Let's see if we can see anything odd about how the following three cases played out.Case #1
Date of Shooting: February 27th, 2012
Location: Orlando, Florida
Shooter: George Zimmerman
Deceased: Trayvon Martin
Details: Trayvon Martin was walking home around 7pm after purchasing a can of tea and a bag of skittles. Trayvon's father lived in a gated community in Orlando, and Martin was visiting. George Zimmerman, self- appointed neighborhood watch captain saw Martin and called a non-emergency line to ask for the police to come because "there's a real suspicious guy." Dispatch asks if Zimmerman is pursuing the "suspicious guy." Zimmerman says he is, dispatch tells Zimmerman "We don't need you to do that." and Zimmerman replies "Okay." (Though you can still hear Zimmerman continuing to run.) Zimmerman continued to follow Martin and shot him after a confrontation. Zimmerman claims to have shot in self-defense.
Resolution: Zimmerman was detained and questioned and then released that night. The police ended their investigation with no arrest.
Shooter: Deceased:
Case #2
Date of Shooting: November 14th, 2007
Location: Pasadena, Texas
Shooter: Joe Horn
Deceased: Diego Ortiz and Hernando Torres
Details: Horn witnessed Ortiz and Torres breaking into his neighbor's vacant house. He contacted 911 and informed them of the robbery and said, "I've got a shotgun, do you want me to stop 'em?" The dispatcher says, "Nope, don't do that." After being repeatedly told to not leave the house, Horn leaves the house and shoots both men, claiming they stepped into his yard. Both men were unarmed, and a police officer that arrived on the scene reported that both suspects had been shot in the back.
Resolution: A grand jury cleared Joe Horn.
Shooter: Deceased:
Case #3
Date of Shooting: August 9th, 2006
Shooter: John White
Victim: Daniel Cicciaro
Location: Long Island, New York
Details: John White was awoken around 11pm by his son, Aaron, telling him that a group of classmates, including Daniel Cicciaro, were on their porch, yelling for Aaron to come out so they could fight him. They reportedly were also yelling racial epithets. Cicciaro and his friends wanted to confront Aaron over a false rumor that had been spread on facebook. John White grabbed an unregistered pistol and went out on the porch to confront the group. The group didn't disperse, and Daniel pushed the gun away. John White shot Cicciaro once, killing him.
Resolution: John White was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two to four years. Governor David Paterson commuted John White's sentence shortly before leaving office. A move that garnered Paterson a lot of flack.
Shooter: Deceased:
So, in this "post-racial" America we live in, if you shoot and kill an unarmed person of color who is not on your property, and is not threatening you with violence, you don't even see a trial as long as you're not African-American. If you're African-American, even if that person is on your property and threatening your son, and you shoot a white person, you're not only going to trial, you're getting convicted of manslaughter.
