The Media vs George Zimmerman

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Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the music group “The Doors”, once said “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind” (Quotes About Media). After George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, the media decided to exercise that control. The media forced the state of Florida to bring charges against Zimmerman, misrepresent the facts in order to convince the public Zimmerman was guilty, and influence public opinion after the a verdict was reached. On March 12, 2012 Bill Lee, the Chief of Police for Sanford Florida, explained Zimmerman had not been arrested because the police found no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s self-defense claim (Timeline of events: Trayvon Martin shooting case). Then the media decided to bully the state of Florida into bringing Florida by influencing public opinion. One of the ways the media achieved this was by making it seem like the reason there was no evidence to refute Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, and Zimmerman’s eventual acquittal, was because of the controversial law in several states, including Florida, known as “Stand-Your Ground.” States that have stand-your ground laws remove a common law requirement to retreat if a person is able to do so before using reasonable force outside of one’s home (Randall and DeBoer). This allows individuals in states with these laws to use force in self-defense when there is a reasonable belief of a threat (Randall and DeBoer). Under certain circumstances, such as a threat of imminent serious bodily harm or death, deadly force is considered reasonable under stand your ground laws (Randall and DeBoer). In Florida the stand-your ground law states “a person has the right to stand his or her ground if he or she (1) reasonably believes it is necessary to d... ... middle of paper ... ...an, Noah C. "The Media's Zimmermania." Commentary 136.2 (2013): 27-30. Web. 20 September 2013. . "Timeline of events: Trayvon Martin shooting case." Global News 12 July 2013. Web. 20 September 2013. . Wemple, Erik. "Zimmerman lawyer to move ‘asap’ against NBC News." The Washington Post 14 July 2013. Web. 20 September 2013. . Wickham, DeWayne. "Black-on-black violence: Where's the outrage? ." USA Today 10 April 2012. Web. 20 September 2013. .

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