{"id":29143,"date":"2022-02-26T01:17:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T01:17:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=29143"},"modified":"2022-02-26T01:17:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T01:17:04","slug":"attorneys-discuss-stand-your-ground-racial-justice-10-years-after-trayvon-martins-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/26\/attorneys-discuss-stand-your-ground-racial-justice-10-years-after-trayvon-martins-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorneys discuss \u2018stand your ground,\u2019 racial justice 10 years after Trayvon Martin\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\"><strong>SANFORD, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 Florida civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump recalls being in court in early 2012 when he received a phone call from a fellow lawyer whose relative had been fatally shot in Sanford days earlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">Crump was soon put in touch with the dead teen\u2019s father, Tracy Martin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cHe told me about this tragedy of this 17-year-old son, Trayvon Martin, who was walking home with a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea,\u201d Crump told News 6. \u201cAnd [he told me about] the neighborhood watch volunteer with a nine-millimeter gun who profiled and pursued [the teen] and shot him in his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\"><b>[TRENDING: <\/b><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/features\/2022\/02\/24\/11-day-florida-strawberry-festival-features-lady-a-sam-hunt-nelly-the-beach-boys-more\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>11-day Florida Strawberry Festival features Lady A, Sam Hunt, Nelly, The Beach Boys, more<\/b><\/a><b> | <\/b><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/news\/politics\/2022\/02\/24\/cdc-to-significantly-ease-pandemic-mask-guidelines-friday\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>New CDC guidelines mean less masks<\/b><\/a><b> | <\/b><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/features\/2021\/07\/28\/heres-what-it-means-to-become-a-news-6-insider-its-cool-and-free\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Become a News 6 Insider (it\u2019s free!)<\/b><\/a><b>]<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 fMZjuD\">Ad<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">Ten years after Martin\u2019s Feb. 26 death, the attorney who would later represent the teen\u2019s family is still in disbelief that the gunman, George Zimmerman, was not arrested the night of the shooting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cYou can\u2019t kill unarmed teenagers and go home and sleep in your bed at night,\u201d Crump said. \u201cThe police said they\u2019re not going to arrest him because of this thing called \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">That 2005 Florida law eliminated the duty to retreat before using deadly force if there was a reasonable belief that such force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm. The law provided immunity from prosecution if the subject was in a lawful place for a lawful purpose.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">Following nationwide protests and the appointment of a special prosecutor, Zimmerman was arrested nearly six weeks after the shooting and charged with second degree murder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cMy frustration is the Zimmerman case has now put \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 out there and people think, \u2018Well, I can just shoot\u2019,\u201d said Mark O\u2019Mara, the criminal defense attorney who successfully defended Zimmerman at trial. \u201cShooting should still be the absolute last resort for any of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 fMZjuD\">Ad<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">O\u2019Mara did not invoke Florida\u2019s \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 law during the trial. Instead, the attorney argued that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense after the teen allegedly attacked the neighborhood watch volunteer first, preventing Zimmerman\u2019s ability to retreat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cUnfortunately, the publicity that has now wrapped itself around \u2018Stand Your Ground,\u2019 I think, has emboldened people,\u201d O\u2019Mara told News 6. \u201cWe have more shootings rather than less since Trayvon\u2019s passing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 laws are associated with an 8-11% increase in homicide rates nationwide, contributing an extra 58-to-72 violent deaths each month, according to a new study published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2789154?utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_term=022122\" rel=\"noopener\">JAMA Network Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cWe were hopeful that the \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 laws would be repealed, because you can see the tragic consequences of this law that encourages people to resort to violence to solve their conflicts,\u201d said Crump.<\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 fMZjuD\">Ad<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">Instead, \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 has expanded across the country since Martin\u2019s death, with laws currently enacted in 30 states and under consideration in at least 14 others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">But while Martin\u2019s death did not prompt changes in the nation\u2019s self-defense and gun laws, both attorneys agree it has brought awareness to racial injustice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cTrayvon was the first case in our time that raised the consciousness level of America to the plight of marginalized people of color,\u201d said Crump, who described the case as \u201chistoric.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cI represent a lot of Black males in the criminal justice system, and I know the biases that exist in the criminal justice system,\u201d O\u2019Mara said. \u201cBut it really never got to the front page [before Martin].\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">Although O\u2019Mara believes the jury made the right decision to acquit Zimmerman after he says both sides tried their cases well, the defense attorney knows many disagree with the verdict.<\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 fMZjuD\">Ad<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cThe Black community took [Zimmerman\u2019s acquittal] as a slap in the face that yet another young Black male is killed by yet another white guy, and the white guy gets off,\u201d O\u2019Mara said. \u201cI understand that having a just verdict in the face of having decades of unjust verdicts doesn\u2019t feel all that great to the Black community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">But in the decade since Martin\u2019s death, O\u2019Mara said he\u2019s become optimistic that there will be a more thorough examination of biases in the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cEvery time you look at a shooting, particularly of a Black kid, now we\u2019re looking at it closely. And that\u2019s good,\u201d O\u2019Mara said. \u201cThe system still has a long way to go. I\u2019m just glad that we have put a light on it that I think wasn\u2019t there before Trayvon\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">He and Crump point to recent jury verdicts in the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery as examples of how the national conversation about racial biases is making an impact in courtrooms.<\/p>\n<p><span role=\"presentation\" class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 fMZjuD\">Ad<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-bwzfXH dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-2 cynzxG\">\u201cI think that was part of Trayvon\u2019s legacy, because I think the consciousness level had been raised in America,\u201d said Crump. \u201cIt\u2019s a journey to justice. And like all journeys, you can take two steps forward and then you can take a step back. But we just have to make sure we all keep our eyes on the prize.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2022 by WKMG ClickOrlando &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickorlando.com\/news\/local\/2022\/02\/26\/attorneys-discuss-stand-your-ground-racial-justice-10-years-after-trayvon-martins-death\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] SANFORD, Fla. \u2013 Florida civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump recalls being in court in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-cj-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29145,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29143\/revisions\/29145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}