Monday, March 26, 2012
On Trayvon Martin -- Updated
The latest on the Trayvon Martin story is an Orlando Sentinel account of the version of events as told by George Zimmerman the man on neighborhood-watch patrol who shot and killed the unarmed teen one month ago today in a Florida subdivision:
In his version of events, he had turned around and was walking back to his SUV when Trayvon approached him from behind, the two exchanged words then Trayvon punched him in the nose, sending him to the ground, and began beating him.
Zimmerman told police he shot the teenager in self-defense...
Zimmerman told them he lost sight of Trayvon and was walking back to his SUV when Trayvon approached him from the left rear, and they exchanged words.
Trayvon asked Zimmerman if he had a problem. Zimmerman said no and reached for his cell phone, he told police.
UPDATE -- A later story adds "Zimmerman told police he he'd lost sight of Martin and was heading back to his car when the youth suddenly stepped into his path. According to the Sentinel, Martin asked Zimmerman if he had a problem. Zimmerman said no and reached for his cellphone. Martin then said something like, "Well, you do now" and punched him, according to the Sentinel's sources.
If this story is true, it vindicates Zimmerman in the eyes of the law, with or without a "stand your ground" provision. And though it doesn't really sound true to me -- an unarmed teenager approaching, confronting and then attacking a larger man who'd been following him? -- the Sentinel story tells us that "much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say." And it may be difficult to impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it's false; that Zimmerman instigated the physicial confrontation with Martin that ended with Martin being shot.
I have confidence that authorities at several levels are looking at every possible angle and talking to every possible witness in an effort to determine exactly what happened that night. It may be that they will be unable to reach a firm enough conclusion to bring charges and we'll never have catharsis or resolution.
Many who are understandably disturbed and dismayed by this incident seem to want Zimmerman indicted and tried so that a jury can sort this out. But that mindset -- we think we know what happened and we think we can convince a jury to convict -- is exactly the mindset that advocates have identified over and over again as the mindset that leads to miscarriages of justice and wrongful convictions.
UPDATE 2: Monday afternoon, the Sanford P.D. released this statement:
In response to the recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, the information was not provided to the media through an authorized source at the Sanford Police Department, but possibly by a leak from within the department. The information in the article is consistent with the information provided to the State Attorney's office by the police department.
"We do not condone these unauthorized leaks of information," said City Manager, Norton Bonaparte, Jr. "Acting Chief Scott will be doing an internal investigation within the Sanford Police Department as this type of action compromises the integrity of the law enforcement agency which has pledged to uphold the law".
Mr. Bonaparte stated that disciplinary action including possible termination will be taken against anyone found to have leaked the information.
UPDATE 3: ABC is also reporting:
An eyewitness, 13-year-old Austin Brown, told police he saw a man fitting Zimmerman's description lying on the grass moaning and crying for help just seconds before he heard the gunshot that killed Martin.
The initial police report noted that Zimmerman was bleeding from the back of the head and nose, and after medical attention it was decided that he was in good enough condition to travel in a police cruiser to the Sanford, Fla., police station for questioning. He was not arrested.
Martin's girlfriend had said in a recording obtained exclusively by ABC News that she heard Martin ask Zimmerman "why are your following me, and then the man asked, what are you doing around here." She then heard a scuffle break out and the line went dead.
UPDATE 4: The Miami Herald has some material on Trayvon Martin's background that complicates the narrative: