Conservative Commentator Uses Tired ‘Black-on-Black’ Crime in Defense of Zimmerman, Gets Nicely Dragged by These Two Attorneys

On Thursday’s night edition of HLN’s Dr. Drew, guest commentator Crystal Wright goes into a slanderous rant saying that Trayvon Martin’s parents are the reason for his death all the while defending George Zimmerman.

The heated discussion between three commentators happened in the aftermath of Zimmerman’s gun sale. This week the former neighborhood watchmen sold the gun that was used to kill Martin for an estimated 140,000.

Wright begins the clip saying that Martin’s parents were out enjoying their lives the night the 17-year-old was killed by Zimmerman. According to her, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin did not raise him right and that they are responsible for his death; not Zimmerman.

The rant began to wander off into traditional conservative talking points. Wright dismisses the Black Lives Matter movement, discuss Black-on-Black crime in Chicago and Philadelphia all in an attempt to defend Zimmerman.

However, none of this sat well with attorneys Yodit Tewolde or Mark Geragos. Tewolde points out his numerous arrests for domestic violence and disputes in order to show that Zimmerman is not worth defending.

She also states that his behavior is indicative that he did not have good parenting.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top