N4: Jayvon Martin

Before reading the article about seventeen year old Trayvon Martin, I never even heard about him and what happened in the gated Florida community. Now, I’ve constantly been hearing about it on the news and radio stations. It’s been a month since the teen was murdered, and the police in Sanford have been keeping their mouths shut, not saying a word to the public. Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time that he was walking home, and she heard all the cries and screams that were coming from her boyfriend as he was approached by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. The shooting may be a incident of racial profiling, since Zimmerman is being described by the police as a white male, but is said to be a Spanish-speaking minority by his family. Even after Martin’s girlfriend released the tapes of the phone call to police, no charges have been made against Zimmerman. This is because they have no evidence to contradict what he has said, that he shot Martin in self-defense. It’s hard to believe that Martin was shot in self-defense since the police found him unarmed. His cries were heard by three nearby witnesses, who all said that Martin was crying for help. Martin’s father was quoted saying “It’s heart-wrenching, because those actually were my son’s last words. And to hear his last words being cries for help, it’s devastating. It tears me apart as a father.” It was Zimmerman who called 911. In the call, it was apparent that Martin was screaming for help. Zimmerman’s family denies that race played a role in the shooting, saying he has many black friends and family members. A month after the shooting and no justice has been brought to Martin’s family, not even questioning of Zimmerman. Still, Martin’s family is looking for the justice they deserve.