The Voice of Reason: Not Guilty Does Not Mean Innocent

I remember vividly when the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced in October 1995.  I was working at a school where the teachers were predominantly African-American.  When the verdict was announced, the vast majority of teachers at that school cheered loudly.

I understood their reaction to a point.  After so many years of seeing injustice in America -- real and perceived -- a black man was found not guilty of killing two white people.  In years past, not only would the black man have been convicted, but he would have been convicted quickly and probably sentenced to death. In the decades before that, the black man would have been hung in a tree with a rope.

When the O.J. Simpson verdict was read, I was disappointed, but not outraged.  I understood that the evidence had been compromised by the police and that Simpson's attorneys had done enough to make at least a few of the jurors to have reasonable doubt about his guilt.  I would say that every single person on that jury would have said that in all likelihood he was guilty of that crime, but that there was enough reasonable doubt that they could not vote "guilty."

In America, there's a significant difference between "not guilty" and "innocent."

Many of the same people who cheered the O.J. Simpson verdict are outraged today at the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.  After all, Zimmerman clearly killed Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, and yet, he was found to be "not guilty" of second degree murder or manslaughter.  He was cleared of all charges.

Again, "not guilty" does not mean "innocent" in our American system of justice.

Clearly, Zimmerman made mistakes in following Martin.  He was told by police to stop his pursuit, but he continued.  Zimmerman should not have been so aggressive in determining that any person wearing a hood over his head in that neighborhood was a punk out to do mischief.  Zimmerman was the adult, and made a few bad initial decisions that ultimately led to Martin's death. 

However, forensic evidence clearly showed that Martin was the one on top of Zimmerman when that fatal, single shot was fired.  Evidence also showed that Zimmerman was the one with the back of his head and nose bloodied, with grass on his back from lying on the ground.  Clearly, Martin was on top of Zimmerman, and Zimmerman was being beaten by this teenager, who was taller and in much better shape.  There was no real evidence of who threw the first blow, or who initiated the fight, only of what occurred while the fight was occurring.

The jury looked at the evidence and decided that although Zimmerman made some initial bad decisions, he had every right to protect himself when he was being beaten by Martin.  Zimmerman certainly wasn't innocent, but the jury could not find him guilty.

America has a system of laws designed to require a high threshold of proven guilt before anyone is found guilty of a serious crime.  The same laws that helped a jury find O.J. Simpson not guilty of a crime he most likely committed also allowed a jury to acquit George Zimmerman of murder or manslaugher after he fired the gun that left a teenager dead.

Those who are outraged by the Zimmerman verdict should be happy that the system worked as it was designed.  The jury made its decision based on the facts, not public opinion or sentiment.   Jurors looked at the laws and the evidence and decided that they did not have enough support from either to convice George Zimmerman.

That same public opinion or sentiment that exhibits so much outrage by the Zimmerman verdict  resulted in black people being convicted or lynched with little or no evidence in decades past. That same public opinion or sentiment that was blind to the laws or evidence in decades past, is just as blind today in the Zimmerman case. 

Hopefully, we have moved past the time when public opinion and sentiment determines whether or not a person is found guilty or not guilty.  Although those who vehemently wanted George Zimmerman convicted may not understand it just yet, Zimmerman's acquittal is a victory for American justice, no matter what the color of your skin might be.