Next Step in the Trayvon Martin Case

The judicial branch is not foolproof. From the major failure of the Dred Scott decision, which helped bring on the Civil War, to Plessy v Ferguson that virtually legalized Jim Crow lynch laws, to the recent Citizens United decision which allows corporations to dictate who buys elections, we know that like the legislative and the executive branches of government, the judicial branch is made of human beings.

The President has asked us to respect the jury’s decision in the Zimmerman trial and to remain calm. On both points I agree. But I also ask that the president not to stop there. He should ask Attorney General Eric Holder to use Civil Rights laws to reexamine the Zimmerman decision. Our nation did that in the Civil Rights era and finally jailed the murderer of Medgar Evers, the KKK members who blew up the little girls who were the Birmingham Four, and law enforcement personnel who participated in the murders of Goodman, Cheney, Schwerner and other civil rights workers.

All of the murderers were initially found innocent by state juries. Fortunately, Attorneys General and Presidents (of both parties) were willing to rehear the cases in federal court. The President should immediately ask the Attorney General to test whether Trayvon Martin's right to walk down the street at night unarmed was violated by someone who killed him.