Saturday July 13th was the 40th World Wide SketchCrawl. I deviated from the planned itinerary and went up to Sanford Florida to see if there were people waiting outside the courthouse for the verdict in the case against George Zimmerman. The courthouse was surprisingly quiet. Dark storm clouds loomed heavy and grey. Just hours later, jurors would announce the verdict that George Zimmerman was not guilty. I didn’t follow the trial on TV but I was there when the first protests happened. On the morning of the final deliberations, prisoners shouted “Justice for Trayvon” from their cells.
Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed Trayvon Martin in a Sanford neighborhood. Zimnerman was a citizen neighborhood patrolman. He called a police dispatcher, saying that he saw a suspicious youth with a hoodie walking through his neighborhood. The dispatcher told Zimmerman to stay in his car, that police were on the way. Zimmerman got out of his car anyway, stalked Trayvon and shot him to death. The youth had skittles in his pocket.
The jury was entirely made up of women. Though found not guilty, Zimmerman certainly isn’t innocent. It is unlikely that he will ever again walk the streets of Sanford on patrol. He is easily identifiable with his round face and small eyes. He is a pariah, and will likely disappear from public sight very much like Casey Anthony, the mom accused of killing her two year old daughter. Though found not guilty, she is still embroiled in law suits. She owes $800,000 and hasn’t worked since her case was settled. She filed for bankruptcy, but in March, a lawyer filed a motion asking for a Florida judge’s permission
to sell “the exclusive worldwide rights in perpetuity to the commercialization of Anthony’s life story.” Casey didn’t want any part of it. She had to pay $25,000 to settle the case and keep her story to herself.
George Zimmerman’s wife, Shellie, will likely be charged with perjury. She lied saying that the family had no money for lawyers fees when there was $135,000 in the bank. Money was being transferred out of George Zimmerman’s account in an effort to hide the money. This isn’t the last day in court for the Zimmermans. TV reporters kept asking people to express their anger, shock and resentment as if this is the only thing that is news worthy.
Spike Lee used Twitter to send out George Zimmerman’s home address during the trial. He got the address wrong and ruined the lives of an elderly couple, David and Elaine McClain, who had to suffer the abuse of false public scrutiny. They have nothing to do with the Zimmerman case. There were threats on social media and notes left on their doorstep. They had to leave their home fearing for their safety. The woman suffered a heart attack after the stress and strain. This false address is still being re tweeted endlessly. The Internet, rather than bringing people together is helping tear us apart.