Looks like any Civil Rights Violation case the DOJ may have had has gone down in flames.
After interviewing nearly three dozen people in the George Zimmerman murder case, the FBI found no evidence that racial bias was a motivating factor in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, records released Thursday show.
Even the lead detective in the case, Sanford Det. Chris Serino, told agents that he thought Zimmerman profiled Trayvon because of his attire and the circumstances — but not his race.
Serino saw Zimmerman as “having little hero complex, but not as a racist.”
Federal agents interviewed Zimmerman’s neighbors and co-workers, but none said Zimmerman had expressed racial animus at any time prior to the Feb. 26 shooting of Martin, a black teen, in a confrontation at a Sanford housing complex. As Sanford police investigated the circumstances of Martin’s death, the FBI opened a parallel probe to determine if Martin’s civil rights had been violated.
Several co-workers said they had never seen Zimmerman display any prejudice or racial bias.
Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/12/155918/more-evidence-released-in-trayvon.html#.UeQiy53D8dW
Monday, July 15, 2013
Famed Lawyer and Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz: Zimmerman's Civil Rights Violated
Famed defense lawyer and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is calling for a federal investigation into civil rights violations stemming from the Zimmerman case - Zimmerman's civil rights.
Dershowitz said finding Zimmerman not guilty of either second-degree murder or manslaughter was “the right verdict.” “There was reasonable doubt all over the place.”
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the NAACP and Al Sharpton called on the Justice Department to launch a federal civil-rights probe, charging that the case had been racially tainted. But even the Prosecutor, Angela Corey, stated the case “has never been about race.”
Dershowitz is calling for a civil-rights probe as well. But he contends the person whose rights were violated was Zimmerman.
Dershowitz singled out special prosecutor Angela Corey for “disciplinary action.”
“I think there were violations of civil rights and civil liberties — by the prosecutor.” “The prosecutor sent this case to a judge, and willfully, deliberately, and in my view criminally withheld exculpatory evidence.”
“They denied the judge the right to see pictures that showed Zimmerman with his nose broken and his head bashed in. The prosecution should be investigated for civil rights violations, and civil liberty violations.”
“If the judge had any courage in applying the law, she never would have allowed the case to go to the jury.” “She should have entered a verdict based on reasonable doubt.”
“The prosecutor had in her possession photographs that would definitely show a judge that this was not an appropriate case for second-degree murder.” “She deliberately withheld and suppressed those photographs, refused to show them to the judge, got the judge to rule erroneously this was a second-degree murder case."
“That violated a whole range of ethical, professional, and legal obligations that prosecutors have. Moreover, they withheld other evidence in the course of the pretrial and trial proceedings, as has been documented by the defense team,” he said.
Dershowitz described the prosecution’s attempt late in the case to add a third-degree murder charge by asserting the shooting constituted child abuse “so professionally irresponsible as to warrant sanctions and investigations.” Dershowitz said various legal and bar association organizations could investigate how the state handled the prosecution. He added it could warrant a federal investigation as well.
“I think people’s rights have been violated,” but it was the rights of the defendant and the defense team, by utterly unprofessional, irresponsible, and in my view criminal actions by the prosecutor,” he said.Read More Here: NewsMax
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