The People Have Been Heard! FBI Now Investigating Controversial Trayvon Martin Case

March 20th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Source: The New Republic

It took much longer than it should have, but the outrage over the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has finally caused the FBI and the Justice Department to open a formal investigation into the teenager’s death. In a statement, the Justice Department said:

“The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all of the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation.”

The victim’s family lawyer, Ben Crump, said public pressure was behind an earlier promise by the Justice Department to review the case. Some 533,000 signatures have been gathered on a petition on change.org calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who shot the unarmed teenager in a gated Florida community. Over the weekend, 911 tapes of witnesses to the shooting, including one where the victim and the shooter can be heard screaming in the background, sparked many to action, including a number of celebs. Spike Lee and Wyclef Jean sent out tweets encouraging their followers to sign the petition, and it seems the move is working.

Zimmerman initially escaped arrest under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, dubbed “shoot first, ask questions later” by opposers, which allows a potential victim who is “in fear of great bodily injury” to use deadly force in public places. Crump says that defense is ludicrous.

“It’s illogical, you can['t] claim self defense after you chase and pursue somebody,” he said. “That’s a courtroom defense. That’s not something the police accept on the side of the street.”

Hopefully it’s not something the FBI or the defense department will accept either and George Zimmerman will be arrested as he should have been on Feb. 26.

Have you signed the petition at Change.org?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • Breann

    I BELIEVE THIS WAS A MURDER! AND HE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!’ SKITTLES AND ICE TEA IS NOT A WEAPON

  • emily

    i can’t even bring myself to listen to the tape. yes i’ve signed…

  • MissDiva05

    No justice, no peace…

  • Preachelderbrown

    It’s been time to pray for our nation and it’s Leaders, what else has to happen to come in effect to Prayer, and coming together.???.
    http://www.facebook.com/preachelderbrown

  • Klynnfun

    This is the most insane thing I have heard in a very long time!  I can not stop thinking about that poor child screaming for his life!  This was murder in the most demonic sense of the word!  What is there to investigate for the police not to have this demon in jail!  It’s an insult to the human race period, no matter what color a person is!  I have lived long enough to be able to reconize the devil!! That LIER, THIEF, KILLER IS NOTHING BUT THE DEVIL.  HE TOOK A CHILDS LIFE FOR GOD’S SAKE! ARREST HIM, CHARGE HIM. GIVE THIS FAMILY JUSTICE!!!!!  IN THE NAME OF JESUS WE PRAY FOR JUSTICE!!

  • RedButterfly81

    Next step, arrest this Zimmerman jerk and charge him with Trayvon’s murder!

  • LisaLuvless

    I have definitely signed and I hope others on this site have too not because celebrities are now interested,but because of Trayvon Martin.
    I’ve been following this since its first report on other sites. All the different stories that were reported and the actual story, for some reason I just can’t shake certain things about the case. I was not there of course but I think Zimmerman is lying on all accounts of the story and it shouldn’t be considered at all. TM was laying facedown on the ground,yet he was shot in the chest,initial reports said Z after the shots witnesses saw him over TM holding his hands behind his back in the arrest position. All of that information is now no longer on w I k I and its now completely different-although I know people edit that to make the story favor their opinions. If you listen to the call to the police from Z,he was calm the whole time even when he claimed TM was looking at him and approaching his car. He was clearly lying from the beginning,the only truthful thing about that call was when he admitted he was persuing TM on foot. That poor kid was running home,probably sensing what was about to come. I personally believe Z’s wounds are self-inflicted and his story is completely fabricated down to claiming it was him crying for help, that guy shot twice at the child..his story just does not add up at all. I will never bring myself to believe TM ever attacked this guy,no matter what Z reveals he is a liar.
    Sorry for the rant, I just can’t get over how long its taking and took for something to be done.