Bishop T.D. Jakes reacted to the George Zimmerman case on Thursday, and to Trayvon Martin’s shooter calling the late teen’s death “God’s plan.”
Zimmerman made the remarks during a 2012 interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News. The comment was replayed in court during his second degree murder trial. Zimmerman was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter charges. He said he shot Martin in self-defense.
“God is on the side of truth, and that’s very, very simple,” Jakes said. “And only the two people who were out there know what that is.”
Jakes praised Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, for her invocations of faith.
“Faith is the catalyst that has caused her to survive, and she is such a good representative of the African-American community,” saying she exhibited “dignity, reminiscing of Coretta [Scott] King. This woman has remained poised and articulate in the face of circumstances that would crush any mother, and I’m sure it has to be faith that under-girds her and [Trayvon’s] father.”
He added: “Only faith of god could have brought her through.”
But as for Zimmerman, Jakes said he was “a little troubled by” his view of God’s relationship to his circumstances.
“I understand that if he deems himself to be innocent by virtue of self-defense, that he feels that God was on his side if that is his truth. I’m a little bit troubled by a guy who is older and larger attacking an innocent person and perhaps not being able to handle the person you attacked and then killing them, and invoking God over it.” Zimmerman said Martin attacked him first.
Jakes added that while he understands Zimmerman being relieved at being vindicated by the court, “there should have been some sense of remorse regardless of the circumstances because you’ve taken a human life, a life that had every right to live, a right that would have lived, had you mided your business. … and to not recognize the atrocity of it all, I’m shocked by that.”
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