Overkill

*I do not claim to be a lawyer!
We all mourn for the loss of Trayvon Martin and feel sympathy for his family. A young man was gunned down by the hands of George Zimmerman. Yesterday Zimmerman was acquitted of his 2nd Degree murder crime. Many people are questioning the decision made by the jury (made up of 6 females, 5 white and 1 hispanic) and many are appalled by the conclusion of such a public trial. I feel like I did in the wake of the Caylee Anthony case. For a moment you could hear a pin drop, then all hell broke loose.
"Race" has been flaunted in this cases from the beginning. A stray black boy wanders into a gated community and is shot by the racially motivated neighborhood watch. The prosecution sprang on the theory and ran with it through the whole case. Zimmerman's reputation as an outstanding member of society was drug through the mud as he was continuously labeled a racist.. I would hate to be in the shoes of these two families. Zimmerman is definitely a murderer, there was a 17yo killed by the gun fired by this man. I don't see any racial motive other than the general stereotype of the "black man". Intentional racism and subconscious racism are two different evils. I believe Zimmerman would have shot at anyone, despite race, under the same circumstances. We don't know anything this man was thinking at the time. However, I believe in the moment Zimmerman was overreacting to a stranger.
Despite the fact he was found innocent, I want to briefly discuss why I think the "black male" stereotype was so pronounced during this case. It is hard to deny that many equal rights and African American organizations joined together to declare their hatred for Zimmerman. Trayvon was black, out past curfew and bringing attention to himself. Racism and the fear of black men leads many people to be suspicious of all black men. As with any man, black men vary in cognitive ability, sexual prowess, size, physical ability, criminal tendency, and drive. No stereotype is based in scientific fact, they are socially constructed by ideas of what something could be not what something is.
Zimmerman was probably subconsciously afraid of Martin because of the color of his skin causing him to overreact to the situation. He wasn't being judged on his racial prejudices, racism is legal in America, he was accused of murder. Did Zimmerman murder Trayvon? Yes. Yet he was still found not guilty. This reinforces racism by saying that Zimmerman's claim of self defense (aka "he was being attacked by a black man") were substantial. Continue to be afraid of black man shooting you, while in fact they are not all carrying a weapon. While Trayvon was attacking Zimmerman, Zimmerman over reacted by pulling his gun and firing. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman used excessive force while defending himself. This should still qualify him for murder.
Now he is free to be released back into society. What if he shoots another person while he is inserting himself into another dangerous situation? Being on neigborhood watch is not an easy position, there is an expectation of criminal activity. He already killed a young boy, and unless he is kept under close watch, it could probably happen again. The jury should have recognized the future outcome of their decision, instead of trying to deny their racial subconscious.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmermans-attorney-wishes-jury-diverse/story?id=19555739#.UeRTlY3ryBU http://radio.foxnews.com/2013/07/15/trayvon-was-not-innocent/