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Do Now
Should you have the legal right to use force - even deadly force if it seems necessary - as self-defense in reaction to what you may perceive as a serious threat?
Introduction
On February 26, 2012, an unarmed 17-year-old African American male named Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida by a 28-year-old volunteer community watch coordinator named George Zimmerman. Martin had been walking from a convenience store when he was spotted by Zimmerman, who contacted the local police department to reporting the youth's allegedly suspicious behavior. Shortly thereafter, there was a confrontation between the two that ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin. When the police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman told them that he acted in self-defense. He was handcuffed and brought into custody, but the police did not actually formally arrest him, saying they didn't find sufficient evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense, a claim supported by the state attorney's office.
