What follows is the first part of an 1800-word piece I wrote after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin. It connects recent events to my research on nineteenth-century violence and criminal justice. I have split it up into parts, and will post a final draft (with footnotes) on SSRN after the series is posted. I hope you enjoy it! And thanks, Karen, for the warm welcome to Legal History Blog!
George
Zimmerman and the Right to Violence
For more than 200
years, the Constitution and common law have not just enabled but tacitly
encouraged citizens to respond to provocation with violent force. Though
scholars have already investigated the developments that eroded the duty to
retreat, a major part of this story has been overlooked: a deep-seated American
apathy toward interpersonal violence. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida
has received intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin.
But to understand Stand Your Ground and its roots we have to look well beyond
chapter 776 in the Florida
code.
(Image of George Zimmerman from Wikipedia)
We all know
how the encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin ended, but we
should pay careful attention as we learn more about how it began. Witness
reports suggest that the two were first entangled in a rather run-of-the-mill
scuffle. In this case, however, the violence escalated. Zimmerman had a gun;
his animus and adrenaline likely did the rest. Indeed, many homicides begin as fights
involving individuals who, like George Zimmerman, refuse to back down. The laws
of Florida and the United States entitled Zimmerman to carry the pistol with
which he killed Martin. In decisions like Heller and McDonald,
the Supreme Court has affirmed an individual’s right to bear arms. So emboldening
the public to take matters into their own hands can have calamitous
consequences, given an expansive view of the Second Amendment. A punch-up can
turn into manslaughter in seconds once concealed weapons come out of their
holsters.
Zimmerman
will probably escape conviction for second-degree murder, as the prosecution
will have a very difficult time proving its case. For example, Zimmerman’s
broken nose might be sufficient evidence of self-defense. It is also doubtful
that the prosecution will succeed in proving that the accused had a “depraved
mind” as required by Florida statute. Even if the court deems his defense
“imperfect”, Zimmerman will at most be convicted of manslaughter. It is not entirely surprising that Sanford police department and prosecutor’s office chose not to
prosecute Zimmerman at the outset, but only after a media firestorm demanding
his arrest.
