When the special prosecutor in the Trayvon case declined to put evidence before a grand jury, I knew that Zimmerman would be charged. It was clear to me that the prosecutor did not want to take the chance of a grand jury choosing not to charge, the fallout would be too great politically. So I knew she was determined to charge Zimmerman.
However, when the news broke that she would charge him with Murder 2nd degree, I was shocked. While I freely admit that I don’t know all that transpired that night, there was absolutely nothing in any of the accounts available that seemed close to establishing Murder2. I mean the first prosecutor that looked at this didn’t even think that he could prove manslaughter, but this prosecutor skipped right over manslaughter and murder in the 3rd. I couldn’t understand it. So naturally I assumed, they know something I don’t know, something new.
Then the affidavit used to establish the charge of murder in the 2nd became public and I was shocked again. There is nothing new. Not only nothing new, but the probable cause affidavit left out key parts of the narrative the would mitigate against a murder2 charge. I know I am a layman, but all I could think was “What the heck?”
Then yesterday I saw a video of Alan Dershowitz saying the same thing. That the affidavit doesn’t even come close to probable cause for murder 2 and that any decent judge would have to throw out the charge.
And then it all became clear. The prosecutor WANTS the judge to throw out the charge.
It seems to me that the prosecutor knows that even manslaughter will be hard to prove but the charge is perhaps justified. But she also knew that anything less than the maximum charge would unleash the full fury of the race-baiters and hucksters currently roaming Florida neighborhoods. So she brings the charge of murder2 even though she knows it will likely be tossed. Then she can come back with a manslaughter charge and she is off the hook. You don’t like it? Blame the judge.
Bait & Switch.
Cold. Political. Calculation.
Life is a Tom Wolfe novel. We just live here.
