Racial Bias

State Cases & Racial Bias

Figure 1. Gun  Violence. (2012).
Gun Violence. Retrieved from: http://
www.flickr.com/photos 

         Many debates have been carried on across the nation about the Stand Your Ground Law. The Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case may have not been the only case dealing with this law, but it was the spark of the debates and discussion across our nation. This case was controversial because a young man was pursued and gunned down by a man who disregarded clear instructions given by the police before killing him (Epps, 2012). ). People across the nation protested against this case because they felt that there was no justice found in the trial.
          In relation to this case, an African American woman in Florida fired warning shots and was sentenced  prison 20 years for aggravated assault. These cases were definitely different but similar in a couple of ways. The Stand Your Ground law was claimed in both cases. Someone's life was taken in one case and the defendant walked away free of no punishment. In the other case, no one's life was taken, but yet, a lady was sentenced to 20 years for defending herself.
         Fact is, race was used on Zimmerman's based on the emergency call, but as far as the actual trial goes, that cannot be proven. There is certainly some racial bias going on these cases.