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Essay / Trayvon Martin Case: Self-Defense Against Deadly Force
Table of ContentsBackground on Trayvon MartinThe CaseChanges in Our SocietyHave you ever thought about what the world would be like if we all just accepted each other? So many tragedies occur in our daily lives simply because of our skin color, our stereotypes and our prejudices. Most of us are just innocents trying to make it in this place we call our world. Trayvon Martin; The case of a shooting homicide which cost the lives of many people and which still affects us all today, a young victim deprived of life. The whole situation was life changing because after this tragedy, a movement known as Black Lives Matter happened and changed many people's views. We live in a world that is not so caring or attentive to how they see things. I researched and read about Trayvon Martin and his heartbreaking misfortune, and I learned more from articles, including from authors like History Editors, Karen Grigsby Gates, Andre Munro, etc. The information I learned was very heartbreaking and hard to believe. Not everyone is treated the same, the world is a cold place and it takes a death to make people understand that something needs to change in society. This article will focus on the background of Trayvon Martin, the case and finally the changes in our society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayBackground on Trayvon MartinTrayvon Martin was a young African-American boy born on February 5, 1995. He lived with his mother Sybrina Fulton in Miami Gardens, Florida. Trayvon's father was a truck driver and his mother was a program coordinator. Martin's parents divorced 4 years after he was born, but while they were together, his parents had a plan for him and he wasn't going to let himself be swallowed up by the evil of the world. They wanted him to get involved in many sports, activities like horse riding, and wanted to show him what the great place in the world is, discover new sights. “At Carol City High, where Martin went to school before Krop, the youngster took an honors English class, even though his favorite subject was math. Tall and athletic with tattoos of his family members' names on his figure, the often discreet Martin was very interested in studying aviation and potentially becoming a pilot. But he had also started having problems at school, getting suspended at different times” (Biography, 2014). For the most part, Trayvon Martin was not a troubled kid, he participated in many extracurricular activities and was truly dedicated to his academics. This also shows that he was not the type to cause trouble, nor the type to get involved with those who are up to no good. On February 26, 2012, Trayvon was unarmed and was killed by George Zimmerman. This is the only homicide that has sparked worldwide controversy. The evening turned out to be a catastrophic and fatal moment for Trayvon. While visiting his father who lived in Sanford, Florida, he decided to walk to the supermarket to buy iced tea and Zimmerman became alert because that was his market. George Zimmerman was the “neighborhood watchman” of his gated community. The man had his own gun and was licensed. He was also very racist towards people of color. Whenever he noticed the presence of an African American, he would become alert and automatically call the police without any evidence of suspicion. When Zimmerman saw Trayvon, he decidedto automatically call the police and say, “He told the dispatcher that he observed “a really suspicious guy” who was “walking around and looking around.” Zimmerman also described Martin as someone “who is up to no good, or on drugs or something” (Munro, 2012, para. 2). He then began following Martin, which led to a confrontation and also Trayvon's death. George Zimmerman shot him in the chest. Trayvon died instantly from excessive blood loss. The placeThe place where he died was about 100 meters from where he was staying. The young, innocent teenager did nothing wrong, but because of his skin color, he was automatically degraded and seen as a threat. The Case Trayvon Martin's case started out unfairly, and unjust as many have said. At first, on March 8, 2012, Martin's parents decided to draw attention to the case, but it is known that George Zimmerman was not charged from the beginning because the police stated that he s It was an act of “self-defense” and there were no charges. no evidence to prove that Zimmerman said what happened was wrong. Since Zimmerman was not charged, Trayvon's parents hire a lawyer to plead and ask the police to stop the murder, but this fails. Trayvon's parents renewed calls for Zimmerman's arrest after the 911 recordings were released, and students gathered outside Seminole County criminal courts to protest the incident they considered a case racial profiling. From this quote, you may have noticed that once the police decided to release the recordings of the shooting, it went viral and many people came forward to express their opinions on the situation, which brought more attention to this matter and substantiated it. Later, on March 18, a petition was posted on Change.org for Zimmerman's arrest. More than 2 million people from all over the world sign it. The Civil Rights Division and the FBI decide to open an investigation into the shooting, in order to get the right answers they need to reach a conclusion. Once the investigation began and in support of Trayvon, many people began to protest/gather. One of the rallies was the "Million Hoodie March" which took place in New York, along with other protests held in Los Angeles and Sanford, Florida. tons of people traveled far and wide to attend and provide a base for it. At that time, President Barack Obama was also in office and he had a say in the incident. He was very personal but made no comment on legal terms: “If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon…” (Editors, 2018). When he said this, it showed his support for Trayvon's family. Meanwhile, there were a lot of people on Zimmerman's side. "Joe Oliver defended his friend Zimmerman, saying, 'He's a caring human being.' I mean, he killed a man and he doesn't know what to do. He feels enormous remorse. Craig Sonner, Zimmerman's legal counsel, said Zimmerman feared for his life. For some reason people came to believe that the murderer was innocent and had done nothing wrong except protect himself, protect himself? Nothing was happening at the time, and he racially profiled someone because of their skin color, then shot because “he feared for his life.” We can obviously understand that this is a hate crime. Zimmerman tried to make himself out to be the victim, and he tried to say that Martin had done a lot of damage to him, because.