Conflicting forensic evidence, witness testimony leads to just verdict jury
If two men fight in a neighborhood and no one is around to see it, does it still make a sound?
Apparently so, as anyone who’s listened to the news in the past several months can attest. For months, the death of Trayvon Martin and the subsequent trail of George Zimmerman have been one of the most talked about stories by the national media. It all culminated Saturday with the verdict: not guilty.
Across the nation, thousands are outraged, and justly so. Martin was minding his own business, taking a shortcut home from 7-11 when he was followed by some weirdo in a car, staring at him while talking on the phone. Noticing his pursuer, and justifiably crept out that he was being trailed, Martin ran, trying to shake the man following him. Just when Martin finally thought he’d lost him, the guy confronted him, shouting and attacked him. Martin attempted to defend himself, screaming for help and striking his attacker, desperate to get free. At some point in the struggle, the attacker drew a gun and shot Martin in the chest, ending his life.
Across the nation, thousands are relieved, and justly so. George Zimmerman, captain of the neighborhood watch, saw a suspicious figure in a hood ducking behind houses, making no attempt to get out of the pouring rain. Zimmerman did his duty and called the police to report the suspect, who ran off when he saw that Zimmerman spotted him. Zimmerman briefly gave chase, not wanting this shady character to get away before the police arrived, until he was called off by the police dispatcher on the phone. By this time, he lost sight of the hooded figure, and headed back to his car. As he walked, Zimmerman heard a noise behind him and turned just in time to see a fist slam into his face and broke his nose. His stealthy attacker continued to assault him while Zimmerman screamed for help. Upon seeing Zimmerman’s pistol, the attacker reached for it, and the two struggled for control of the gun. Zimmerman managed to take momentary control of the firearm, and took the chance to shoot his attacker in the chest before the attacker can do the same to him, saving his life.
Unfortunately, the evidence collected from the scene of the crime is insufficient to determine which one of these stories is closer to what actually happened. All we know for sure is that Zimmerman and Martin fought, that someone cried for help, and that fight resulted in Martin’s death. Without a third-party witness to the crime or conclusive forensic evidence as to who started the fight it’s impossible to believe either story “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The possibility that Zimmerman is a murderer who gets away with it is the price we pay for our high standard for deciding guilt. Benjamin Franklin justified this price best when he said, “…it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer…”