@Lustig Andrei,
The Martin family might bring a wrongful death suit against Zimmerman, and they might also bring some sort of civil suit against that housing complex. I think the suit against Zimmerman would be motivated more by their need to see justice, and to prevent him from profiting from their son's death, rather than their desire to gain financially from this. That's the same sort of reason that Fred Goldman went after O.J. Simpson for the death of his son.
And I can understand and appreciate the outrage, particularly in the black community, that's behind the pressure they are currently putting on the Justice Dept..
Here a black, middle class, high school kid, barely 17 years old, just walking back from the store, and minding his own business, is profiled as a criminal, in large measure because of his skin color and attire, and he winds up being followed, and killed, by a man packing a concealed gun, all because of that erroneous racial profiling--everything else stemmed from that. And then that man walks free. That really doesn't seem right, or just, but that's the state of the law in Florida that the jury had to rely on for its verdict.
There is no question that there was a racial element involved in this profiling and this tragic, totally unnecessary death. Even Mark O'Mara admitted that this morning in an interview shown on The View. But the racial element appeared to stem mostly from Zimmerman's knowledge and beliefs about previous criminal perpetrators in that housing complex, and his anger at such types, and their ability to elude apprehension, rather than from more general racial animosity on Zimmerman's part. If race, and racial animosity, was not the primary factor underlying Zimmerman's motivations that night, I'm not sure this case meets the standard for a federal prosecution.
But I can see no harm in the Justice Dept. taking another look into the matter. I don't think the real concerns in the black community should be ignored. There are times that government should be responsive to the voices of citizens, and to the needs of segments of the population, that's a function of government. Racial tensions in this country still run high. This case hit a nerve for many people, and that injury was just exacerbated by Zimmerman's acquittal. So, I have no problem with the Justice Dept. taking another look at this case. If that will help to re-assure people that all avenues toward justice have been pursued, that's fine with me.
Personally, for me, this case ended with the criminal verdict--I accept that verdict. Given the laws of Florida, it was a reasonable verdict, despite its troubling aspects.
