Editorial

Mob rule vs. rule of law in the Trayvon Martin case

Thursday, April 12, 2012

What's the difference between mob rule and the rule of law?

The Trayvon Martin killing is blurring the lines.

For those in the trenches, the Florida case probably feels like the former. For those with a vested interest in allegations of racism, the latter may be a hinderance.

If there's a villain in the case, other than perhaps the shooter in question, it's the broadcast editor who first cut out the 9-11 operator's questions to make George Zimmerman sound like a racist. That turned a tragic case into a national scandal.

According to reports, Trayvon Martin, 17, was returning from a convenience store with a bottle of iced tea and bag of candy when he was confronted by Zimmerman, armed contrary to Neighborhood Watch guidelines and acting against the police dispatcher's directions.

Zimmerman said Martin attacked him, and was shot in an act of self-defense. Police said he was bleeding from the nose and had a wound on the back of his head.

Nevertheless, he was handcuffed and taken to the police department, where he was released after questioning, because police said they didn't have enough evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense. The lead homicide investigator reportedly said he did not believe it was self-defense and wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter, but the state attorney's office, keeping Florida's Stand Your Ground law in mind, said there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.

Following the public outcry, triggered in part by the inaccurate reporting cited above, a special prosecutor announced Wednesday that Zimmerman would be charged with second-degree murder.

Zimmerman didn't do himself any favors by going public on the Internet and cutting off his attorneys. And, Florida authorities are in the difficult position of breaking new ground in connection with the Stand Your Ground law.

But the needless fanning of racial flames by irresponsible reporting has overshadowed the tragic loss of a young life.

The rule of law depends on honorable people in positions of power doing their best in the interest of justice. That's all we can hope for in the Trayvon Martin case.

Comments
View 3 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • I have been having one wonder, that could be answered, but no one that I know of has asked the question: "Zimmerman, was a volunteer neighborhood watchman, in a 'Gated community,' so one might wonder if he lived there, in the 'Gated' community. Conversely, did Martin live in that same community, or did he need pass through it to return home, after passing through to go to the store??'

    There has been so many twisting of fact, it seems, the Salem Witch trials take a back seat to this tragedy.

    -- Posted by Navyblue on Fri, Apr 13, 2012, at 10:36 PM
  • Wouldn't mob rule be more like a bunch of people taking matters into their own hands? The young man laid in the morgue for three days before the authorities even made an attempt to contact his parents. If he was my child, I would have been outraged as well. Of course george felt threatened, people that feel the need to carry a concealed weapon feel terrorized every minute of every day. I know that it is their right, but really, why do they feel that people are out to get them? I don't think that is normal. Navy ol buddy, you couldn't read enough about the case to know why trayvon was there, but yet know that there has been much twisting of the facts?

    -- Posted by hulapopper on Fri, Apr 20, 2012, at 9:17 PM
  • hula,

    Do you carry a concealed weapon? If not, how could you possibly know how those that do feel every minute of every day? I know more than one McCook business owner that has a concealed carry permit and although I was admitedly surprised each time I learned of one, there is no way I would describe any of them as paranoid or abnormal.

    Did you completely miss out on the apology by NBC for twisting the facts of the 911 call? You also must have missed the image of the back of Zimmerman's head that came out today, confirmed to have been takin 3 minutes after the shot was fired...

    -- Posted by Bruce Baker on Sat, Apr 21, 2012, at 12:26 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: