[Peace-discuss] The DOJ will investigate Trayvon's death
E. Wayne Johnson
ewj at pigs.ag
Sun Mar 25 00:43:55 UTC 2012
It's a lynch mob.
On 3/25/2012 4:12 AM, Jenifer Cartwright wrote:
> Read, sign, forward widely.
> --Jenifer
>
> --- On *Fri, 3/23/12, Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org
> /<info at colorofchange.org>/* wrote:
>
>
> /Jenifer --/
> /
>
> Since Monday, you and more than 130,000 ColorOfChange members have
> called on the Department of Justice to take over Trayvon Martin's
> case, arrest his killer, and launch an independent investigation
> into the Sanford police department's mishandling of the case. Now
> more than ever, we need as many people as possible calling for
> justice. *Can you help us get to 200,000 by asking your friends
> and family to join this growing nationwide effort?*
>
> Click here to share the petition on Facebook:
>
> Share this on Facebook
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1232?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=1>
>
> Click here to share the petition on Twitter:
>
> Share this on Twitter
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1233?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=2>
>
> *On Monday evening, the Justice Department announced it will
> investigate Trayvon's case as a federal hate crime.* This is an
> important step towards justice, but we need to keep the pressure
> on until Trayvon's killer is arrested and the Sanford police
> department is held accountable.
>
> Below is an email you can forward that explains Trayvon Martin's
> tragic death and links to our petition demanding justice. Thanks!
>
> /
>
> /- Rashad/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Trayvon Martin was shot dead on his way home from buying candy.*
>
> Trayvon Martin
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1216?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=3>
>
> *Please join us in calling on the Dept. of Justice to arrest
> Trayvon's killer and launch an investigation into Sanford's police
> department:*
>
> Join Us
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1216?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=4>
>
> Dear Jenifer,
>
> Three weeks ago, 17-year old Trayvon Martin was gunned down by
> self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.
> *Despite Zimmerman admitting to following, confronting, and
> killing Trayvon, he has yet to be arrested or charged with any
> crime.*^1
>
> Just minutes before Trayvon was killed, Zimmerman had called
> police stating that Trayvon looked "suspicious." Trayvon was
> unarmed and walking back to his father's home in Sanford, Florida
> when Zimmerman accosted him.
>
> At the crime scene, Sanford police botched their questioning of
> Zimmerman, refused to take the full statements of witnesses, and
> pressured neighbors to side with the shooter's claim of
> self-defense.^2 As it turns out, *Sanford's police department has
> a history of failing to hold perpetrators accountable for violent
> acts against Black victims, and the police misconduct in Trayvon's
> case exemplifies the department's systemic mishandling of such
> investigations.*^3 And now, the State Attorney's office has
> rubber-stamped the Sanford police's non-investigation, claiming
> that there is not enough evidence to support even a manslaughter
> conviction.^4
>
> Trayvon's family and hundreds of thousands of people around the
> country are demanding justice.^5 Please join us in calling on the
> *Department of Justice to take over the case, arrest Trayvon's
> killer, and launch an independent investigation into the Sanford
> police department's unwillingness to protect Trayvon's civil
> rights. It takes just a moment:*
>
> http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trayvon
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1216?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=5>
>
> Walking home from the store shouldn't cost you your life, but when
> Black youth are routinely assumed to be violent criminals, being
> randomly killed is a constant danger.^6 Before Zimmerman decided
> to get out of his parked car — gun in tow — to pursue Trayvon on
> foot that night, he called the police to identify Trayvon as a
> "suspicious person" — apparently because he was wearing a hoodie
> and walking too slowly in the rain for Zimmerman's liking. Despite
> being instructed not to follow Trayvon, *Zimmerman proceeded to
> confront and fatally shoot the boy in the chest within a matter of
> minutes.*^7
>
> The case has been compromised from the beginning. When Sanford
> police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman was first approached by a
> narcotics detective — not a homicide investigator — who "peppered
> him with questions" rather than allowing him to tell his story
> without prompting. *Another officer "corrected" a witness giving a
> statement that she'd heard Trayvon cry for help before he was
> shot, telling her she had heard Zimmerman instead.*^8 And beyond
> the questions of professional competence or even the police's
> disregard for the facts, Florida's notorious "Shoot First" law
> takes a shooter's self-defense claim at face value — incentivizing
> law enforcement not to make arrests in shooting deaths that would
> lead to murder charges in other states.^9
>
> Sanford has a history of not prosecuting when the victim is Black.
> In 2010, the white son of a Sanford police lieutenant was let go
> by police after assaulting a homeless Black man outside a downtown
> bar. And, in 2005, a Black teenager was killed by two white
> security guards, one the son of a Sanford Police officer. The pair
> was arrested and charged, but a judge later cited lack of evidence
> and dismissed both cases.^10
>
> *Please join us in calling on the Department of Justice to arrest
> Trayvon's killer and launch an investigation into the Sanford
> police department's mishandling of the case and when you do, ask
> your friends and family to do the same:*
>
> http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Trayvon
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1216?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=6>
>
> Thanks and Peace,
>
> -- Rashad, Gabriel, Dani, Matt, Natasha, Kim and the rest of the
> ColorOfChange.org team
> March 19th, 2012
>
> *Help support our work. *ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your
> energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large
> corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff
> ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
>
> http://www.colorofchange.org/donate
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/205?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=7>
>
> References
>
> 1. "Witnesses in Trayvon Martin death heard cries before shot,"
> Miami Herald, 03-15-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1228?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=9
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1228?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=8>
>
> 2. "Orlando Watch Shooting Probe Reveals Questionable Police
> Conduct," ABC News, 03-13-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1219?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=11
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1219?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=10>
>
> 3. "Trayvon Martin Case Salts Old Wounds And Racial Tension,"
> Huffington Post, 03-14-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1220?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=13
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1220?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=12>
>
> 4. "Police: No Grounds For Arrest in Trayvon Martin's Death,"
> WESH-2 Orlando, 03-16-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1227?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=15
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1227?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=14>
>
> 5. “Trayvon Martin Family Seeks FBI Investigation of Killing by
> Neighborhood Watchman,” ABC News, 03-18-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1221?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=17
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1221?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=16>
>
> 6. "Ramarley Graham: NYPD Slays Unarmed Black Teen as Outrage over
> Targeting of People of Color Grows," Democracy Now!, 02-08-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1222?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=19
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1222?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=18>
>
> 7. “Trayvon Martin would be alive if Neighborhood Watch rules
> followed,” Orlando Sentinel, 03-14-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1223?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=21
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1223?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=20>
>
> 8. See reference 2.
>
> 9. "Teen's death suggests review of 'Stand Your Ground Law'
> needed," Tallahassee Democrat, 03-16-12
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1224?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=23
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1224?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=22>
>
> 10. "Five years since Florida enacted 'stand-your-ground' law,
> justifiable homicides are up, Tampa Bay Times, 10-17-10
> http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1225?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=25
> <http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1225?akid=2385.394109._Rxyyk&t=24>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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