Jesse Jackson: Wrong to Compare Trayvon Martin Case to 'Foolish Rampage Killing' of Chris Lane

Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday said conservatives are wrong to equate the shooting death of Trayvon Martin with the slaying of Christopher Lane, which he termed a "foolish killing rampage."

Three teenagers have been arrested and charged in the death of Lane, a 22-year-old Australian college baseball player shot in the back with a revolver along a Dundee, Okla. road. One of the suspects reportedly said they decided to shoot him out of boredom.

Appearing on MSNBC, Jackson was asked whether it was a "false equivalency" to compare the the deaths of Lane and Martin, 17.

“Yeah,” Jackson said. “They seem to -- they want to connect what happened in the Trayvon Martin case with these three young men on this foolish rampage killing this ballplayer.”

Jackson's word choice of "foolish" comes after his initial response to the Lane killing, when he tweeted that the "senseless violence is frowned upon," which drew sharp criticism.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/RevJJackson/status/370199192276201473"]

Speaking on MSNBC, Jackson said a different case in Oklahoma last year where two white men shot five people in a black community, killing three, would be a more accurate comparison. Jackson said people "seem to have forgotten" about that case.

“That’s really more of an equivalent,” Jackson said. “But there's not -- there are no winners in any of this sickness...we need to learn to live together and not just try to survive apart. There is simply in our country, there is too much violence and too much hate and we need to all address it."

Watch below, via MSNBC:

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