Posted on 07/17/2013 1:27:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
WASHINGTON — George Zimmerman is unlikely to face federal charges for killing black teenager Trayvon Martin because it would be difficult to prove he acted out of racial bias, Justice Department officials said Tuesday.
Four years ago, Congress adopted a stronger federal hate crimes act to empower federal prosecutors to go after violent crimes of bias. Since then, the Obama administration has won convictions against more than 140 defendants who chose their victims because they were gay, disabled or members of racial or religious minorities.
But a successful federal prosecution of Zimmerman would require clear evidence that he set out to attack the unarmed Martin because he was black.
Although that is exactly what many Americans see in the fatal shooting of the 17-year-old, it can be very hard to prove in court, legal experts said. So far, prosecutors have not shown evidence that Zimmerman acted out of racial bias.
"I'd be very, very surprised if we took it," said one federal civil rights prosecutor, speaking anonymously because no decision had been made. "It's a very tough, tough case to sell" because of the lack of witnesses.
"The difficult element would be proving racial motivation beyond a reasonable doubt," said University of Michigan law professor Samuel Bagenstos, a former civil rights attorney in the Obama administration. "In most of these [hate crime] cases, you have someone who had made racial statements or you have a group who goes looking to attack a person based on their race."
But in the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin, "no one else was there who could testify about the motivation," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yeah, especially when it's not there.
Actually, it’s impossible with the total lack of evidence.
The whole “it’s really, REALLY bad if you were thinking this while you committed a crime” aspect of this law makes me sick.
I'm not an attorney so I'll have to ask: suppose they COULD prove he was a racist, how does that amount to depriving Martin of his civil rights? Can a private citizen deprive another private citizen of civil rights? How?
Isn’t every crime a “hate” crime?
Sorry DOJ, no government attorney or bureaucrat has the ability to judge what is in someone’s heart.
The LAPD cops who smacked Rodney King were convicted in Federal Court after they were acquitted in Superior Court. How did that happen?
I’m sure that they can find many people from the hood who would testify otherwise, despite never having met Zimmerman.
next time you hear that government wants to make another crime a federal crime, be very afraid. It just means they’ll have another excuse to attack political targets.
"Evidence" is such an outdated concept. Obviously the laws need to be updated to allow the opinion-writers at CNN, LAT, WaPo, MSNBC, etc. be the one's to decide people's fate on issues like this.
But in the meantime Holder will speak to each and every one of ‘his people’ in his GOTV effort.
It was impossible to prove manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt, too.
But Florida still dragged George Zimmerman through a ridiculous trial for no good reason.
There's little stopping the Feds from doing the exact same thing - charging him groundlessly and then spending months or years until he is acquitted.
Here is why;
If racial unrest follows Zimmerman jury decision, blame it on Activist Obama
Saturday, July 13, 2013 12:08:14 PM · 18 of 26
mosesdapoet to rktman
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3042477/posts
This is reference to an editorial run in Canada Free Press. The Canadians got it right.! Too bad half of the so called conservatives talk show hosts I’ve been listening to can’t seem to be willing to connect the dots to what a heavy hand his imperious highness played in this example of socialist justice meted out to serve the policies of the state . Turning this into a show trial replete with wall to wall tv coverage.
.For certain since the not guilty verdict has been rendered the facts of this case are still being concealed by the media such as not using pictures of both side by side because they look like cousins.
The mixed area of modest dwellings that Zimmerman was a “watch captain” in is a mini US melting pot which includes a number of black familys . All were struggling with single and groups of young blacks on the prowl., In some instances armed, preying on homeowners.in his area. and usually such neighborhood watch areas are posted as such..That area wasn’t even examinined because it wouldn’t fit their agenda if true journalisim existed,because it couldn’t support any racial assertion..It might even explain Zimmerman’s action taken during his surveilance of Martin . In many watch areas that’s done frequently when the subject disappears from view they may leave their vehicle and continue surveilance on foot.. ....
Even after learning the shooter was a staunch Obama supporter, not Jewish, and a very dark skinned “hispanic” Obama did nothing to curtail the hyperbole or tone down his edict creating this as a racist episode.and of course ignored Zimmerman’s defence of a homeless black maltreated by a local police officer which resulted in the disciplining at Zimmermans insistance of the offending officer. The socialists controlling the media propaganda machine oblidged.. They began claiming the exclusive “gated” neighborhood watch captain was a “white hispanic” . used a picture of a 12 year old Martin instead of the 6 foot 165 pound person he was vs the smaller 140 pound lttle fatty neighborhood watch captain. Worse yet allowed his US Attorney General to use questionable activities to promote a show trial and ignored using a threat of prosecution to black militant groups threatening the watch captain’s life.
It would be easier to prove that there is anti-white bias in the DOJ, but there is no Judicial forum to do that.
Exactly right! It doesn’t matter if George was the most racially biased white nazi supremacist Aryan whatever,(which I don’t think he is) his thoughts are not a crime. And a jury has determined that he acted in self defense. Everything else, what he thinks, looks like, tattoos,or whatever does not matter. The idiot feds need to leave it alone,now.
Another three or four more appearances by the cuddly Rachel and Zimmerman will be a new hero for the gay community.
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