Below, via Think Progress, are the facts clearly showing that George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in cold blood for no other reason than that Trayvon was a young black male and Zimmerman a crackpot racist. I’d only add that, if Zimmerman had been black and Trayvon white, I don’t think the Sanford, Florida, cops would have been so quick to drop this case without an arrest. In fact, if a black man had conducted himself this way and, ignoring police orders, tailed a white teenager and shot him to death, he’d be cooling his heels in a jail cell right now with an angry right-wing media demanding his execution for taking the life of an innocent white boy. As it is, they are unscrupulously defending this killer. One more thing: I’ll bet this bigot Zimmerman is a Fox News junkie and has a pile of books by hate-spewing right-wing authors at home.
What Everyone Should Know About Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)
By Judd Legum
Think Progess
Mar 18, 2012
On February 26, 2012, a 17-year-old African-American named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. The shooter was George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old white man.* Zimmerman admits killing Martin, but claims he was acting in self-defense. Three weeks after Martin’s death, no arrests have been made and Zimmerman remains free.
Here is what everyone should know about the case:
1. Zimmerman called the police to report Martin’s “suspicious” behavior, which he described as “just walking around looking about.” Zimmerman was in his car when he saw Martin walking on the street. He called the police and said: “There’s a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around looking about… These a**holes always get away” [Orlando Sentinel]
2. Zimmerman pursued Martin against the explicit instructions of the police dispatcher:
Dispatcher: “Are you following him?”
Zimmerman: “Yeah”
Dispatcher: “OK, we don’t need you to do that.”
[Orlando Sentinel]
3. Prior to the release of the 911 tapes, Zimmerman’s father released a statement claiming “[a]t no time did George follow or confront Mr. Martin.” [Sun Sentinel]
4. Zimmerman was carrying a a 9 millimeter handgun. Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. [ABC News]
5. Martin weighed 140 pounds. Zimmerman weighs 250 pounds. [Orlando Sentinel; WDBO]
6. Martin’s English teacher described him as “as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness.” [Orlando Sentinel]
7. Martin had no criminal record. [New York Times]
8. Zimmerman “was charged in July 2005 with resisting arrest with violence and battery on an officer. The charges appear to have been dropped.” [Huffington Post]
9. Zimmerman called the police 46 times since Jan. 1, 2011. [Miami Herald]
10. According to neighbors, Zimmerman was “fixated on crime and focused on young, black males.” [Miami Herald]
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