Locals activists hope the case sheds light on racism in the justice system.
When she heard the verdict in the Trayvon Martin homicide case, Bethlehem NAACP President Esther Lee had to turn off the TV.
“I am just beside myself,” she said. “I could not believe it.”
Lee said she watched as much of the trial as she could. She doesn’t want to blame the verdict exclusively on race, but noted the jury makeup and questioned what their verdict says about black men.
“Aren’t they worth anything?” she asked.
Melvin Warren, chairman of New Jersey's NAACP Criminal Justice Committee, said the high-profile case brought turmoil not just to Martin’s family but to Zimmerman’s as well. Similar cases happen throughout the country every day, Warren said. We need to learn from the Martin case to prevent it from happening again, he said.
“You’ve got to get rid of the stereotypes,” he said. “We’re all on this earth to achieve a goal. We’ve got to come together and address this issue.”
Warren said those who work in the criminal justice system can work for change, and it’s time for a serious discussion on race relations.
“We have to be more involved and part of making decisions,” he said.
Warren expects the NAACP will hold forums, panels and more discussions in the coming weeks and months on the topic. A Vigil for Justice for Trayvon Martin was held tonight in front of the Lehigh County Court House in Allentown. The Bethlehem chapter of the NAACP will hold a quiet protest later this week, Lee said.
Allentown defense attorney John Waldron said he expected a manslaughter verdict based on what he saw on television and read in the news media. But he refused to second guess the jury’s decision because he didn’t see all the evidence.
A key turning point for Waldron was when the judge refused to let prosecution experts testify about a recording where Martin was heard screaming. Defense witnesses suggested the voice belonged to Zimmerman.
“The prosecution was handcuffed in some ways,” Waldron said. “There were two experts that the Commonwealth had that said the voice was Martin’s screaming. That was a vital part of the prosecution's case.”
The case centered on Florida’s self-defense law, a “stand your ground” law that allows for deadly force for someone who feels they are in danger of serious bodily injury, Waldron said. Pennsylvania’s “Castle Doctrine” allows a person to defend with deadly force if they are met with violence on their property.
In New Jersey, you are allowed to defend yourself with deadly force if you’re met with a deadly force, said Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke. Without access to all the evidence, Burke doesn’t know how the case would’ve been handled in New Jersey.
Waldron said Zimmerman could have shot Martin in another part of his body to stop the fight.
“It could have accomplished him getting Trayvon off of him, and not killing him,” he said.
Zimmerman could expect more cases, Waldron said. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement saying prosecutors were considering filing federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. The NAACP has an online petition on its website urging the federal government to intervene.
Zimmerman could also be subject to a civil suit. In either a federal criminal or a civil suit, the prosecution voice experts could be allowed to testify, Waldron said.