What is Justice?

According to Dictionary.com - the quality of being just; righteousness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.

Now there is currently an investigation going on in Sanford Fl. where a 17 year old boy was shot by a 28 year old man who was the unofficial "neighborhood watch captain". As the young man was walking back to his parents' home the "captain" saw him and called 911 to report a "suspicious" person walking through the neighborhood. He was told by the 911 dispatcher to not follow the person and that officers were on their way. Instead this man got in his vehicle, followed the kid and got out of his vehicle to confront him.  There were words exchanged and according to multiple witnesses they heard someone yelling "HELP HELP" and then they heard gunshots. (There were also multiple 911 calls by the time the kid was shot.)  When police arrived on the scene, the 17y/o was face down and already dead. There was no arrest. There was also no statement taken from the shooter or the witnesses. Florida has a very interesting "Stand Your Ground Law" which basically states that a citizen doesn't have to retreat before using deadly force on an attacker. In other words, killing in self -defense is 100% okay. Clearly in this case the shooter was VERY aware of the law as he told police he shot the kid in self -defense. In case you were wondering what the kid was armed with - a cell phone he was talking on and the skittles and iced tea he picked up at the corner store.  The police say there was no evidence that it was anything other than self-defense so the shooter along with the murder weapon was free to go. And even though the kid had his cell phone, it took police quite a while to identify him. 

How does this make you feel?  What does this information make you think about the law and the police in Sanford Fl? It makes me feel like that law is a license to kill. On other words, if I feel threatened, I have the right to KILL the person who makes me feel that way. In what world should that be allowed?  Now if you're at all familiar with the case, you'll notice I left a few things out. And depending on who you are, you may or may not feel the other pieces of the puzzle are important. For me I'd rather focus on what we know for sure. This man had 10 years and at least 100lbs on him. He chose to follow the kid instead of waiting and letting the police do their jobs even after being TOLD not to proceed! And when the police arrived they took the word of the man who shot the kid and didn't bother doing a proper investigation. Apparently this law allows for the police to do as little as possible and call it protecting and serving. Its total and complete B.S. 

Now here's what I left out - Trayvon Martin is the 17 year old who was shot and killed walking back to his father's home in a gated subdivision. Oh and he's Black/African American.  George Zimmerman is a 28 year old wannabe policeman. He's either White or Hispanic.  That depends on who you talk to. And during his 911 call he referred to Martin as a Coon and said he wasn't letting him away because "they always get away".  So now in addition to a neighborhood vigilante, is he also racist? For those who say he's Hispanic, he's not racist, news flash anyone can be racist. Anyone. 

Okay that's my take on this story. I pray that this family is able to find peace and solace in the Lord and know that HE has a plan and that everything will work out in the end. They may or may not see legal justice but the reality is that the police in Sanford did such a horrible job that there may be way to much contamination to the case and the handling was so bad that if it goes to trial, there is no guarantee that Zimmerman will serve any jail time. Anyways, it’s so sad and my heart really goes out to the family.