Melissa Hinton

CJUS 2050
1.2 Applied Exercise

The State of Florida v. George Zimmerman

The case of the State of Florida versus George Zimmerman has gained worldwide
media attention over the course of the last year and led to other racial crimes
across the United States. The impact was felt more closely by the family of Trayvon
Martin, but it was also sent shockwaves throughout society.
On April 11, 2012 George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in
the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Second degree murder is an assault, that is
not premeditated, that results in the death of the victim. It is unintentional.
Zimmerman had a pre-trial hearing and enough evidence was established for
probable cause. He was released on $150,000 bond on May 29th, 2012 and an
electronic monitoring was affixed to his ankle. However, a month after his initial
bond it was revoked, because Judge Kenneth Lester had evidence that Zimmerman
had acquired his bond through donations. His bond was reset to $1 million at that
time.
The reason that Zimmerman would not concede and plead guilty, although he did in
fact kill Trayvon Martin, was because he said he did so in self-defense. A jury
agreed with Zimmerman and he was found not guilty of 2nd degree murder on July
13th, 2013. Although the case of the state versus George Zimmerman is over, it
doesnt mean he is out of the woods.
Civil cases have a much lower standard when it comes to proving innocence or
guilt. In civil cases, guilt beyond reasonable doubt does not have to be proved.
Because George Zimmerman is likely to have been negligent in his actions, a civil
trial could still find him guilty and charge him with another crime, such as wrongful
death. If Zimmerman is found guilty of those charges, he will have to pay Trayvon
Martins family for the life that he took. This would include any money or assets
hed acquired since the death of Martin. Included in that would be monies amassed
from web sites, interviews, books, etc.
The victim, Trayvon Martin, still has not received any justice in the case of his
death. But he was not the only victim in this case. The parents of the 17-year-old
are also victims of the justice system. No one has paid for the crime of the death
of their son yet. Now, they are faced with the decision of starting a civil suit against
Zimmerman or doing nothing at all. Because of the Stand Your Ground Law in
Florida, it would be a hard case whether it was in criminal or civil court.
Zimmerman verdict has already proved in a criminal case that under the Stand
Your Ground law he has criminal immunity.

References:

References
http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-judge-expected-recuse/story?id=16162592
http://www.law.howard.edu/1697
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/26/george-zimmerman-civil-lawsuit_n_3659826.html
http://www.scribd.com/collections/3588456/State-vs-George-Zimmerman-court-documents