Guilty.

Of course, it goes without saying that, had the roles been reversed, had Trayvon Martin shot a white man who was pummeling him, these clueless white women would have, without a doubt, sent Trayvon to prison for the rest of his life.  The message, sent and received, is that racists can stalk and provoke a violent incident with anyone they choose in order to justify murdering them. It is absolutely no different than the Ku Klux Klan or racist skinheads burning a cross on my lawn then shooting me when I attempt to defend myself. Five clueless white women and one clueless Asian woman, none of whom I suspect have ever been stalked or have ever feared for their life for any reason (or the defense attorney would surely have excluded them), seem to have treated this case as an intellectual exercise in civil rights. Having actually been stalked, actually been followed, actually been threatened—more than once—by people with guns, my perspective is, I suspect, much better informed than these six bizarre women. George Zimmerman provoked the incident. This is a fact that is not in dispute. I thought the prosecution did a lousy job, but I never believed the ladies would acquit. I figured Zimmerman would get some slap on the wrist—manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter. I am absolutely dumbfounded by this heinous, unfathomable travesty of justice. George Zimmerman provoked the incident. This is a fact that is not in dispute. By definition, that makes him responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin. The civil lawsuit that is surely already been drawn up, which Martin’s family will certainly win and ruin George Zimmerman financially forever, will be no substitute for this shameful disgrace and failure of our criminal justice system.

There is, however, a second bite at the apple remaining. George Zimmerman unquestionably violated Trayvon Martin’s civil rights in his racist profiling of Martin and his subsequent stalking through the housing complex. The very facts Zimmerman’s defense team relied upon to acquit him of murder charges would surely convict him of federal civil rights violations if U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder chooses to pursue a case against Zimmerman. I suspect such a scenario is unlikely as Holder’s ethnicity and that of the U.S. President would likely spark a political frenzy, further derailing Mr. Obama’s already-shattered second-term agenda. It is a sad consequence of the triumph of America having finally elected an African-American president that that president (and, in this instance, his attorney general) have to virtually recuse themselves from issues of national importance whenever race is involved. There is clear evidence, not in dispute, of a bona fide case of violations of federal civil rights laws. I would be shocked if this administration actually choose to pursue the matter.

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Zimmerman Acquitted NBC NEWS A Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman on Saturday night in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, which touched off an intense national debate about race, guns and self-defense. The verdict was returned by a jury of six women who worked into the night on their second day of deliberations. They also had the option of convicting Zimmerman of second-degree murder or of the lesser crime of manslaughter.      Zimmerman was expressionless as the verdict was read, then turned to shake the hand of one of his lawyers. In the courtroom, his family held hands across a row and cried.      “I think the prosecution of George Zimmerman was disgraceful,” defense attorney Don West said. “As happy as I am for George Zimmerman, I’m thrilled that this jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty. For that, we are eternally grateful.” Outside court, some supporters of Martin’s family chanted, “The system failed us!”      Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s father, said on Twitter he knew that his son was proud of the fight waged on his behalf.

“Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered,” the father said.      Prosecutors said they were disappointed but accepted the decision. Assistant State Attorney Bernie de la Rionda told reporters that the case boiled down to a matter of “who was following who.”      “You had a 17-year-old kid who was minding his own business, wearing a hoodie, and gets accosted, gets followed by an individual who wants to be a cop,” he said.      A court spokeswoman, Michelle Kennedy, said that the jurors had “no desire to speak to media,” and she warned reporters that an order protecting their anonymity was still in effect.      Zimmerman, 29, who is of white and Hispanic descent, said he was acting in self-defense when he shot the unarmed Martin, who was black, during an altercation in a gated community of Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26, 2012.      The NAACP issued a statement shortly after the verdict saying that justice had not prevailed. Roslyn M. Brock, the organization’s chairman, said the case had “re-energized the movement to end racial profiling in the United States.” READ FULL ARTICLE