Category Archives: Criminally Stupid

The background story of the death of Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin was a 17-year old black teenager who was visiting his father, stepmother, and little brother in Sanford, Florida.  One night, he left the townhouse in the  gated community where they lived to walk to the nearby 7-11 to pick up some Skittles and Arizona Ice Tea.  It was raining out, and he was wearing a hoodie.  A normal kid, making a normal convenience store run at night to pick up a few things.  Nothing unusual about that, right? In a just world, there shouldn’t be, but in our world, there was.  Trayvon Martin is dead, and his killer is walking around free, almost a month later.

Like many people, I didn’t hear of the case when it first happened.  It wasn’t until the 911 tapes were released that the case started gaining traction in the media.  The story unfolded gradually, and with each new piece of information, the story became more and more disturbing – not to mention enraging, heartbreaking, and depressing.  It also became very complex and layered, so I’m going to try to break it down as best as I can.

As I said above, the basic story is that on February 26, Trayvon Martin went to the local 7-11 to grab some snacks.  It was nighttime and raining, and Trayvon was wearing a hoodie.  The self-appointed captain of the (gated) neighborhood  watch, George Zimmerman, spotted him, called 911, and followed Trayvon.  Zimmerman was carrying a 9mm handgun.  There was a scuffle, and Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon.  Zimmerman claimed it was self-defense; the police claimed they couldn’t prove differently, and that was that.
(Click for more of this horrifying tragedy)