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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Trayvon Martin Murder Case Goes All Skittles

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell tweeted that George Zimmerman's lawyer will be on his program tonight. Let's hope Lawrence doesn't have to Super Glue Attorney Craig Sonner to the chair, so Jon Stewart doesn't get any new material.

Yesterday, with its revealing video of George Zimmerman walking unscathed and unruffled (zoomed, slo-mo copy) into the secured Sanford police department sallyport, was a big day in terms of moving the Trayvon Martin murder case forward. We've heard the 911 tape between Zimmerman and the police dispatcher, but we haven't yet heard Trayvon's 911 call to the Sanford police. Hearing that will be another step forward in the pursuit of justice.

The idea that a young man armed with Skittles and iced tea was killed walking home continues to outrage people. Bruce Springsteen introduced his “American Skin (41 Shots)” last night in Philadelphia with the words "This is for Trayvon." The song, originally written in response to the 2000 Amadou Diallo shooting, points up what so many know.

It ain't no secret
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living
in your American skin.

The Honorable Robert Zimmerman says he "never foresaw so much hate coming from the President, the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP..." and went on to speculate about their motivations. Of course, we know what his are.

Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL-3), whose congressional district at its most southern tip includes Sanford, remains vigilant in her pursuit of justice. On Tuesday, she participated in a "House Judiciary Committee briefing on racial profiling and hate crimes. The briefing will assess the role of the federal government regarding racial profiling and hate crime issues, specifically as it relates to the case of Trayvon Martin."

Yesterday she reiterated the importance of the Department of Justice investigation in view of the facts that "the Sanford Police never did toxicology testing on George Zimmerman, yet immediately tested Trayvon’s body; the area where the crime was committed was never properly secured, police failed to interview some witnesses, investigators never contacted Trayvon’s girlfriend even though they knew she was on the phone with him during the incident, police reports contradict the Chief’s public statements, and several other anomalies."

Before the release of the sallyport video, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, accompanied by NY Times' Charles Blow and the WP's Jonathan Capehart, did a couple of provocative interviews with Joe Oliver, who presents more anomalies in this tragedy. Mr. Oliver, a former co-worker and 6-year acquaintance of shooter George Zimmerman, quit his job to do unpaid mainstream media interviews ("softball interviews" as Lawrence called them) on behalf of George Zimmerman.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

All of this could be critically important to the outcome, especially given the remarks made by the Jacksonville prosecutor recently assigned the case. "The prosecutor at the center of the national firestorm over whether the man who killed Trayvon Martin should be charged in his death said Tuesday she’s not likely to need a grand jury to make the decision for her.

More probable, she said, is that she’ll be the one to decide...In Florida, the decision on whether to indict someone in capital cases must be made by a grand jury. In all lesser cases the decision to file charges is routinely made by prosecutors. But in highly controversial or difficult cases, prosecutors often defer to a grand jury, leaving the politically charged decision to a panel of citizens."

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