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Attorney For Trayvon Martin's Shooter: No "Manhunt" If Charges Are Filed
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 2, 2012
Modified Apr 2, 2012
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Seemingly stating the obvious, the attorney representing the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February told Reuters that his client will turn himself in if he is charged in the shooting. "If he is asked, he will turn himself in," Craig Sonner said. "There's not going to be a manhunt or anything like that." But that's if Zimmerman is charged at all in spite of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, and the details of the case won't reach a grand jury until April 10.
But public frustration over the case's progress has led people to take sides based on the limited evidence that is available—The Drudge Report and the right seek to pin Martin as a "thug," while it appears that NBC selectively edited Zimmerman's 911 call to paint him as a racist.
The New York Times' David Carr thinks enough is enough:
There is a paucity of facts and an excess of processing power because everyone with a keyboard is theoretically a creator and distributor of content. Most of those efforts begin from behind a firmly established battle line, then row backward to find the facts that they need. Was that a dark spot on the back of George Zimmerman’s head in the grainy police video, or evidence of a beat-down? We retweet and “like” what we agree with and dismiss the rest.
There’s not a lot of that going around. When the criminal justice system appears to fall short, the court of public opinion takes over and suddenly both victim and ostensible perpetrator go on trial. But what is also being adjudicated is our ability to debate highly charged issues in a very divided media landscape. Let’s be careful out there.
Which seems to be a more learned way of saying, "Don't believe all the shit you read on the internet" (especially if you're in a position to propagate it).
The LA Times has an interview with a Florida law professor explaining why the case is going to a grand jury and what has to be done to prosecute it as a hate crime. The Times has the most comprehensive, thoughtful account of the incident and the backgrounds of Trayvon and his shooter.
Perhaps if there is to be any outrage before all the evidence is heard in court, it should be directed at Stand Your Ground laws that allow citizens to kill other, sometimes unarmed citizens, with impunity.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that out of the 140 times the law has been invoked in the state, a dozen of those cases bear a striking resemblance to this one in that the victim of the killing was actually pursued. In other words, those who escaped prosecution weren't so much "standing their ground" as they were invading someone else's.
Tagged
florida
gun control
gun laws
hate crimes
racism
stand your ground
tragedies
trayvon martin
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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