It has been a year since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in a Sanford neighborhood.

But in the year that followed, the general public and national media have clouded the case with speculation, racial rhetoric and legal uncertainty that have only led to further polarized public sentiment about the motives behind what took place.

The only aspects of the case that anyone should be talking about are the ones that can be proved beyond doubt.

What is known is that on Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman shot Martin after the two allegedly engaged in some kind of altercation. Though the reports are conflicting as to how many shots were fired and who started the altercation, there is no doubt that, at some point, Zimmerman fired a gun. According to fingerprint analysis from the Sanford Police Department, Martin never touched or handled the gun that Zimmerman used that night.

According to 911 tapes of Zimmerman on the night of the murder, he noticed Martin walking through the Sanford neighborhood and called the police. The operator advised Zimmerman not to follow Martin, but Zimmerman did anyway. Any account of the events after that are shrouded in multiple differing versions from witnesses that will be up to the courts to discern.

After the altercation and after police arrived on the scene, Zimmerman was offered
medical treatment, that he turned down. Later, reports emerged that Zimmerman had a broken nose and lacerations on the back of his head.

The story of Trayvon Martins death is tragic.

The problem is that we, as a society, have to understand that publicizing and commenting on a criminal investigation as socially important as this one, only makes it that much harder for the justice system to work in the fairest of circumstances.

Societys perception of Zimmerman or Martin means nothing in the eyes of the law, and the general public needs to be aware that the justice system is not looking
for participants.

For justice to be served, a clear understanding of the case is necessary without unnecessary aspersions cast upon it.