Jeb Bush and the coming race riots

When I saw the headline that said Jeb Bush says 'stand your ground' law doesn't apply in Trayvon Martin shooting, I thought that maybe Jeb was reading my blog. But then I read the article:

Speaking Friday in Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said "stand your ground" doesn't apply to this case."Stand your ground means stand your ground. It doesn't mean chase after somebody who's turned their back," Bush told The Dallas Morning News.

Bush is giving out the false impression that Zimmerman shot Trayvon in the back while he was running away. As far as I know, Trayvon was shot in the chest from the front, and as I wrote in a previous post, I have the impression that Zimmerman may have been on the ground when he shot Travyon, which means that the Florida “stand your ground” law is irrelevant because you can’t run away if you’re on the ground.

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There’s a strong possibility that this case could lead to race riots. I think it is almost guaranteed that Zimmerman will be prosecuted. Why else bring on a prosecutor, one known for her hardball tactics? Any day now, Zimmerman will be arrested and will be held in jail until his trial.

However, the jury will have to consider the actual facts of the case, and they will be told that Zimmerman’s guilt has to be proven “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Zimmerman’s previous arrest (for which the charges were dropped) will probably not be allowed into evidence. However, any evidence of Trayvon’s propensity for violence and misbehavior will be allowed into evidence. This is not a rape trial, so rape shield laws don’t apply here.

Remember that law enforcement officials, based on evidence we are not completely privy to, thought this was such an open and shut case of self-defense that they didn't even bother to arrest him. It’s said that the cops only let him go because they are “racist,” but even racist cops wouldn’t let a Hispanic guy with a gun and a dead body just walk away like that unless the evidence was pretty compelling in favor of self-defense.

So this is a setup for race riots of the type not seen since the cops in the Rodney King trial were acquitted.

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Lawrence Auster suspects that Trayvon may have been suspended from school for punching a bus driver. That would be exactly the type of evidence introduced at a criminal trial that would make a jury of law-abiding whites and Hispanics sympathetic to Zimmerman.

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I accidentally deleted a comment in which the commenter said that the feds would get Zimmerman on "civil rights" charges. My response is that Zimmerman is a private citizen and not a state actor, so it's not illegal for him to disregard people's Constitutional rights.

They may find some other federal offense, violating the spirit of Double Jeopardy, but it has become common practice when there's a defendant whom no one likes.

I can't believe that it has been almost 18 years since I graduated from law school. Yet I still remember most of this stuff.

Comments

[Scipio Africanus]

"Bush is giving out the false impression that Zimmerman shot Trayvon in the back while he was running away. As far as I know, Trayvon was shot in the chest from the front,"

What he's referring to is the fact that Trayvon tried to run away from Zimmerman once before, which Zimmerman even says in the tapes. Then Zimmerman pursued him further.

[scott]

If you're a 6'2 football player and you can't outrun a 240lb 5'9" guy, you're doing something wrong. In no world does Trayvon try to get away and doesn't. You know what I do if I'm 75ft from my house and I think someone is following me? I go home, load my gun and lock the doors. If someone says "What are you doing in the neighborhood I haven't seen you before?" I tell them "Visiting my dad" I don't start punching them.

[Peter A]

It's interesting that Obama has been hedging his bets on this case more than the Republican leadership has. Republicans like Jeb seem a little too eager to prove their "non-racist bonafides." Could backfire on them pretty spectacularly if more facts come out.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding me? Obama would love nothing more than a race riot right now in the heat of this election year. Tha way, he gets to swoop in on his white horse and save the day with his peaceful rhetoric, etc. He gets to play the hero all in time for the November vote.

What I am curious about is why there has been no civil suit yet? Is that the next step should criminal charges no be filed in this case? Not saying that they should sue or aything but it just seems like in cases like this, there is some frivilous lawsuit against the other party involved, etc? I don't know much about law so that's why I'm asking.

[HS: Normally there is NOT a civil suit in murder cases. Most murderers are in prison and have no assets so it's a wasted effort. I'm pretty sure that Zimmerman will have no assets by the time this is over. But if he's acquitted, there will probably be a civil suit after the race riots, in order to rub salt in his wounds.]

[g]

Juries? Juries in high profile "racial cases"? You gotta be kidding me, Half. You think pc doesn't operate on a jury or that jury nullification doesn't occur? Think OJ.

[HS: OJ was acquitted.]

[g]

After the totally adult behavior of black church leaders and their congregations yesterday in wearing hoodies to services, one can see that the Obama admin will use this to rev up black participation in the upcoming election. Solidarity, brotha.

[jeanne]

Republicans like Jeb seem a little too eager to prove their "non-racist bonafides."

I'm tellin ya. The leadership and rank and file both are quite paranoid. You just can't talk about this stuff, and of course they wish Condi Rice would run for president, etc.

Is there a George Zimmerman defense fund yet? *googling*

[Josie Smith]

I don't know about civil lawsuit but there is an official website on behalf of the family where one can make donations. Apparently if you give $500, you become a "gold sponsor". My question is 1. Why is money being made off this "tragedy" 2. where is thismoney going? They say it's all in the name of justice and to pay for legal fees but check out the donor list. It's pretty extensive with some big named folks on it. Things that make you go hmmmm...

[Josie Smith]

Almost forgot: that site is

http://parkscrump.com/justicetm/donations/

[Bert Z.]

The mainstream media are sick ethnomasochists. The message is clear - White people are NEVER allowed to defend themselves, or when Whites are the victims,..somehow they deserved it. The media has been jamming this narrative down America's throat for 60 years.

The media is only showing photos of a boyish 13 year old trayvon,..not the 6 foot 2 & 17.5 year old trayvon. Incendiary reporting and 'personal opinions' have no place in real reporting.

The media obviously wants a race riot fueled by a ginned up black martyr.

Where was the national media coverage of the Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom by a group of blacks? A truly horrific case with White victims,...and not a peep from the media. Where was the 'outrage'?

How about the White kid that was set on fire by blacks? The reason "that's what you get Whitey"

More importantly where was obama's concern?

P.S. Hispanics didn't get the memo, the media hasn't been hypnotising the self preservation out of them,...yet. Don't underestimate the possibility of Hispanic backlash.

[Conquistador]

"P.S. Hispanics didn't get the memo, the media hasn't been hypnotising the self preservation out of them,...yet. Don't underestimate the possibility of Hispanic backlash." - Bert Z.

Exactly. Zimmerman himself was fighting back against crime in his neighborhood unlike whites who would just flee elsewhere in the past as popularized by "white flight". Hispanics are battling blacks pretty much everywhere and they're winning often through numbers but superior IQ must also play some role.

Whites truly are an embarrassment. They gave up in Rhodesia and South Africa and the stakes were much higher then too.

[HS: This is a good point. But Zimmerman would also probably move to a better neighborhood except that he doesn't have a high-paying job, so instead he's invested in improving the neighborhood he can afford.]

[Conquistador]

It's also interesting that blacks are migrating back to the South. That's a sign that they're losing the NAM civil war. It proves that when you aren't intimidated and "stand your ground" black machismo vanishes. The entire urban core can be reclaimed.

[HS: This is also an interesting suggestion that competition from Hispanics is causing black-flight from the north.]

[JP]

"It proves that when you aren't intimidated and "stand your ground" black machismo vanishes."

This case shows that black machismo does not vanish. The black keeps on coming, and the person "standing his ground" has to kill him. I'm OK with that as a general principle, but personally I would not like to have a Zimmerman-sized hassle in my own life.

[The Rationalist]

When the truth comes out I hope that society's deeper understanding of race will lead to it's eventual enlightenment. Coming to terms with HBD is a step in that process. Let's hope it's not a brutal one.

[alonzo portfolio]

You are incorrect that federal "violation of civil rights" charges can only be brought against a state actor. There is no "color of law" requirement. Private citizens are subject to the same charge.

[ErisGuy]

Gales of sardonic laughter. Thus endeth the Bush appeal to Hispanics.

[lil mike]

Anonymous writes

"What I am curious about is why there has been no civil suit yet?"

Too late, there's already one.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/state/lawyer-family-of-trayvon-martin-to-pursue-civil-case-gov-scott-says-he-wants-to-ensure-justice

[destructure]

There are elections coming up in November. And the GOP pols are scared because they pushed through the law that made what Zimmerman did legal. Now, they're covering their own butts and throwing him under the bus. They're punting and leaving it up to the jurors to clear him.

[sestamibi]

"My response is that Zimmerman is a private citizen and not a state actor, so it's not illegal for him to disregard people's Constitutional rights."

Not so. Lemrick Nelson was nailed on a civil rights violation and spent ten years in federal prison for it, after murdering Yankel Rosenbaum back during the 1991 Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn.

Nelson should have gotten life on the murder charge, but a ghetto jury not only acquitted him, but partied with him after the trial.