The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
United States Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Mr. Attorney General Holder,
We are concerned citizens and are writing to appeal to you and the Department of Justice to further investigate the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.
We appreciate your initial investigation into the Sanford Police Department, after the murder of Trayvon Martin.
The “not guilty verdict rendered by the jury in the George Zimmerman murder trial is not acceptable to us, our family, or our friends. We feel and think the verdict has given license to George Zimmerman and others like him to stalk, shoot, and murder our Black sons, brothers, and fathers, without legal justification.
Given the blatant disregard for the truth, questions regarding the evidence in the murder of Trayvon Martin, and the evidence presented during the trial, we feel that George Zimmerman is a menace to society, and as long as he is free, we and our family do not feel safe from the threats of these unwarranted acts of racial profiling and attacks.
George Zimmerman has a pattern of bullying and violence and he always seems to get out of his criminal actions because he is a master manipulator. As long as he is allowed to roam the streets none of our children are safe. Our children have the right to walk down the street without being viewed as suspicious because of their skin color.
George Zimmerman bullied a co-worker at CarMax relentlessly and then conned officials like he was only kidding around. His attack on law enforcement officers and his disregard of the NEN warning shows he has no regard for the law. Zimmerman’s own mother has felt the cruelness of his behavior because he turned off her electricity.
His behavior escalated to murdering an innocent child after he threw a woman across the room in a fit of rage and later kicked a defenseless dog in the stomach. We shouldn’t have to wait until another innocent child dies based on his ignorant assumptions and fits of rage.
We are asking that you fully investigate the Sanford Police Department and their handling of the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman. We also ask that you review and evaluate the Stand Your Ground laws in the state of Florida, as these laws clearly have no beneficial value for its black citizens. We look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
3 ChicsPolitico
Marchers in Sanford demanding Angela Corey’s resignation after George Zimmerman verdict
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-zimmerman-trayvon-angela-corey-20130727,0,4253908.story
They’re on six-day walk from Jacksonville to Sanford to call attention to what they say is an unjust verdict in the George Zimmerman trial and a racially biased prosecutor.
Zimmerman, the Sanford Neighborhood Watch volunteer, was found not-guilty earlier this month of the murder of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old teen from South Florida.
The 25 people from Florida and other Southern states will conclude their march in Sanford on Saturday with a daylong rally.
They want the Jacksonville-based special prosector in the Zimmerman case, Angela Corey, to quit for losing the Sanford murder trial and sending Marissa Alexander, a black woman, to prison for 20 years in a different stand-your-ground case in Jacksonville.
“Marissa’s case is one of many that shows us how black women and other marginalized people are especially likely to be criminalized, prosecuted, and incarcerated while trying to navigate and survive the conditions of violence in their lives,” says Aleta Alston-Toure, coordinator of the New Jim Crow Movement.
State Attorney Angela Corey did not comment on the marchers or on Alexander’s case, but her office did release a statement via email that said, “State Attorney Angela Corey will continue to pursue justice for the citizens of the Fourth Judicial Circuit.”
Marchers will be engaging with the Sanford community by walking door-to-door in the Goldsboro and Georgetown neighborhoods from 12 to 2 p.m.
Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus Asks Holder to File Case Against Zimmerman
http://www.mainjustice.com/2013/07/25/pennsylvania-legislative-black-caucus-asks-holder-to-file-case-against-zimmerman/
The Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus has asked the U.S. Attorney General to file charges against former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.
SG2~ It is very gratifying to see the heat piling on the DoJ.
________________________________
I hope they take heed. The country is outraged. All except the backwoods racists.
@cielo62. The DOJ should also investigate the jurors, especially juror B37. There is no way that anyone can honestly say that the law is not written to convict murderers.
Zimmerman accused of domestic violence, fighting with a police officer
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/27/10894561-zimmerman-accused-of-domestic-violence-fighting-with-a-police-officer?lite
Court documents obtained by msnbc.com on Tuesday evening show that George Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, went to court in 2005 and 2006 for accusations of domestic violence, tussling with a police officer and speeding.
The three incidents took place in Orange County, Fla.
•In 2005, Zimmerman, then 20, was arrested and charged with “resisting officer with violence” and “battery of law enforcement officer,” both which are third-degree felonies. The charge was reduced to “resisting officer without violence” and then waived when he entered an alcohol education program. Contemporaneous accounts indicate he shoved an officer who was questioning a friend for alleged underage drinking at an Orange County bar.
•In August 2005, Zimmerman’s ex-fiancee, Veronica Zuazo, filed a civil motion for a restraining order alleging domestic violence. Zimmerman counterfiled for a restraining order against Zuazo. The competing claims were resolved with both restraining orders being granted.
SG2~ gz certainly HAS a history of violence and bullying.
________________________________
I’m thinking hes such a strong ass bully he flipped that Ford Explorer back onto it’s wheels all by himself.
Needless to say, that story fell apart faster than a race baiting hate monger took to concoct it.
By the the way…….who towed it…….as is required by law…….what officer in the Fire Dept examined it…….as required by law……..where is the fire dept report ??
These lying bastards…….do they really think we don’t ask questions. The entire group sound like my brother.
Former co-worker: Zimmerman lost security guard job after he ‘snapped’
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/30/former-co-worker-zimmerman-lost-security-guard-job-after-he-snapped/
The neighborhood watchman who in February shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was once fired from his job as a security guard for “being too aggressive,” according to a new report.
An unnamed former co-worker told the New York Daily News that George Zimmerman was paid under-the-table for providing security for illegal house parties between 2001 and 2005, but was let go because his anger issues “became a liability.”
“Usually he was just a cool guy,” the former co-worker explained. “He liked to drink and hang with the women like the rest of us. … But it was like Jekyll and Hyde. When the dude snapped, he snapped.”
“He had a temper and he became a liability,” he recalled. “One time this woman was acting a little out of control. She was drunk. George lost his cool and totally overreacted. … It was weird, because he was such a cool guy, but he got all nuts. He picked her up and threw her. It was pure rage. She twisted her ankle. Everyone was flipping out.”
Eight Compelling Reasons for a Federal Prosecution of Zimmerman
http://thehutchinsonreportnews.com/profiles/blogs/eight-compelling-reasons-for-a-federal-prosecution-of-zimmerman
The moment the NAACP, the Reverend Al Sharpton and other civil rights organizations publicly demanded that the Justice Department conduct a federal probe into the Trayvon Martin slaying and George Zimmerman’s acquittal for killing him with a view toward bringing civil rights charges against him, volumes were written and spoken as to why the department supposedly couldn’t or shouldn’t prosecute him. There’s one problem with all this. Most argue that charging Zimmerman with a hate crime in the Martin killing won’t fly because there’s no basis for that from the apparent evidence. But that’s not the only reason, in fact there are eight of them, the Justice Department can consider a “compelling federal interest” in prosecuting a defendant after a failed state prosecution, They are clearly spelled out in the Justice Department’s guidelines under the subsection: “Initiating and declining Charges—Substantial Federal Interest.”
1. Federal Law Enforcement Priorities. The Justice Department will prosecute only cases that it deems “are most deserving of federal attention.” A US attorney in a jurisdiction has much discretion as to the priorities for prosecuting a case and how a prosecution fits in with the department’s priorities. This means that Robert O’Neill, US Attorney for Florida’s Middle District that covers Sanford, Florida, has the leeway and authority to decide that a Zimmerman prosecution not only deserves federal attention but does not violate the department’s established priorities.
2. The Nature and Seriousness of Offense. The US attorney must consider the “nature and seriousness of the offense” in deciding whether to prosecute or not. The major factor that determines that is “the actual or potential impact of the offense on the community and on the victim.” The Justice Department spells out exactly what that means. It means economic harm to the community, physical danger to citizens, and erosion of citizen’s peace of mind and security. Zimmerman’s acquittal squarely fits each of these criteria in in terms of lasting damage to the community, erosion of confidence to secure that peace resulting from the state’s failed prosecution, and the danger of vigilantism in the Zimmerman’s jury’s upholding of an individual’s right to use deadly force solely because they presume that their life is in danger. Further, the rules spell out that the circumstances of the offense, the identity of the offender and the odious publicity in the case that create strong public sentiment in favor of prosecution must be weighed. The Zimmerman acquittal fits all three circumstances.
3. Deterrent Effect of Prosecution. The goal here is to insure that criminal conduct not be encouraged or furthered by a failed prosecution. The right to kill or maim an individual based on the perpetrator’s perception of danger as the department notes if unpunished would “commonly have a substantial cumulative impact on the community.”
4. The Person’s Culpability. The department must judge that the accused has some culpability in the commission of an act. The one indisputable fact in the Martin slaying is that Zimmerman initiated the confrontation by targeting Martin as a “suspect” and then following him. This establishes Zimmerman’s clear culpability in the deadly train of events that followed.
5. The Person’s Criminal History. Zimmerman has a criminal history. Both of his arrests, for domestic violence and resisting a police officer, involved violence. Federal prosecutors are duty bound to consider that history in determining whether to initiate or recommend prosecution and most importantly does the prior violence have a relationship to the charged offense. Zimmerman’s offenses involved violence and therefore that fits in with the rule that this past must be weighed in the decision to prosecute.
6. The Person’s Willingness to Cooperate. There is absolutely no hint that Zimmerman would be willing to cooperate in any federal probe into his conduct or actions that fateful night. His and his attorney’s public statements following the acquittal have been marked by defiance, baiting of the prosecutor’s case, and even gloating at the acquittal.
7. The Person’s Personal Circumstances. The circumstances that may preclude against a prosecution are youth, old age, mental or physical impairment. Zimmerman fits none of these personal circumstances. However, if federal prosecutors determine that the accused “occupied a position of trust or responsibility which he/she violated in committing the offense” this would be a strong factor in favor of a prosecution. Much was made that Zimmerman was at least at one time a sworn neighborhood watch captain and though his status as neighborhood guardian was dubious at best when he killed Martin, the strong presumption was that he acted as a neighborhood guardian—authorized or not.
8. The Probable Sentence. If Zimmerman had been convicted on any charge no matter how minor, federal prosecutors almost certainly would not consider a prosecution. It would not justify the government’s time or resources. But the fact is that he wasn’t. So this is a non-factor against considering a federal prosecution.
The legion of Zimmerman defenders and legal naysayers of a federal prosecution have no need to read the actual federal guidelines that determine when federal prosecutors can bring a second prosecution because their goal is not to adhere to the actual provisions that govern a federal prosecution but spout their pro Zimmerman legal biases. Federal prosecutors, however, have that duty. And there are eight compelling reasons they have to prosecute Zimmerman.
There we have it! The Retreat at Twin Lakes consists of residents of various races and ages. Any Black male was suspect to Zimmerman. While he assumed that the “assholes always get away” by using the back gate, the fact is that Emmanuel Burgess was a resident at the Retreat.
I remember reading an interview with a Black resident who said that after Zimmerman sent an email to residents, he was too afraid to jog in his own community. Zimmerman had selective recognition of who was committing the burglaries, because when Burgess was captured, he was with a group of 3 others, one being White.
SG2- please also post this one to the DoJs public site. It is VERY well written and compelling.
FROM THE CLUTTERED DESK OF Cielo62
Thank you very much, Cielo62! I took your advice. Thank you for your encouragement.
SG2- no, the thanks go to you! You took the time and attention to present a cogent and powerful argument. All they need is BALLS (or gonads of either gender) to actually indict!
FROM THE CLUTTERED DESK OF Cielo62
@cielo62 LOL@ FROM THE CLUTTERED DESK OF Cielo62
Trayvon Martin’s Dad Seeks Law to End Profiling of Minors
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-25/trayvon-martin-s-dad-seeks-law-to-end-profiling-of-minors.html
Congress should respond to the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin with a law that would make it a crime to racially profile minors and kill them in self-defense, the Florida youth’s father told lawmakers.
“What can we do as African-American men to instill in our kids that you don’t have to be afraid to walk outside of the house, go to the store and get a bag of Skittles and iced tea and not make it home,” Tracy Martin said yesterday in Washington.
Martin said he wants to see legislation, named after his son, passed within 50 years. It was acknowledgment that such a proposal has little chance in a Congress split between the Republican-controlled House and majority-Democratic Senate.
Martin, who received a standing ovation from a capacity crowd inside the hearing room, opened the first meeting of the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys. The group of lawmakers was created in March by District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Illinois Representative Danny Davis, both Democrats, to address issues facing African-American males.
“The loss of 17-year-old Trayvon has focused attention on black males as nothing else has in decades,” Norton said.
Tracy Martin: I will define my son’s image.
SG2~ And those of us SANE people will know it to be true.
________________________________
Council Supports Justice Dept. Reviewing Zimmerman Case For Civil Rights Violations
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/07/23/council-supports-justice-dept-reviewing-zimmerman-case-for-civil-rights-violations/
DETROIT (WWJ) – It’s been almost two weeks since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Now, the Detroit City Council is adding its voice to a call for a federal investigation.
Council members unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to look into the case for possible civil rights charges.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, was acquitted of murder charges in Martin’s death on July 13.
WWJ Newsradio 950 Stephanie Davis reports that Council’s resolution was unanimously passed the resolution.
Can federal charges be brought against Zimmerman?
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2013/07/23/the-case-for-bringing-federal-charges-against-zimmerman/
Now that a Florida jury has found George Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter, people across the nation are demanding federal prosecution. But this public debate has been clouded by misinformation about the possibility and scope of federal charges.
President Obama’s powerful comments on Friday helped put this matter in perspective. The state prosecution deserves a strong measure of deference. The federal government must, however, conduct a thorough investigation and undertake the rigorous analysis necessary to ensure that the federal interest in punishing civil rights violations is vindicated to the greatest extent possible.
The public outcry for federal involvement reveals the legitimate passions stirred by the killing of Trayvon Martin and drives home the importance of getting this right. The decision whether to prosecute, however, must be based on the evidence and the law as analyzed by professional civil rights prosecutors in the Justice Department.
Here are the essentials that the public needs to understand.
1. Federal charges are not barred by double jeopardy. While a state or the federal government cannot prosecute the same individual twice for the same crime, the state of Florida and the United States are separate sovereigns. Each has independent authority to prosecute individuals for violating their respective laws. The Supreme Court has ruled that a prosecution by the state does not pose a constitutional prohibition against prosecution by the federal government.
2. Though a federal prosecution is not barred by the Constitution, the federal government will pursue a successive prosecution based on the same conduct only when the state prosecution has left unvindicated a substantial federal interest and the government believes the evidence will be sufficient to obtain conviction of a federal crime by an unbiased jury. These requirements, sometimes referred to as the Petite policy, appear in the manual that guides United States attorneys.
I would say standard #2 has met been met very adequately. The question is whether they have the balls to do so.
FROM THE CLUTTERED DESK OF Cielo62
@SG2. The State of Florida did not charge Zimmerman with violating Trayvon’s civil rights. While the defense introduced race and racial dog whistles in the trial, prosecutors did not. The feds are completely free to investigate and charge Zimmerman, and I hope they slap on charges such as interstate financial fraud and impersonation of law enforcement.
Race, Law and the Zimmerman Verdict
http://www.thenation.com/article/175332/race-law-and-zimmerman-verdict#axzz2a42qp5x6
The problem is not that Zimmerman was afforded the presumption of innocence. It is that Trayvon Martin was not—and that defendants who look like him are denied that right every day.
Thousands have marched, hundreds of thousands have signed petitions, millions have expressed their frustration, grief and outrage at the acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, last year. From New York to Los Angeles, protesters flooded the streets on July 14, chants of “No justice, no peace!” ringing through the night.
“No justice” is what many see as the outcome of a trial that would not even have occurred had authorities not been shamed by a similar public outcry into charging Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin’s death struck a nerve for reasons that went far beyond its immediate circumstances, and the not-guilty verdict reaffirms the sense that the whole justice system—from police to prisons—not only fails to protect people of color, but classifies them as criminals by default, even when they are the victims of a violent crime.
SG2- did you post this on the DoJ page where they are seeking public comments? You should.
I sent it. Thank you so much!
I see that “Vision” sent an open letter to the DOJ(It is on the Daily Kos site) and included Whonoze’s “Death of Trayvon” video.
Well done…….where do I sign ???
TY, Racer!
GZ did NOT say “punks”.
GZ said “COONS”.
Another from LLMPapa:
“Oh….look at SheLie and me in front of the Capitol Building…..you know…the place they make all those laws…………that I love to ignore, being white and all.
“Fucking coons.”
Yes he said coons and someone find out where his fat racist lying is…….I have a very special soap I going to wash his filthy mouth our with. This may take awhile.
Tracy Martin Speaks To New Congressional Caucus
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2013/07/24/tracy-martin-heading-to-capitol-hill-wednesday/
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) – Tracy Martin, the father of the late Trayvon Martin, was on Capitol Hill Wednesday for the inaugural hearing of the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys.
Martin gave opening remarks at the hearing which was entitled, “The Status of Black Males: Ensuring Our Boys Mature into Strong Men.”
“I always say Trayvon was my hero. He saved my life. Not to be there in his time of need is real troublesome, not to be able to save my son’s life,” Tracy Martin said.
Jay Z Outraged Over Trayvon Martin Verdict and the ‘Mall Cop’ Who Got Off
‘Magna Carta’ rapper blasts George Zimmerman and Stand Your Ground laws
In a lengthy interview with Rap Radar’s Elliott Wilson, Jay Z spoke at length about the Trayvon Martin verdict, why George Zimmerman was acquitted, and how angry, yet hopeful, the event has made him. The talk was held in Yankee Stadium before Hov performed there with Justin Timberlake — just a day before he and Beyoncé attended a rally for Martin in downtown New York — and it features the Magna Carta MC’s most in-depth comments on the case to date.
“I was angry. I didn’t sleep for two days,” he says regarding the verdict. “We all knew there was still a bit of racism in America but for it to be so blatant… If you just asked the questions, asked yourself the question, ‘Didn’t Trayvon have a right to stand his ground?’ He was being chased and he fought back. He may have won. That doesn’t mean he’s a criminal. He won! I mean, if you chase me and you try to attack me and I defend myself, how can I be in the wrong? How is that right?
“This guy went to get some Skittles and go back to watch the all-star game. He had plans, [and] no intentions of robbing anyone’s home. So, it’s a thing where it’s like, again, a reminder [that] we still got a long way to go. And it’s beautiful. This generation right now, they don’t see color in that way. We’re a bit removed from those racist feelings because again, it’s hard to teach racism when your child is out [at] clubs. It’s integrated and the music we listen to is the same.”
Wilson comments that the Jay Z/J.T. shows are a great example of that, to which Jay responds, “Exactly. All our feelings and anxieties and all that thing are more similar now. So you have hope that this generation don’t see racism that way, but you still see that that old guard — that whole thing that I’m fighting against — that old guard and their old ideas and their stubborn ways and all that ego and that bullshit is still there, it still exists. You just hate to believe that.”
Then he switches gears to talk about Zimmerman and the Stand Your Ground laws:
“Even a part of it has gotta be about business. They’re funding George Zimmerman because they want to hold onto their guns, so the NRA…” he pauses. “Your mind can go so many places about why this verdict came down the way it came down, and we all know it was wrong. It was wrong. This guy’s not a professional. First of all, you’re not a professional to profile someone. Professionals are taught not to profile someone… This guy’s a novice. This guy’s a fucking mall cop.
I couldn’t sleep either. The not guilty verdict was a gross injustice.
We will NOT be MOVED
@3Chics (((((Applause)))))
Stand your ground law is unconstitutional. It gives individuals the right to kill based on their fear of great bodily harm or imminent death, with or without injury or injuries. This right is based solely on the words of the person who uses deadly force. That in fact, it gives the right to people suffering from paranoia and mental disease to kill other human beings without any consequence from the judicial system.
There was nothing wrong with the Castle Doctrine and no reason to extend it to public areas.
Thank you, Xena!
“Stand your ground law is unconstitutional. It gives individuals the right to kill based on their fear of great bodily harm or imminent death, with or without injury or injuries”
In that case, 98 %of Americans could work the SYG law against the 1% for their assault on our economy, healthcare, and general welfare. We could claim great a threat to do great bodily harm and imminnent death, without ACCESS to adequate HEALTHCARE COVERAGE, FAIR PAY to cloth, feed, and educate our children/families.
See how this works?
These hate filled racists now have a new defense mantra “I was so scared…..I almost pissed my pants…….so I was forced to shoot him”
SYG laws must go!
Yes they must go. Leaving an interpretation so vague is license to kill. Anyone who argues that has an agenda. Notice we never hear about this law legally invoked.
I was walking home from the store.
My wife and 8 of our friends were with us
I was attacked by a guy with a knife and a gun
He said he’d kill my wife if I didn’t give him the wagon full of cash I had just won in the lottery
He cut my arm and I started bleeding so I shot him.
Fred, one of my friends has this video of the whole event.
Can leave the police station now ? or does my being black change things ??
@racerrodig. Yes! Since self-defense laws rely on the “reasonable” belief of the person using deadly force, it allows jurors to use their stereotypes to decide the verdict.
This word “reasonable”…..compared to what or who?? Fogen is not a reasonable person. He’s a certifiable lunatic.
@racerrodig. Well, there ya go. It means that even those who are certifiable, mentally ill, can kill and claim self-defense because their mental illness gives or contributes to their “reasonable fear.” It gives legal meaning to and makes it lawful to profile based on fear, even fear that comes from mental illness. The man in Wisconsin tested this out when killing a 13 year old then claiming mental disease. That jury found him guilty.
And if Dunn gets off, warn everyone of Team Trayvon because I’m nuking FL.
Racer, I thought after Casey Anthony Florida would come to their senses but how wrong I was.
Other than OJ just about every big murder case results in a conviction…….with the exception of FL. Hmmmmmm ?? I’ll start on that nuke 1st thing in the morning.