Florida neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman turned himself in Wednesday and was charged with second-degree murder.
Most responders to this website and other gun sites I have seen will probably regard this as a desirable, if much delayed, outcome. The failure of police to arrest Zimmerman or even conduct much of an investigation of Trayvon Martin’s death encouraged demagogues like Al Sharpton and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg to denounce Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as a license for whites to kill blacks with impunity.
The arrest will puncture that notion, though hardly put it to rest. If you look at the coverage in many national news media outlets, it’s clear that many intend that this incident, in Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s phrase, “not go to waste.”
If an impartial jury of his peers finds that Zimmerman committed a crime, so be it. If they find him innocent, then it can’t be said he walked free without facing a full investigation.
Whether an impartial jury can ever be impaneled is, of course, another question. Finding 12 good men and true who haven’t heard about the case and formed an opinion on it will be extremely difficult.
It will be equally difficult for them to endure the pressure that is sure to come from all sides in this case. But that’s why, as has been said, freedom rests on three boxes: the ammo box, the ballot box and the jury box. It’s time now for the chips to fall where they may.
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