Free Republic

Bill Lee Jr., who had stepped aside as Sanford, Fla.'s police chief during the investigation of the shooting of unarmed African American teenager Trayvon Martin, has officially resigned as the community’s top cop, a city commissioner said Monday. Commissioner Patty Mahany said the chief submitted his resignation over the weekend; Lee temporarily left his post last month amid complaints about how his department handled the investigation of the Feb. 26 shooting. The city commission is scheduled to hold a special meeting late Monday afternoon to discuss Lee's severance package, Mahany said. "Elected officials used this man as a scapegoat to...

After broadcasting an audio clip on the “Today” show about George Zimmerman last month that hit the trifecta of being misleading, incendiary and dead-bang wrong, NBC News management took serious action: it fired the producer in charge and issued a statement apologizing for making it appear as if Mr. Zimmerman had made overtly racist statements. The only thing NBC didn’t do was correct the report on the “Today” show. What is it with television news and corrections? When the rest of the journalism world gets something wrong, they generally correct themselves. But network news acts as if an on-air admission...

ORLANDO -- The family of Trayvon Martin asked for an apology from their son’s shooter, George Zimmerman, and got one. But their attorney, Benjamin Crump, says it wasn’t good enough. Zimmerman, faces second degree murder charges and apologized during his bond hearing for shooting Trayvon Martin, but the family is unforgiving. “It’s real simple. When they called asking for this meeting the day before the bond hearing, we said this is not the appropriate time. And we certainly don’t think the bond hearing was the appropriate time because it’s very self-serving,” explained Crump. Attorney Ben Crump and the Martin family...

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – It was a telephone call that Tracy Martin, father of the 17-year-old African-American killed in Sanford, Fla. by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, worried that he would never receive. Forty-five days after an unarmed Trayvon Martin had been killed while walking back to a home he was visiting after purchasing a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced tea, Special Prosecutor Angela Corey called to notify Trayvon’s parents that Zimmerman had finally been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. “I was very emotional when I got the call from Ms. Corey,” Tracy Martin recounted. “I...

Barack Obama’s “hate Whitey ‘cause he’s white” campaign of 2012 was to be based on the same dogma of class envy which had oozed from Democrat media and race hustling circles for decades. But worn out race baiting ploys were not going to guarantee the massive, black voter turn out the Manchurian Candidate would need in November. For the novelty of being the first black nominee and president was gone and finally, along with it, the decades-long effects of racial guilt implanted into the psyche of whites across the nation. Even with the 24/7 efforts of a dependably supportive media,...

And yet we keep hearing about black-on-black crime because it fits the false media narrative.When it comes to America's racial past and present, lies and snake oil are sold in many colors. In the wake of the Trayvon Martin tragedy, conservatives in media have sought to deflect from the racism and racial profiling that precipitated his untimely death by referencing the broader social malaise of supposed "black-on-black violence." On last week's episode of This Week on ABC, Washington Post columnist George Will said that despite the Trayvon tragedy, "150 black men are killed every week in this country," and "about...

The so-called “stand your ground” law that allowed neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman to shoot and kill Treyvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., without an initial arrest once was a principle that nearly every American believed in. And we were reminded of its key provision every Saturday night in prime time when watching “Gunsmoke,” among the nation’s longest-running and most popular TV programs. Each episode began with the same scene on Main Street in Dodge City, Kan., with Marshal Matt Dillon, played by James Arness, in a gun duel, staring at another man who stood 60 yards away. After several seconds...

Not only will it be impossible to find a jury without preconceived opinions in the Trayvon Martin case—it will be impossible to find one that will convict, says Mansfield Frazier. An editor I used to work for had a favorite saying: “Predicting the future is usually as easy as stating the obvious.” In the upcoming trial of George Zimmerman, the “obvious” is this: there’s little, if any, chance to avoid not only a mistrial, but a series of them if the state continues to reindict him, which it has the right to do and no doubt will, but with the...

George Zimmerman apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin in court a few days ago. The killing of a young African American male by a white male has raised not only questions about the “Stand Your Ground” laws in Florida, but also questions about race relations nationally. What Zimmerman felt in his heart is anyone’s guess; the apology seemed heartfelt. Unfortunately, to many, it already rings hollow. At issue here isn’t whether or not Zimmerman is really guilty or innocent, whether he had malicious intent or was defending himself against what he perceived as imminent danger to his own life....

Florida officials were preparing for a possible backlash today if fatal shooter George Zimmerman walks free from a bond hearing. Barricades were placed outside Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford ahead of today's hearing. An Emergency Operations Center was on standby and a SWAT team will be placed on alert. "We are prepared for all the contingencies," Sanford city manager Norton Bonaparte told myFOXorlando.com. Zimmerman's attorney took extra steps to keep the shooter's relatives safe. Mark O'Mara asked a judge Thursday to keep phone numbers of family members private. They planned to testify by telephone to support Zimmerman. O'Mara added, "[There...

We asked you: Can George Zimmerman get a fair trial? YES 35% NO 65% Media have already tried Zimmerman It seems quite unlikely at this point. I want to believe that our legal system will work and that justice will be served. However, the state versus Zimmerman case has been tried in the media. The mind readers have decided George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin solely because he was black and that Zimmerman is a racist. The likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the New Black Panther Party have condemned the man, and crowds seem to echo their sentiments... --snip--...

The Congressional Black Caucus wants the Justice Department to investigate the shooting death of a 17-year-old, unarmed black Florida high school student as a potential hate crime. “This case compromises the integrity of our legal system and sets a horrific precedent of vigilante justice,” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said in a statement. “Members of the Congressional Black Caucus stand together in the name of justice for Trayvon. As a nation we cannot, should not, and will not ignore, Trayvon’s brutal murder and the inconceivable fact that his killer remains free. Contrary to the flippant way this case...

-snip- The law-enforcement source familiar with the case, who told The Daily Beast that he personally believes Zimmerman’s account, said Zimmerman has told three different law enforcement agencies his version of the events. -snip- Zimmerman told police officials that he lost sight of Martin and went around a townhouse to see where he was. Then he claimed Martin confronted him and punched him, knocking him down. According to The Daily Beast’s source, Zimmerman told police that when he was on the ground, Martin straddled him, striking him, and then tried to smother him. -snip- Zimmerman, the source said, told officers...

Color of Change, a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that engages in lobbying and public advocacy, is organizing a campaign against the “stand your ground” self-defense laws in a variety of states, particularly in Florida as a result of the Trayvon Martin incident that took place in Florida. Color of Change was founded in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones. Rucker previously directed Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org — one of multiple groups funded by George Soros. Jones served as Special Advisor for Green Jobs in the Obama administration, a position from which he resigned after it was exposed that he belonged

The shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman has spurred national outrage over Florida's Stand Your Ground law. Unfortunately, the discussion of this law has been marred by misinformation. Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, erroneously claimed that the law "allows a disproportionate response; if someone comes at you with a fist, you can reply with a gun." Many have asserted that in Florida anyone who believes he is in danger can use deadly force, no matter how unreasonable his belief. These perceptions of the law are wrong. As compared with other states, Florida's Stand Your Ground law is neither...

A largely unknown group of Justice Department officials has inserted itself into the local Florida protest movement surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin, assisting the protestors and attending their meetings and rallies. While the officials are tasked with preventing racial violence, it appears that in carrying out their duties, they have provided significant assistance to those protesting the killing of Martin, who black, by George Zimmerman, who is half white and half Hispanic. The officials are members of the DOJ’s Community Relations Service, also known as “The Peacemakers,” a special unit established under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and empowered...

As a black conservative Tea Party patriot, I have been struggling with what I should do, if anything, in response to the rash of incidents of racial violence resulting from the Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case. Folks, a great evil is running the show in our country right now Prolific race-hustler Al Sharpton is heralded as a hero. http://bit.ly/IIUZR5 Attorney General Eric Holder ignores the New Black Panther “dead or alive” bounty on George Zimmerman. http://bit.ly/HM1Aiq Three major TV networks are caught manipulating facts of the Trayvon Martin / George Zimmerman case to fuel racial hatred and anger. http://bit.ly/HchWtZ...

<p>SANFORD, Fla. -- George Zimmerman is afraid of being killed while in jail facing charges of murdering Trayvon Martin, his lawyer said today.</p> <p>“There has been an upwelling of hostility and animosity towards him that can find its way to you in many different ways,” Mark O’Mara said outside the courthouse in Sanford, Fla.</p>

The state of Florida has charged neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman with second-degree murder for shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman will defend himself by claiming Florida law allowed him to "stand his ground" against Martin's threatening behavior. Evidence of what really happened is scant. Martin is dead, and no eye witnesses saw the encounter. A 911 recording casts doubt on Zimmerman's account, but the Florida law will make it hard to get a conviction. It's hard to believe under the circumstances that a large armed adult had to shoot an unarmed teenager in self-defense, but the extra layer of justification...

Any hope that the media might fairly and responsibly cover the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin was effectively doomed the moment Al Sharpton descended on Sanford, Florida, and started holding rallies with the victim’s family. Recall that Sharpton once said of Clarence Thomas’s tenure on the Supreme Court, “I remember growing up reading Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Now I get to see it.” Unless they agree with his race-driven political agenda, Sharpton is not above accusing even African Americans of wanting to return to a day when the Fugitive Slave Act was still on the books.