Guilty Until Proven Innocent

I am saddened by the untimely death of anyone. When a child's life ends abruptly it seems especially sad. When that child's end is brought by violence at the hands of another human being, "senseless" is the only word that seems to fit. Not without reason, the people around the lost child often react in ways that are equally senseless. Grief clouds judgment; pain blurs clarity, but the opportunists who gather around these incidents have no such excuse for their behavior.

The February shooting in Florida of Trayvon Martin by the Neighborhood Watch person, George Zimmerman, exploded onto the national scene weeks after it happened. CNN appears to be the first national news outlet to carry the story. It is unclear how they picked it up, but its rise from their March 12 opening is meteoric. Within days everyone from the Black Panthers to the President was talking about the case. It is no surprise that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton hitched their wagons to this star. Their willingness to capitalize on someone else's sorrow knows no bounds.

I do not wish to diminish the tragic nature of Trayvon's death, but the rush to judgment and cries of racism without the first shred of clear evidence leads to the realization that the young black man was only the first victim in this sad tale. It is also ironic that the media by and large initially identified the shooter strangely as a "white Hispanic." Since these two terms usually define mutually exclusive racial categories, one must wonder why they were paired in this case. They had the effect of moving Attorney General Eric Holder to suggest the Feds may investigate the incident as a "hate crime," a category I dislike. Are not all unlawful killings evidence of hate?

The irony multiplies. A little research reveals that Zimmerman has long been active in anti-discrimination cases against blacks. People who have known him for some time report that he is the last person they would imagine commiting a racially inspired act of violence. He was raised in a multi-racial home, and although his name might suggest otherwise, he does have Hispanic blood. None of this makes the news, but the unusual appelation "white Hispanic" does.

The worst of it was trumpeted not surprisingly by Al Sharpton just the other day. The Reverend called for the strictest punishment possible for George Zimmerman. I am not surprised that Sharpton would say something like this; what surprises me is that so many people seem to agree. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? There is way too much uncertainty about the facts of the shooting, too many conflicting witness statements, judges recusing, attorneys quitting, police chiefs stepping down to move to the sentencing issue. George Zimmerman must be given the trial he deserves; that it will be a fair trial is made less likely by all the irresponsible meddling and calculated machinations of self-serving outsiders.