman has not been arrested. And he has not been charged. Today is the 43rd day since the shooting. Beyond that, is an ocean of speculation, spin, outright lies, opinion masquerading as fact, and lots and lots of “analysis.”


Today, George Zimmerman’s lawyers quit. They didn’t send a discreetly worded, carefully drafted, simple press release saying that they were no longer representing the notorious client. No. Instead, they had a press conference to which they invited the cameras. And at the press conference, they talked entirely too much, and elaborated entirely too much, and ultimately revealed some astonishing facts: that they had never met with their so-called client, that he was no longer in Florida, that he had telephoned the special prosecutor (against their advice), that he had called Sean Hannity (who wouldn’t tell them what was said), and that he was not a racist. Oh, yeah. And it was self defense. Hablando bla bla bla. Put simply, their client was out of control and not taking direction in a fashion oddly reminiscent of his February 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin. No matter. They couldn’t promote him and his “defense” any more, so they promoted themselves, just in case anyone else in Central Florida had a really big, high profile case and wanted to pay for a badly handled, lawyerish public relations campaign. Exeunt omnes. I imagine that members of the Trad media howled at this. Who could they talk to now?

Not to be outdone or elbowed out of the spotlight or excluded from the incipient drama, the special prosecutor, Angela Corey, announced that she would have some bon mots of her own “within 72 hours.” Oh the anticipation. Oh the waiting. Oh the speculations. Oh the drama. According to ABC:

A special prosecutor promised "new information regarding the Trayvon Martin shooting death investigation" within 72 hours, prompting speculation that the alleged shooter, George Zimmerman, could be charged soon.

The announcement that the prosecutor, State Attorney Angela Corey, would soon hold a news conference came just hours after Zimmerman's lawyers said they would no longer represent him.

Corey said Monday that she will not present the case to a grand jury; she retains the power to decide herself whether to press charges against Zimmerman in the shooting.

“Prompting speculation” indeed. Of course, the prosecutor had previously said she will have nothing to say until she reaches a decision about charging George Zimmerman, so her announcement strongly implied that she would announce her decision. On the other hand, that isn’t what she said she would do. No. She said she would have “new information”. Is this case about dueling press conferences? Nobody really knows what she might means by “new information.” Or why it would take 3 breathless days of anticipation to announce it. Maybe she’s going to tell us that George Zimmerman is in the Bahamas and will resist extradition like Robert Vesco. At this point, almost nothing can surprise people following this case.

And where, pray tell, is Joe Oliver, the family friend cum former talking head, the guy who was such a close friend, who assured us that George Zimmerman was not a racist and had black friends? Gone, apparently. Replaced by Zimmerman Pere, a former magistrate judge from Virginia, who has repeatedly portrayed his shooter son as the victim in the February 26th incident and has taken up and expanded all of Oliver’s talking points, which may have originally been his own talking points. No one has claimed authorship for the baloney Team Z has spewed for 6 weeks.

Enough of this. Enough of the press conferences. Enough of the leaks. Enough of the spinning and lies and waiting. Enough. Basta ya. Enough analysis. The prosecutor needs to bring the curtain down on this ridiculous clown show, and she needs to do it immediately. Right now. She needs to announce that she has charged George Zimmerman, and she needs to have him arrested and start the judicial process. That will hopefully shut Team Z up. I hope she will do that.

But it’s not quite that simple, I'm afraid. Yes, I have a gnawing fear at the base of my skull about this case. I’m afraid that the reason the National Guard has been mobilized in Sanford, and the reason for the delay in making the announcement is that the Special Prosecutor has a little Republican surprise of her own for us. I'm afraid that she is going to announce that George Zimmerman will not be charged. I hope I’m wrong about that. I really do. I’d like to be shown to be wrong. Maybe it’s just that the clown show has gone on for so long that I’m looking for an unusual, surprising twist in the plot. Maybe. I hope that’s all it is. This whole matter has been handled in the most grotesque, unprofessional, despicable matter so far. And that's a reason to expect it to result in an injustice. In a travesty. In a disgrace. Why should the fruit be different from the tree?

I hope there will be justice for Trayvon Martin. And I hope it will come this week in the form of charges against George Zimmerman. In the meanwhile, I just wish all of the clowning and all of the media games would just stop. It’s enough. Trayvon Martin and his family deserve better. And those of us who care about serving justice deserve better, too.

My Impatience: Where Is Justice For Trayvon?

These are facts: on February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. You already know all about these facts and have been debating their significance for a couple of weeks: Trayvon Martin was 17 years old, unarmed, and had with him a cell phone, iced tea, and Skittles; George Zimmerman had a gun. The Sanford, Florida police refused to arrest George Zimmerman, claiming I think incorrectly that Florida law prevented his arrest. He’s been at liberty since. He’s been uncharged since. Almost a month later, on March 22, 2012, when no arrest had been made and public opinion about the case was boiling over in demonstrations and media attention and criticism, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey took over from the local Prosecutor. She will be the one who decides what charges, if any, are warranted. The whole world is watching. And the Feds are doing their own parallel investigation to decide whether to bring a civil rights prosecution in federal court regardless of what Angela Corey decides. We are now 37 days after the death of Trayvon Martin. We are now 9 days after the appointment of Angela Corey. And there is still no arrest.


I’m impatient. And fearful. I wonder aloud whether the delay in making this arrest is stupidity, incompetence, racism, politics, or a combination of some or all of these. I wonder why justice is delayed in this case. I wonder why George Zimmerman has not been arrested. And I am sorry to admit that I fear that the delay means that Florida will not charge George Zimmerman with a crime.

How long does it take to decide whether to charge George Zimmerman with a crime?

Even if one were to discard virtually everything from the initial Sanford Police investigation, even if one were to start all over again from the top with new, more detailed interviews of the very few witnesses who saw or heard anything, even if one were to review and re-examine whatever forensic evidence there is, how long can it possibly take to develop enough information to make a decision, to decide whether to charge George Zimmerman with a crime?

And how long can it possibly take to decide whether to charge police officials with obstruction of justice or official misconduct or tampering with witnesses? How long can all of this take? Apparently it can take a very long time. How long should this actually take? Not long.

This isn’t a complex bank or securities fraud or terrorism conspiracy case. No. This is, sad to say, an all too common homicide case. We know who the victim is. We know who the shooter is. We have some witnesses who saw or heard something. We have whatever physical evidence was accumulated. We have whatever medical and other forensic evidence there is. This, when all is said and done, is not a complicated case. It’s a sensitive case, yes. It’s an important case, yes. But above all else, it’s not a complicated one.

Let’s remember, if we possibly can, that the ultimate decision about whether George Zimmerman is guilty is definitely not the decision prosecutors now face. That ultimate decision, the decision of whether Zimmerman committed a crime, has to be made by a court or a jury, and his guilt has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt by competent evidence at a trial. And that’s not the decision the prosecutor now faces. It’s not. The present decision is simply this: charge Geroge Zimmerman with a crime, or don’t.

You can formulate this question in other ways. You can ask whether there is enough evidence to charge George Zimmerman with a crime. Or you can ask whether there’s enough evidence to believe that Zimmerman probably committed a crime. You can parse the standard. You can evaluate the words. You can formulate the words in many different ways. But ultimately it’s not complicated: the prosecutor has the discretion to charge George Zimmerman if she believes there is probable cause that he committed a crime. She’s not required to charge him with anything.

How long can it possibly take to make that relatively simple determination? Not long. In routine homicide cases, the decision is usually made within hours. And then there’s an arrest. In more complicated homicide cases, there’s an arrest and a prompt grand jury presentation, usually within days. How many cases can anybody cite in which it’s taken more than a month to decide whether to charge a shooter (who is not a policeman) with a homicide? How many cases can anybody think of that are in this category? I’ll tell you: I can’t think of one. Tell me I’m wrong if you can find a single one.

So I am impatient. It’s a truism that justice delayed is justice denied. And now, here we are, nine days into the second prosecutor investigating the case, and more than a month from the death of Trayvon Martin, and still no arrest. And no communication from the prosecution. This is a disgrace. And it’s a dishonor to Trayvon Martin and his family. So I am impatient.

And I regret to say that I have begun to fear that the quest for justice for Trayvon Martin will include the refusal of Florida prosecutors to charge George Zimmerman with a crime. What else, I ask you, could take this long?

For Trayvon: 41 Shots

Please Wear Your Hoodie Today

In solidarity with Trayvon Martin and in pursuit of Justice in his case, please wear your hoodie today.

Here's Trayvon:

Here are the Miami Heat:

Here's your Bloguero:

Please join us.

I could ruminate here about what a moron Geraldo is, but the point is that there's nothing about this clothing that justifies an armed security guard's chasing someone, initiating a confrontation, and then killing an unarmed child.

I won't rest until there's an arrest and prosecution in this case. And I do NOT want to hear again ever how the "Stand Your Ground Law" immunizes killing unarmed children when the killer is the one who initiates the pursuit and confrontation. Even the killer's given up that argument.

Another Broken Heart

President Obama got it entirely right when he said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” That captures it in a sentence. A broken heart, and profound sadness and anger at the shooting of Trayvon Martin. And that’s why, today, students across South Florida, who understand from their own experiences how easy it is to be hassled, frisked, shot, or killed, walked out of school in protest. The death of Trayvon just is too much to bear. What else could they do?

And that’s why so many people are wearing hoodies today in solidarity with Trayvon and to symbolize their desire that justice be done. I’m one of those. What else can I do?

And that’s why there are demonstrations in many cities that begin with the horror of the death of Trayvon Martin and go on to inevitable questions about the role of police, the constant frisking on the sidewalk. And the incessant of stopping of cars. And endemic surveillance and following and watching and stopping to ask questions. Was it Justice Brandeis who wrote in dissent about the right of the people to be left alone?

It’s obvious. There’s something incredibly wrong going on. And it’s not new. No. It’s been going on in one dreadful form or another for more than half a millennium in this hemisphere and for more than 400 years in what is now the United States of America. And it continues. In its simplest terms, it’s dehumanization. It has a long, horrible, degrading, exasperating history. And it continues. It continues in many forms. Some are new, but others are age old. And it is persistent. And I have no idea how to stop it. It has such deep roots and so much momentum. And despite all of the justified anger and all of the profound sadness, it continues. Nobody seems to be able to stop it.

Here’s the heartbreak: your teenager goes to the store to buy an iced tea and Skittles. Can he have two dollars? Sure. He doesn’t have any money. He says he’ll be right back. But he doesn’t come home alive. He gets shot for no reason whatsoever. And he dies. Can you imagine this? And then the person who killed him isn’t even arrested.

And why isn’t he arrested? Is it because the police are stupid? Or incompetent? Or racists? Is it because the prosecutors are incompetent or racists? Or because the law of self defense has been so perverted that its been transformed by a state legislature in awe of the NRA into a shield for wanton killings of unarmed people by people with guns? Is it all of these things? Is it more than that? Is it something incomprehensible? Does it even matter why there’s been no arrest? Doesn’t the lack of an arrest speak volumes about the situation?

Here’s the heartbreak again: your teenager did nothing wrong and he’s dead. And nobody gets arrested, or charged, or indicted. And you and many other people suspect that your teenager has been murdered. But there‘s no arrest. The police mumble on about the strange, new, self defense law and how somehow that ties their hands from making an arrest. And they won’t make an arrest. And the person who should be arrested goes into hiding. And the police chief steps down temporarily. And now there’s a new state prosecutor and now there’s a federal, civil rights investigation. But there’s still no arrest. I wonder. Will there ever be an arrest? How long do I have to wait, and what exactly am I waiting for?

I wonder. How many thousands of parents have a version of this terrible event? How many parents have buried their children? How many children were lynched and killed before Emmett Till? And how many killings of children have there been since? How many parents' hearts have been broken when children have been killed? How many soul crushing, heartbreaking murders of children have there been? How many oceans of tears have been shed because of events just like this one?

My heart is again broken. The murder of Trayvon Martin is inexcusable. It's yet another drop in the ocean of suffering filled with parents’ tears at the loss of their children. And the tears of the rest of us who feel their suffering. And it continues to grow.

Justice For Trayvon

Yes, yesterday's march is over, but the struggle about this case isn't over. Not yet. And now there is significance every time you put on that hoodie. When yo do that, you're Trayvon. And if you're walking in a neighborhood where somebody doesn't think you belong, you have the same risk.

I am waiting for the arrest, indictment and trial of Z. How long, one wonders, can he be permitted to remain at large, uncharged, given what we now know about his unprovoked shooting of unarmed T? How long do we have to wait for the arrest of Z, who apparently was the initial aggressor in this incident and was told by dispatchers to leave T alone?

I'm waiting. And I don't care how hot it is today, I'm going to wear my hoodie. Join me.

The latest from CBS is instructive:

As that tension rises, the co-author of the Stand Your Ground law, in effect since 2005, is now saying it may need to be clarified.

"Nothing's ever finished in the legislature, I learned that. Everything can always be re-addressed," State Rep. Dennis Baxley observed.

He told us the law wasn't intended to cover citizens who pursue suspected threats.

So is he willing to revisit the language in the law and potentially change it?

"We need to look at the circumstances that occurred and see if some kind of legislation is in order," Baxley responded.