Lawyers: Court of public opinion no place for Trayvon case
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On one side there is a visceral reaction to the man who pulled the trigger in the Trayvon Martin killing: Thousands of people have used social media to label George Zimmerman guilty of racial profiling and murder. A "KillZimmerman" Twitter account began publishing calls for violence against him.
On the other side, particularly in the past few days, there are impassioned pleas by Zimmerman's brother, father, lawyer and friends begging the public to consider the counter-argument: The 28-year-old neighborhood watch captain struggled for his lif e against an aggressive attacker. He fired the gun, they say, in a kill-or-be-killed moment.
"Nobody just stood there with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea," Robert Zimmerman Jr. said on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, alleging that Trayvon smashed his brother's head into the pavement in a rage. "You return force when somebody assaults you. There would have been George dead had he not acted decisively and instantaneously in that moment when he was being disarmed."
Robert Zimmerman added, "That's called saving your life."
Calls for vigilante justice and pleas for a fair shake in the court of public opinion have created one of the most stirring national crime debates in recent years. The killing Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., has sparked more than a dozen rallies across the country, largely fueled by the belief of many that the case is the tip of the iceberg of a glaring problem of racial injustice in the USA.
Family photo
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in February.
Zimmerman's family says he is Hispanic; Trayvon is black.
George Zimmerman: Neighborhood watch captain involved in shooting death of Trayvon Martin
"I have to think back to O.J. Simpson to find a case that grabbed the nation in this way," said Randy Reep, a criminal defense attorney based in Jacksonville. "It's alarming to me that I've seen bounties for a suspect on a case before they've been indicted. The rhetoric has taken on such a violent tone. It would not take much of a leap of irrational behavior to have this become violent."
Trayvon's family and Zimmerman's family tell different stories, but it 's important that both sides and the public be prepared to accept the decision of the grand jury and the state and federal officials handling the case, Reep said. The Seminole County grand jury considering the case will convene April 10.
"This case needs to play out in the court of law and not the court of public opinion," he said.
Emotion has played a bigger role for some than reason. A group identifying itself as the New Black Panther Party offers $ 10,000 to anyone who makes a citizen's arrest of Zimmerman, and there have been a spate of death threats against him.
Thursday, an elderly couple reached a settlement with Hollywood director Spike Lee over a tweet he circulated incorrectly identifying their address as that of Zimmerman.
Elaine and David McClain said they fearfully left their Sanford home after receiving hate mail and unwanted guests. The couple's attorney, Matt Morgan, announced the settlement Thursday.
"The matter is fully resolved," Morgan said. "Spike has agreed to compensate the McClains for their loss and for the disruption into their lives. He's taken full responsibility."
Details of the settlement have not been disclosed.
Lee called and apologized to the couple as requested by their family on television.
"He was really kind," Elaine McClain said. "And when he called us, you could just tell he really felt bad about it. And it was just a slip, and I just know that he really, really has been concerned."
Zimmerman's brother said the hatred in the case is astounding. He said the case is being driven by a "carnival of hatred" and a "mythology" surrounding George Zimmerman that isn't true.
"He's the neighbor that everybody would want to have," Robert Zimmerman said. "He's the kind of guy that sees somebody struggling with changing a tire and stops to help them or helps older people with their groceries. He goes out of his way to help people."
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