(http://i.imgur.com/Z54uTpm.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/DRNB3CA.jpg)
In an ironic twist, George Zimmerman has put his patriotic inspired art on eBay in order to pay off his massive legal debts. He was on the news last night saying that his art allows him to be inside and focus his energies on something productive. I can't say I disagree, as a matter of fact numerous studies have shown that when you take a mentally imbalanced person and place them in an environment that they control or that can be controlled by a monitor they become very creative, artistic and intuitive. Of course a jury of his peers found him innocent and now I can't help but feel slightly shocked. One of his pieces includes the words "One Nation" positioned under "God" and "Liberty and Justice for All" over the impression of an America flag.
I understand I am looking at this biased, however shouldn't that law apply here where someone can not profit off of a crime? Being that he is intentionally citing his own jurisprudence, doesn't that entitle Trayvon Martin's family to the profits? After all OJ was acquitted and didn't he have to give "If I did it" book profits to the Brown family?
Either way, I do not understand why he just doesn't move to a place where no one knows him and he isn't in the spotlight.
As of this posting, there were 108 bids for this particular painting which started at $.99 and has driven the price to $97,900. A small dent in a supposed $2M debt.
Quote
SANFORD, Fla.– An original piece of artwork painted by George Zimmerman is selling for nearly $100,000 on eBay only a day after it was put up for sale.
Zimmerman's piece is a canvas painting of the U.S. flag in different shades of blue with the words "God, One Nation, with Liberty and Justice for All" in white letters on the flag's darker shades of blue stripes.
The description of the painting states: "First hand painted artwork by me, George Zimmerman. Everyone has been asking what I have been doing with myself. I found a creative, way to express myself, my emotions and the symbols that represent my experiences. My art work allows me to reflect, providing a therapeutic outlet and allows me to remain indoors. I hope you enjoy owning this piece as much as I enjoyed creating it. Your friend, George Zimmerman"
Two prospective buyers asked Zimmerman a question regarding the size of the painting. Zimmerman responded to the questions saying the painting is 18" x 24" and that it is signed by him.
A third person who also wrote in the "questions about this item" section said, "Just wanted to tell you we all love you and stand behind you. You have so many people on your side I hope you know that!." Zimmerman responded, "Thank you so much for the words of kindness and support. I do know how many great Americans are still here, I run into at least 3-5 a day that go out of their way to tell me the same."
He signed all three responses as, "Your Friend, GZ @therealGeorgeZ."
The bidding ends Saturday Dec. 21.
Zimmerman's brother, Robert Zimmerman Jr., confirmed to News 13 that the piece was painted by his brother.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-zimmermans-artwork-for-sale-on-ebay-for-nearly-100k/ (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-zimmermans-artwork-for-sale-on-ebay-for-nearly-100k/)
The eBay link if you're interested in this historic piece for your private collection:
http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=111239922810 (http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=111239922810)
There are various statutes designed to prevent people from profiting by their own crimes, but an offense without a conviction isn't a crime, and at best it's lackadaisically enforced anyway. As an example, I'm very much looking forward to watching Wolf of Wall Street.
^ good point, so am I. Am I mistaken about OJ? Did I fall victim to internet hype/gossip?
OJ didn't have trouble because of any variant of a son of sam law, his problem is he lost a civil wrongful death suit after the criminal case, and he now has a bunch of judgment creditors that follow him around and levy on anything he owns constantly, including in one case they seized the profits from a book he wrote before he even got the first royalty check. The primary one is the family of the dead delivery guy, that's who took his book proceeds. They have like a $14mm judgment against him, they'll just keep taking his stuff until it's satisfied.