SANFORD, Fla. — Under the hot Florida sun the morning after George Zimmerman was found not guilty, Kathy McGill stood next to a brick monument adorned with the names of 10 local young people who had been shot or stabbed to death.
The name at the top of the monument, located in the center of Sanford’s historic black neighborhood of Goldsboro, was Trayvon Martin. Next to Martin’s name was the date of his death: February 26, 2012.McGill never knew Martin, a Miami boy who was visiting his father when he was shot by Zimmerman, but she did know two of the other people listed on the monument — Travares McGill and Corey Donaldson. Since the community put the plaque of names up nearly a year ago, at least two other Sanford kids have been killed.News of last night’s verdict was greeted with disappointment and some anger in this neighborhood, as residents said they believed police do not adequately respond to violence in their part of town, and that justice is not meted out equally. A jury of six women affirmed Zimmerman’s argument that he feared for his life when he shot the unarmed, 17-year-old Martin in a nearby gated neighborhood.“It makes me feel like if I’m in need of justice, I won’t win,” McGill said of the verdict. “I thought it would be better.” A young man passing by overheard McGill and asked, “How’s it self defense if it don’t apply to me?”Previous murders weigh heavily on the minds of residents, though those killings received far less media attention than the Martin case. Donaldson, a talented musician at his local church, was gunned down in a shooting rampage at his friend’s home in 2011. Travares McGill, then 16 and McGill’s nephew, was shot in 2005 by a security guard who said McGill was trying to run him over in a parking lot .“It never seems like they try to solve the murders in the urban areas,” McGill said. “When Trayvon Martin was gunned down, they thought he was just anyone. But he wasn’t.”
hopeless is a terrible thing to endure, i don't believe Zimmerman knew that feeling just before pulling the trigger, i think those screams were Trayvon being held a bay with a gun pointed at him and Zimmerman taking pleasure if not pride in not letting him "get away".
Some said they hoped the small central Florida town of 50,000 residents will change for the better because of the Martin case, which sparked a discussion on race and the justice system, as well as self- defense laws. Despite the predictions of a handful of pundits, the verdict was received with calm and no violence in the area.Lottie Edge, whose children were friends with Dominique Stafford, a 17-year-old stabbing victim whose name is among those on the monument, said she thinks justice has been served.“I’m a little disappointed, but not really surprised,” Edge said of the verdict. “The parents just wanted justice for their son. They wanted him to have his day in court and that’s what happened.”
due to the outcome i don't think there will be any change there for awhile the status quo obviously won out the community was safe from an unarmed visitor, Zimmerman can sit back in his truck and profile and alls well they all sleep better knowing he's willing to kill in the name of their safety. i also think that those residents think it was sending a message to those who would intrude on their world, you get killed and the band plays on.
i now do think Zimmerman will know the fear of hopelessness not knowing if or when can really kick your butt especially if you are guilty, when you least expect it, expect it..
