When this incident first happened, the Sanford police determined that this was a case of self defense. The state of Florida caved to political pressure to pursue a murder trial against George Zimmerman.  After a trial where the prosecution proved they did not have sufficient evidence to get a conviction, the jury ruled that Zimmerman was not guilty.  I believe Zimmerman did not shoot to kill, he shot to keep from being killed.  This was and is not a civil rights case.  If the DOJ pursues any legal action against Zimmerman due to political pressure it would be an egregious overstep by the DOJ into an affair that has been settled.  As President Obama declared, “We are a nation of laws and a jury has spoken.”  This could be a violation of Zimmerman’s Fifth Amendments rights to not be subject to a second trial for the same offence, commonly called double jeopardy.  In addition, in April Martin’s parents settled a wrongful death claim against Zimmerman’s homeowners association for over one million dollars, although the amount has been redacted and the parties sworn to confidentiality.

What this trial exposed is that our justice system can be politically manipulated, particularly when it comes to race relations in our country.  We should not permit political pressure to force such miscarriages of justice going forward.