Manns Medium

While the parents of Trayvon Martin believe that not only would their son be proud of the pressure placed upon the State of Florida to arrest and bring to justice George Zimmerman, Justice was not served.   While they are the ones who lost a child and their wishes of no rioting or violence should be honored, after all our kids are still with us.   While I know that God Almighty can and will deliver more justice than any court ever created, I still have a few things to say. I find it quite hard to accept the verdict because George Zimmerman took a life and in that realm alone, he should have been held accountable.   I do not hate him personally but I deplore the laws that allow him and others like him to flourish.   Commentators were quick to say that the jury should be concerned about what effect their verdict would have on the community of Sanford, the State of Florida and the world.    They mentioned that we need to consider that they are mother...

When George Zimmerman was released on bond, many thought that the situation behind it had not been clearly vetted by the court and some even went as far as to speculate that the Zimmerman’s were lying about their finances.   I truly had no earthly idea in the beginning about whether they were telling the truth or not and apparently so did the court.   All that changed yesterday. According to Pueng Vongs for Yahoo Lookout in an article titled George Zimmerman’s bond revoked, must surrender it is reported that “ A Florida judge has revoked the bond of George Zimmerman, the volunteer neighborhood watchman accused of killing teen Trayvon Martin, on the grounds that Zimmerman misled the court about his finances.   During Zimmerman's bail hearing in April, his family testified they had limited funds, prosecutors said on Friday during court proceedings broadcast live.   Zimmerman's wife "said she had no money, but in fact she did," said prosecutor Bernardo de la Riond...

As time elapses and evidence is revealed, more and more it begins to look like the conviction of George Zimmerman maybe much harder than first expected.   According to Dylan Stableford in his article titled Trayvon Martin shooting: Witnesses change stories ahead of Zimmerman trial “four witnesses in the Trayvon Martin case have changed their stories, some "in ways that may damage" George Zimmerman, the Orlando Sentinel reports .   According to records released last week in the second-degree murder case, the witnesses--all of them neighbors--were interviewed multiple times by police and special prosecutors about what they saw on Feb. 26.” As a former law enforcement officer, one of the most unreliable evidence you can have is witnesses and many times the reason is when their stories change.   To secure the perfect witness is one where no matter how much time expires, their story remain consistent.   This article clearly shows why forensic are the best source fo...

According to Matt Gutman and Seni Tienabeso of ABC News has inked an article titled ABC News Exclusive: Zimmerman Medical Report Shows Broken Nose, Lacerations after Trayvon Martin Shooting In which they report that “a medical report compiled by the family physician of accused Trayvon Martin murderer George Zimmerman and obtained exclusively by ABC News found that Zimmerman was diagnosed with a "closed fracture" of his nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury the day after he fatally shot Martin during an alleged altercation.    Zimmerman has claimed self defense in what he described as a life and death struggle that Martin initiated by accosting him, punching him in the face, then repeatedly bashing his head into the pavement.”   The only problem that I see after reading this article is how Zimmerman claim Martin accosted him while the evidence proves the opposite. I also find myself questioning this report mainly...

While I and so many more are truly upset and angered by the events in Sanford, Florida, none of us wish to disrespect Trayvon’s family, Zimmerman’s family or the numerous officials in Sanford who are now trying to clean up a mess created by a select few.   What angers me more are those who think that the only way to get justice is on the other end of a gun? Recently six shots were fired into an empty police car in Sanford and for those individuals who believe this is just, they are wrong.   All this does is add fuel to the fire and instead of us using this moment as a teaching moment, addressing all those long standing issues and working to bring an end to this separate justice system we now have.   We have a golden opportunity to finally get issues which has plagued the African-American community and so many other communities out in the open and possibly solved.   We do not need the 10 percent who thrives better when there are divisions. We must not be deter...

When asked why tempers are so high in Sanford Florida, many people just can’t seem to answer that question.   I, myself, have had a hard time attempting to explain why so many are marching for justice and often I use the analogy of people turning out to comb the countryside when The Anderson child was lost or the enormous outcry when Natalie Holloway came up missing.   While many have tuned in to the Trayvon Martin story, they have also been exposed to similar events which have happened and no one seemed to have really paid attention to them.   This has left some furious and others unaffected but what it should have done to all of us is show us that coming together as Americans is the only true way to end this senseless violence upon any community and upon our nation. Take for example an article written by Olivia Katrandjian of ABC News titled Two Men Arrested, Facebook Clues in Tulsa Shooting Spree .   This article along with the one from Holbrook Mohr of th...

Reuters reports that shirts were on sale in Miami Florida during a protest calling for the capture of George Zimmerman.   In my humble opinion this action does nothing but disrespects the memory of Trayvon , undermines the work being done by his family and attorneys’, attempts to circumvent the FBI and all legal representatives who are truly working to make justice fair for all.   It is nothing more than an opportunity to stand on the grave of Trayvon to make money. Hypocrisy is the act of pointing out what others are doing as unjust or immoral while doing the very same thing yourself.   Selling those shirts and pushing this vigilante style law enforcement by offering a reward is asking some mentally questionable person to conduct him or herself identical to the way Mr. Zimmerman did.   His action caused a 17 year old to lose his life and supporting this idea of a bounty in any way could also result in the same end. So what would be the purpose?   ...

When will we learn that individuals who tend to try and help often times does more damage than good?   This is quite evident in the recent new stories beginning with Zimmerman’s father and now ending with this now misguided attempt by Zimmerman’s neighbor.   According to an article written by Dylan Stableford from The Cutline titled “ Zimmerman neighbor on robberies by ‘young black men’ before Trayvon shooting: ‘If you plant corn, you get corn’ , it is reported that “Zimmerman's Sanford, Fla., neighbor, said the neighborhood watchman protected his residence from a potential burglary several weeks before the shooting of Trayvon Martin.   Frank Taaffe, a former neighborhood watch captain, told CNN's "Starting Point" that his house was in the process of being robbed on Feb. 2, but Zimmerman called Sanford police, who thwarted the robbery.   "My house was being robbed, and George on his nightly rounds watched this burglary in progress, called Sanford P.D., ...

I was pleased to finally see that George Zimmerman and his Family was beginning to put together a defense team because this signals, for me, his inevitable arrest.   Now we will get a chance to hear all of the evidence, for and against, instead of being spoon-fed tidbits here and there from the media.   This reminds me of the O.J. Simpson Trial where what we were hearing from the media, formed our decisions of guilt or innocence only to now learn that some of us was correct in assuming that O.J. was innocent and covering for someone else.   Many of us had him guilty and still today would repeat the same.   Many are assuming that George Zimmerman really has no case of self-defense.   I personally, take the stand that Mr. Zimmerman will be found guilty of murder but before he goes down, he will take many in the Sanford Police Department with him. I look for his defense team to reflect the blame of this travesty of justice from Zimmerman to those in the San...

This article is strictly speculation even though it is taken from numerous news accounts, the 911 tapes and reported eyewitness testimony.   It is my account of the final hours in the life of Trayvon Martin.   A young black male takes a few minutes away from watching television and decides to make a quick trip to the local convenience store to pick up his favorite candy and his favorite drink.   He leaves the store and as he made his way back home to his gated community, he makes a phone call to his girlfriend.   As he enters the community he slows his gait to give him more time to speak to the lady in his life.   While walking he looks up and notices an unknown vehicle parked on the street with a man sitting behind the wheel.   He then dons his hood which is attached to his shirt and continues his journey.   As his vision of the driver becomes clearer, he does not recognize the person and decides to change his direction to avoid him. ...

As an African-American male, I know firsthand how it feels to be eyed more than others as you enter shop and leave any store.   I know how it feels to hear others remark about your style of dress as if they can tell what type of person you are by the way you dress.   I have dressed in suits and been told that I look like a preacher or dressed causal only to be asked if I had any drugs to sell.   It’s the same as recently being told that my facial expressions and manner of speaking makes me appear angry while the guy sitting next to me who were as animated as I was seemed more passionate.   It did not go unnoticed that the guy sitting next to me was white.   These and so many more instances makes anyone wonder why I can be assumed to be angry, a preacher or a drug dealer while others dressed as I am are passionate and looks like a business man or lawyer. Still the use of the word racism bothers me when it is used.   It, like the “n” word is not an an...