There were about 13,000 murders in the U.S. last year (about 36 a day);
what make the Zimmerman/Martin one so unique it takes over virtually all the news content for days on end?
In the past three or four years, there have been somewhere between 12,000 and 14,000 murders in America each year. That averages about 36 each day. Yes, you read or hear about them in your local news, usually without much thought due to the commonality of the event – but rarely do you see all the major cable channels devote virtually their entire programming with gavel to gavel coverage of what is a rather conventional murder trial. The question is: why? Why is the Zimmerman/Martin trail so eventful that is demands hour after hour coverage, and becomes the lead story on most national news?
The obvious response is that it involves “race” – with the victim black and the defendant (in this case) apparently white, although Zimmerman is ostensibly Hispanic. In one sense that does explain part of the phenomenon, because of the 12,664 murders in 2011 (the last compete figures) only 193 were white on black killings – or about 1.5 percent. Yet, even with that tiny amount of involvement, this case rises to the top of the list for coverage. The only answer for this must be the residual concern, fear, and suspicion the black community retains for white folks, especially as it involves the judicial system.
The Emancipation Proclamation was signed 150 years ago this year; and the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery two year later. Yet, like the lash that punished them for centuries, the wounds have healed very slowly, and the scars obviously remain. Ironically, when the Emancipation Proclamation was invoked, there was no violent reaction on the part of the former slaves or their owners; but since then there has been plenty of reason to be suspicious of white justice. Some 20th-century black intellectuals, including W. E. B. Du Bois and James Baldwin have described the proclamation as essentially worthless. Clearly, the black community is still has lingering thoughts about being “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore”; thus the reaction when a white perpetrator is exonerated. Zimmerman is a metaphor for white justice, even if justice is properly delivered.
A second issue “on trial” is the Florida’s liberal gun owner laws; and the state’s “Stand your ground” law -- along with its attendant vigilantism. To begin with, Florida’s gun ownership statutes simply note that no permit is required to possess or purchase a handgun, rifle or shotgun. A permit to carry a concealed handgun is done by applying to the Department of Agriculture and, “The application shall be completed, under oath, on a form promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and shall include the applicant's name, address, place and date of birth, race, and occupation”. That’s it. Regarding the “Stand your ground” laws: Chapter 776 of the state’s code states: “…that a person has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force if that force is necessary to prevent death, great bodily harm or the commission of a forcible felony”. It further states that: “A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force.” The statues are obviously more extensive, but the ease of gun ownership and the tacit allowance of firearm use, creates a lethal combination.
Several studies of states which adopted such laws show a statistically significant increase in the raw homicide rate, with only a very small positive effect on deterrence of crime. In an interesting irony, data from U.S. Vital Statistics, found a significant increase in homicide and injury among whites in these states, especially white males. Further, data from the Health Care Utilization Project, revealed significantly increased rates of emergency room visits and hospital discharges related to gun injuries in states which enacted these laws. These laws might well be also on trial in the Zimmerman incident.
A third component in imbedded in this trial is the role of the media itself. With hundreds of cable stations, radio stations and other media, the demand for content is voracious. Given hours of “free” content, it is easy for the cable news stations to simply turn on the court cameras and let them roll. And that is precisely what they have done. For hours on end; interspersed with endless (mostly inane) commentary from visiting attorneys, legal experts, or whatever.
Finally, there is the “prurient interest” factor, kind of like watching a bad car accident, or hearing about some lurid crime. Though not in that category, this did have some common elements: a young black teenager goes to the store…buys some Skittles… is innocently on his way home to watch a basketball game…and dies! But, he dies in a state with liberal concealed weapon laws, where armed self defense is encouraged, where an assumed white man is the killer, and a national media hungry for a story. Thus we have the unique ramifications of the Zimmerman incident – and ones that set it apart from the other 12,664 murders that occurred during the year.