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What happens after a man is brutally shot and killed? Theoretically, the murderer would be arrested, charged, and held accountable for such a violent crime. This would be logical, obvious even, but that’s not what’s happening in America. Innocent people end up dead, their name scraped through the mud, their families left mourning, while an evil, violent individual remains untouched by the law. Why is this happening? Simply put, it happens because the victim is a black person living in the United States of America.

 

The case of George Zimmerman is a great example of the corrupt justice system that is in place today. Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, spotted 17 year old, African American Trayvon Martin walking to his parents house late at night. Deeming him a suspicious person he then contacted police, who told him to not get any closer to Martin. Zimmerman disregarded police warnings and went after the 17 year old,  resulting in the death of the unarmed teenager.

 

Zimmerman was put on trial for second degree murder and got acquitted; released because of the subjective “Stand your Ground” law. The law states that a defender, against any assailant, has the right to return the use of force with greater or even deadly power if they feel that their life is at risk. In other words Zimmerman was pronounced not guilty of second degree murder because Martin was on top of him when the fatal blow was delivered, though the teen was hardly the one that initiated the brawl.

 

3 years went by before the name George Zimmerman comes up in court again. This time for road rage with a man named Matthew Apperson. Apperson ended up shooting at - but not harming - Zimmerman in a claimed act of self defense because Zimmerman also had a gun. Matthew Apperson was sentenced to 20 years in prison for second degree attempted murder.

 

The two cases are very similar except for one fact: George Zimmerman and Matthew Apperson are white, while Trayvon Martin was black. This case is one of many where shooting on a person of colour is seen as a lesser offense than shooting on a white individual. White-on-black homicides are 354% more likely to be ruled justified than white-on-white. Of course the cases are always disguised, using words like “he was a criminal” or “suspicious person” when addressing a black man instead of using facts  to prove their innocence; or lack thereof.

 

Approximately 12–13% of the American population is African-American, and yet they make up 40% of the incarcerated population. That’s about 1 million black men out of the 2.2 million total male incarcerated population. They have nearly six times the incarceration rate of whites.

 

13th, a Netflix documentary explores the topic further. Following the American Civil War in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution stated: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

 

This destroyed the Southern economy because they relied on the free labour of the African slaves to generate profit. When these former captives were no longer in servitude, there was a crisis at hand. The solution, use the loophole in the very amendment that was supposed to set people free: “except as a punishment for a crime”. This is when the mass incarceration started. The South needed free labour and they knew where they were going to get it.

 

From then on, former slaves, were arrested en masse and got a life sentence for petty crimes. Sometimes they were arrested and put in prison for life because they looked suspicious.

 

This has not changed, it has only morphed into another way of enslaving people of colour. The difference is now it’s hidden and as a result the general populace never know anything is wrong until it is too late to act.

 

Ironically, America stands for the land of the free, a place where one can achieve anything they wish despite all odds stacked against them. Obviously this dream was and still is smoke and mirrors, hiding the true problem. Underlying racism, unfair privilege and a terrible issue has been left unchecked for decades and has spiraled out of control. If awareness is not raised and the problem not solved, there may be no going back from this issue and it could end up dividing the United States of America irrevocably.