Nothing simple about Zimmerman trial, verdict

If only things were simple.

If they were George Zimmerman would have been convicted for killing an unarmed 17-year old. Or perhaps, if things were simple, Zimmerman would have never had gotten out of his car after calling 9-1-1 to report that someone suspicious was walking through his neighborhood.

If only things were simple maybe Trayvon Martin would have run back to his father’s fiancée’s house after noticing a strange man following him.

But, things are never quite that simple are they?

Many have argued the Zimmerman trial was an open-and-shut case. A simple one. One that should have ended with George Zimmerman going to jail for a long, long time.

Instead, the 29-year old was acquitted because things aren’t as simple as they were made out to be. Just ask the state of Florida.

In the beginning, I too, thought the case was simple. The story said Zimmerman was an overzealous neighborhood watchman; a wannabe cop who profiled a young black male walking through his neighborhood. The teenager was walking home from the store after picking up some iced tea and Skittles. Zimmerman followed him, confronted him and after the teenager resisted, Zimmerman shot him.

The real story; however, as it played out in the courtroom, is not so simple.

On the rainy night of Feb. 26, 2012, there were reports of a fight in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman claims Martin hit him first. If things were simple someone else would have witnessed the start of the fight. Only two people did. One, Martin, tragically is dead. He can’t tell his side of the story. Police photographs showed the other, George Zimmerman, with a broken nose and a bloody cut on the back of his head.

Zimmerman’s trainer, Adam Pollock, said during testimony that Zimmerman was weak and would have been helpless in a fight.

All along he claimed he was acting in self-defense. On the stand two Sanford police officers believed Zimmerman’s story. They said, at least Zimmerman believed them. Later, a gunshot expert testified that Martin was shot while the teenager was on top of Zimmerman.

All of this helped to provide enough doubt in the state’s case. George Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder because the details of this case were complicated. So were the facts. It wasn’t cut and dry and it certainly wasn’t as simple as opinion makers made it out to be.

Simplicity is why Al Sharpton said the Zimmerman trial was an ‘atrocity.’ He apparently wasn’t watching. Neither was Attorney General Eric Holder. He said, ‘justice must be done’ for Martin. His statement was made as the Department of Justice investigated further charges against Zimmerman.

These statements, and others, ignore the fact that the jury believed Trayvon Martin threw the first punch and that Zimmerman feared for his life.

In a perfect world all the answers would be there, cut and dry. But, the world isn’t. It’s not simple and it’s not black and white either. The world is about a thousand shades of gray. And the gray can sometimes complicate matters and leave questions without answers.

That’s what happened in the Zimmerman trial despite the incredibly loud insistence otherwise that justice was not served.