At the one of the rallies for Trayvon Martin, a speaker asked a rhetorical question to drive home a point: How do you spell RELIEF? His answer: ARREST. Trayvon’s parents and all the people standing with them got some relief on Wednesday, April 11, when Florida special prosecutor Angela B. Corey held a press conference and announced the second degree murder charge against Trayvon’s shooter, George Zimmerman. By the end of the day, Zimmerman was indeed arrested and taken to the county jail.

It seems the determination of Trayvon Martin’s parents, their attorneys, concerned people from all over the country, along with local and national leaders, turned the tide in this case. People from near and far signed petitions, made signs and marched, put on hoodies and walked out of school. Still others stood in prayer for Trayvon’s family, for justice.

Although the legal process has just begun with the arrest, it is more progress made since this case hit the news. Many will admit that something went seriously wrong in Sanford, Florida (just north of Orlando) on the night of Feb. 26 because Trayvon, who had recently turned 17, was shot and killed by Zimmerman, an armed neighborhood watch volunteer. Reports say that Trayvon was walking back to the home he was staying from a convenience store when Zimmerman noticed him in the gated community. Zimmerman told a 9-1-1 operator that he looked suspicious and Zimmerman followed him, despite an operator telling him that they didn’t need him to do that.

Since then, every day for a while, there has been a new angle reported.

Deeper than the reports, though, is the strength of two people who refuse to give up what’s right on behalf of their son, whom the two say could have been anyone’s son. The two have traveled around the country to the state and national capitols, for instance, to testify of their experience with local law enforcement and to media houses to testify of who their son was. They have attended and spoke at a many of rallies.

There have been other similar cases in our nation down through the years. This case involves a child doing nothing wrong and an armed citizen patrolling a neighborhood. Bottom line: In America, attitudes and perceptions of the value of human life are once again challenged.

© Orlando Community News, 2012