By Alan Bean

A jury comprised of five white women and one Latina has acquitted George Zimmerman on all charges.  This outcome was largely determined by the way we select juries in America.

Imagine that two women who looked like Trayvon Martin were part of the deliberation.   Can you imagine an acquittal under those circumstances?  I can’t.

In an earlier post I argued that a jury of women who look like the accused would have a hard time finding him guilty of anything.  I wasn’t suggesting that these women were overt, old-school racists who love the Nigrah . . . in his place.  I was simply suggesting that they would find it hard to identify with the victim.

Zimmerman should have been convicted of manslaughter because, for no discernible reason, he saw an unarmed back adolescent as a threat and, contrary to instructions from law enforcement, decided to pursue him.   (more…)