Trayvon Martin will receive a posthumous college degree from Florida Memorial University, five years after the black teenager was shot dead by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.
His family will accept a degree in aeronautical science on his behalf on May 13.
The Florida HBCU said it wants to honor the 17-year-old’s ambition to become a pilot before he died in 2012.
Trayvon Martin’s death prompted nationwide protests and a fierce debate about race relations in the US.
Image source Wikimedia
The unarmed black teenager was walking home from a shop in Sanford, Florida, when he got into an altercation with George Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman, the son of a white father and Hispanic mother, argued he acted in self-defense and with justifiable use of deadly force.
Following the verdict, protests erupted in cities across the US including Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington and Atlanta.
Treyvon Martin case was instrumental in launching the national Black Live Matter social movement.
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, Trayvon’s parents will accept the degree in Miami Gardens, where his mother went to school.
Roslyn Clark, the university’s president, said in a Facebook post the school was honoring Trayvon Martin for “his long dream and the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot”.
“Sybrina, our alum, epitomizes strength and dignity as she uplifts other victims of violence while effecting change for a more equal and just society,” Roslyn Clark added.
Sybrina Fulton said she was “grateful” for her son’s honorary degree.
She said in a Facebook post: “In 1997 I graduated from FMU with a Bachelors degree in English with a minor in Mass Communications. It’s now 20 years later & now my son #TrayvonMartin will receive his Bachelors in Aviation, something he loved.”
George Zimmerman’s gun has apparently reached $65 million at an online auction, organizers say.
The gun was used to kill unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
The sale has been plagued by fake bidders including “Racist McShootface”.
George Zimmerman had planned to auction what he called “an American icon” on the website Gun Broker on May 12.
However, the web posting was removed just as the auction was due to begin with a reserve price of $5,000.
United Gun Group is now hosting the auction.
George Zimmerman has been arrested on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend
In a statement on Twitter, they defended the sale of the gun on their site: “Unless the law has been violated, it is the intention of the United Gun Group to allow its members to use any of the available features. While not always popular this is where we stand.”
They were “truly sorry” for Trayvon Martin family’s loss but said it was their goal to “defend liberty”.
On May 13, the top bidder was a user named Craig Bryant.
George Zimmerman, 32, a neighborhood watchman, was cleared over the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012 after saying he acted in self-defense.
In an online posting to announce the auction, George Zimmerman said that he would use the profits to “fight” the Black Lives Matter movement and oppose Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
A lawyer for Trayvon Martin’s family told the Washington Post that “it is insulting to this family that he would decide that he would sell the gun that he killed their child with”.
“Think about what that means: This is a gun that took a child’s life and now he wants to make money off of it.”
On the auction site, George Zimmerman said it was recently returned to him by the Department of Justice.
He claimed that the Smithsonian museums had expressed interest in buying the 9 mm handgun, but Smithsonian officials denied that in a statement.
Speaking to a Florida TV station, George Zimmerman had defended the auction saying: “I’m a free American, and I can do what I’d like with my possessions.”
George Zimmerman will auction the gun used to shoot dead unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
The seller, a neighborhood watchman, was cleared over the death of the 17-year-old in February 2012 after saying he acted in self-defense.
George Zimmerman said he was selling the gun partly to raise funds to fight “Hillary Clinton’s anti-firearm rhetoric”.
George Zimmerman has been arrested on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend
Trayvon Martin’s family would not “comment on the actions of that person”, they said.
“The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States,” the tennager’s family said in a statement to media in Florida.
“This election season, we are laser focused on furthering that mission.”
The one-day online auction opens at 11:00 EDT on May 12. The opening bidding price for the 9mm pistol is set at $5,000.
On the auction site, George Zimmerman refers to the gun as an “American icon”, and says it was recently returned to him by the US Department of Justice.
George Zimmerman told Florida radio stations he was behind the auction.
Thousands of people have protested in Washington DC against the recent killings of unarmed black people by police.
Relatives of Michael Brown, shot dead in the Missouri town of Ferguson, and Eric Garner, who died being restrained in New York, were among them.
Both died after encountering police, but grand juries decided not to bring charges, sparking anger and unrest.
Another demonstration in New York also drew thousands despite chilly weather.
Speakers at the Capitol called for changes to US legislation.
Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, told the crowd: “What a sea of people. If they don’t see this and make a change, then I don’t know what we got to do. Thank you for having my back.”
The mood in Washington DC was described as calm but defiant, with a large number of police on standby.
Photo Reuters
Earlier in the day, a small group of protesters from Missouri disrupted the schedule by taking to the stage at the starting-point, on Freedom Plaza, and blowing a bullhorn.
They complained that the protest, which was organized by long-established civil rights groups, was staid and ineffective.
Michael Brown, 18, was shot dead on August 9 during an altercation with a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Eric Garner, 43, died while being held down by a white police officer on July 17.
He had been challenged over the alleged sale of loose cigarettes on a street in Staten Island, New York.
The event was caught on camera and his dying plea of “I can’t breathe” has become a slogan of the protesters. It echoes the adoption of “Hands up! Don’t Shoot!” – a Ferguson refrain alleging that Michael Brown was surrendering to police when the fatal shots were fired.
Relatives of three other black people killed in controversial shootings were also expected to attend the march, according to the National Action Network:
Akai Gurley, 28, was shot dead by New York police on November 20
Tamir Rice, 12, was shot dead in a Cleveland, Ohio, park on November 22 while carrying a pellet gun
Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot dead on February 26, 2012, by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida
Marchers crowded Pennsylvania Avenue for the walk from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol, but the actual numbers were not immediately clear.
Some in the crowd, which was made up of both black and white people, held banners saying: “Stop racist police”, “I can’t breathe”, and “President Obama seize this moment. The ancestors are watching.”
The Rev Al Sharpton, a leading civil rights advocate, called for “legislative action that will shift things both on the books and in the streets”.
Celebrity boxing match between rapper DMX and George Zimmerman has been called off, TMZ reported.
Promoter Damon Feldman said on Twitter that the match, which generated a public outcry this week, was called off because there’s “more to life than money.”
The potential match was set for March 1, which would have been the 19th birthday of Trayvon Martin, who was killed in 2012 by George Zimmerman. It would have pitted George Zimmerman, who was found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, against the trash-talking musician with a history of arrests, most of them drug or driving offenses.
Trayvon Martin’s shooting and George Zimmerman’s self-defense claim polarized the nation on issues of racial justice, stand your ground laws and gun control.
Celebrity boxing match between rapper DMX and George Zimmerman has been called off
Damon Feldman as said on Twitter: “Just looked at my son and daughter today wow I’m so lucky those people must be in so much pain … all you people are right.”
After the fight between George Zimmerman and Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, was announced earlier this week, Damon Feldman met a barrage of criticism, with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton cautioning against glorifying Zimmerman.
The promoter also came under intense attack on Twitter. One Tweet to him said: “We just wish you could make a living without helping a killer profit from his deed.”
Damon Feldman’s tweets that the fight was called off were deleted from his Twitter feed.
After George Zimmerman’s acquittal, his lawyer said it would be difficult for his client, like defendants in other notorious crimes, to find normal employment.
The Associated Press news agency is demanding George Zimmerman to halt the sale of a painting it says he copied from one of its photos.
George Zimmerman was acquitted of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.
He is seeking buyers for his portrait of Florida prosecutor Angela Corey that closely resembles a photograph shot by the Associated Press.
George Zimmerman sold a painting on eBay in December for $100,099.
In 2013, a jury found George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense.
The painting, advertised on Twitter by George Zimmerman’s brother Robert, depicts Florida prosecutor Angela Corey holding her fingers together, with an apparently fictitious quote reading: “I have this much respect for the American judicial system.”
AP news agency says George Zimmerman directly copied a photo taken during the press conference in April 2012 in which Angela Corey announced he would face murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin
Robert Zimmerman has said he and his brother were in negotiations with potential buyers.
On Friday, an Associated Press spokesman said George Zimmerman “clearly directly copied an AP photo” taken during the press conference in April 2012 in which Angela Corey announced Zimmerman would face murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
The news agency has sent a letter to George Zimmerman’s former lawyer, Jayne Weintraub, calling for the sale of the painting to be halted, or for damages to be paid in the event of a sale.
In November, George Zimmerman was arrested after reportedly pointing a shotgun at his girlfriend. Prosecutors later declined to file domestic violence charges against him in the incident after the girlfriend refused to co-operate.
He was also briefly detained following a domestic disturbance at the home of his estranged wife, Shellie, in September.
George Zimmerman’s acquittal on a charge of second-degree murder over the February 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin also sparked a fierce debate about racial profiling and gun culture in the US.
He said the teenager, who was unarmed and walking at night toward his father’s house, attacked him when he confronted him about his presence in the neighborhood.
George Zimmerman said he shot Trayvon Martin in the chest in self-defense.
George Zimmerman, who acquitted of murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, has been arrested on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend.
George Zimmerman, 30, has been jailed in Seminole County, Florida.
The Florida man was charged with felony aggravated assault, battery, domestic violence and criminal mischief, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.
In July, a jury cleared George Zimmerman of the February 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, 17.
Since then, George Zimmerman has had other brushes with police, including an incident in October when he was briefly detained following a domestic disturbance at the home of his estranged wife, Shellie.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Seminole County sheriff’s department said George Zimmerman was arrested on Monday morning and confined to a single-person 64 sq ft cell – standard treatment for “high-profile” defendants.
George Zimmerman has been arrested on charges he pointed a shotgun at his girlfriend
About 12:30 local time, sheriff’s deputies responded to an emergency call at a house in Apopka, Florida.
George Zimmerman’s girlfriend said they had argued, and he had broken a glass table in the living room, then retrieved a shotgun and pointed it at her. He then pushed her out the front door and barricaded himself inside, police said.
She was not injured, police said.
The sheriff’s office spokesman said investigators believed George Zimmerman and his girlfriend had lived together since August and had been arguing about breaking up.
He said George Zimmerman was not armed when police arrived and did not resist arrest.
George Zimmerman’s acquittal of second-degree murder over the killing of Trayvon Martin sparked a fierce debate about racial profiling and gun culture in the US.
He shot dead Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed and walking at night toward his father’s house. He said the boy had attacked him.
Following the verdict, protest marches were staged across the US including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.
The estranged wife of George Zimmerman has told police he threatened her with a gun.
Shellie Zimmerman also said George Zimmerman had punched her father and smashed her iPad.
George Zimmerman blamed his spouse for the altercation and denied any wrongdoing.
He was briefly taken into custody and questioned but no charges have been laid against him.
In July, George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in the February 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Shellie Zimmerman told police that George Zimmerman had punched her father and smashed her iPad
George Zimmerman shot dead Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed and walking at night toward his father’s house. He told investigators the boy had attacked him.
On Monday, police responded to a call from the Zimmermans’ central Florida home after Shellie Zimmerman told an emergency official her husband was sitting in his car with his hand on a gun.
Shellie Zimmerman also told authorities she was afraid of her 29-year-old husband after he allegedly punched her father in the nose and grabbed an iPad out of her hand and smashed it.
Hours later, she changed her story and said she had never seen a firearm, police said.
Both Shellie Zimmerman and her father declined to press charges.
Shellie Zimmerman, 26, filed for divorce on September 5, a week after she was sentenced to a year’s probation and 100 hours of community service for perjury in connection with George Zimmerman’s murder trial.
Shellie Zimmerman had admitted lying about assets the couple shared during a June 2012 bail hearing.
Shellie Zimmerman has filed for divorce just days after saying how her husband’s murder trial put a strain on their marriage.
George Zimmerman’s wife filed to legally end her marriage two days after breaking her silence during a television interview where she explained that her self-esteem had been “beaten down” by her husband.
Shellie Zimmerman’s lawyer, Kelly Sims, confirmed the split to The Orlando Sentinel on Thursday and said that while the formal filing is imminent, the couple separated on August 13- exactly one month after he was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s murder.
George Zimmerman’s wife, who told the court that she was two months shy of earning her registered nurse license before dropping out of school, has no income and six-figure debts.
Shellie Zimmerman has filed for divorce just days after saying how her husband’s murder trial put a strain on their marriage
According to the paper, Shellie Zimmerman has $103,756 in debt due to school and car loans as well as credit card bills.
She wants to have a mediator divide up the couple’s assets equitably but she hopes to gain custody of their two dogs- a Rottweiller named Oso and a mixed breed named Leroy.
Shellie Zimmerman’s $12,729 in assets is attributed largely to her Honda Accord.
“After much soul searching and recent disappointments, Shellie feels compelled to officially end her six-year marriage to George Michael Zimmerman,” Kelly Sims said.
“The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,” the filing wrote.
Shellie Zimmerman’s brother-in-law, Robert, who frequently made press appearances during the trial, said that Shellie has not yet filed the divorce papers but her legal team confirmed to him that they will be processed soon.
“According to Shellie’s atty Kelly Sims – Shellie is preparing to file 4 divorce. Docs have not yet been filed in Seminole Cty. Pray 4 them,” Robert Zimmerman wrote on Twitter.
George Zimmerman’s wife Shellie says their marriage is on the verge of ending and that she is going to have to “think about” whether she will stay with him, as it is revealed he “beat down” her self-esteem.
Shellie Zimmerman, 26, stood by her husband throughout his lengthy murder trial and even admitted to lying to a judge about the couple’s finances – a decision that led to her arrest. On Wednesday, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation and community service.
She also revealed that the couple hid out in a 20-foot trailer in the woods and lived in fear every night that one of the thousands of people who had threatened George Zimmerman’s life would find them and kill them.
Shellie Zimmerman refused to say whether she and George are still together – but that doesn’t change her opinion on whether he murdered Trayvon Martin. She said she always believed he killed the unarmed teen in self-defense.
Investigative journalist Christi O’Connor spoke with Shellie Zimmerman in her first public interview since her husband’s acquittal on July 14. The interview aired this morning on Good Morning America.
“I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve laid awake at night just thinking I wish to God these circumstances were different,” she said.
Christi O’Connor told ABC News that George Zimmerman has “beaten down” his wife’s self-image.
“When I asked her why she was doing this, Shellie said, <<I want to start my life back>>,” Christi O’Connor said.
“George Zimmerman has beaten down her self-esteem. She has a moment in the spotlight. She wants everyone to know that she changed her life.”
George Zimmerman’s wife Shellie says their marriage is on the verge of ending
When asked whether she was still together with her husband, she refused to answer.
Later, she said wanted to have children. When the interviewer asked her: “With George?” she responded: “That’s something I’m going to have to think about.”
Shellie Zimmerman stood by her husband throughout lengthy criminal that sent them both into hiding when George became a symbol of racial tension. She appeared at every court hearing for him.
And even now, she stands by his actions that night, when the neighborhood watch volunteer confronted a teenager he thought looked suspicious who was walking through his neighborhood.
When asked if she thought George Zimmerman had targeted Trayvon Martin and murdered him in cold blood, she he’s “not capable” that kind of behavior.
“That’s not his way,” she said.
Despite her presence at his court hearings, he was not in court Wednesday when she admitted to perjury when she lied about how much money the couple had raised on a website established for George Zimmerman’s legal defense.
“By lying under oath, I let my God down, I let your Honor and the court down, I let my family and friends down, and, most of all, I let myself down,” she wrote in an apology letter.
Shellie Zimmerman received 100 hours of community service and a year of probation. She said she plans to do the community service at a Christian ministry.
When asked if she wished her husband had been in court with her, she responded: “I always want my husband’s support.”
Tens of thousands protested when he not arrested Trayvon Martin’s death in February 2012.
Hundreds of other people issued death threats against George and Shellie Zimmerman and their families.
The couple were forced to flee their home in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, and go into hiding.
“We have been pretty much Gypsies for they past year and half,” she said.
“We lived in a 20-foot trailer in the woods, scared every night that someone would find us and it would be horrific.”
She also revealed that the couple’s marital problem did not come as a result of her husband’s killing of Trayvon Martin, nor even from the hiding out. They began even before George Zimmerman became a household name.
Shellie Zimmerman revealed that the night George shot Trayvon Martin, she was staying at after her father’s house because she and her husband had had a fight.
She also expressed sadness for Trayvon Martin’s parents, who have been vocal in demanding George Zimmerman be sent to prison.
“I’m so deeply sorry for the loss. I can’t even begin to understand the grief that a parent experiences when they lose a child,” Shellie Zimmerman said.
B29, a juror in the trial of George Zimmerman, who killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, has come forward to say he “got away with murder”.
But the 36-year-old, named as Maddy in an ABC News’ Good Morning America interview, said they could not find him guilty based on the law.
The only non-white member of the six-woman jury, Maddy suggested the trial had been little more than a sham.
Florida neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was cleared after shooting dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012.
There were nationwide protests following his acquittal of murder and manslaughter charges earlier this month. George Zimmerman claimed self-defense.
Maddy, a nursing assistant and a mother of eight who had recently moved from Illinois to Florida, said she feels she owes an apology to Trayvon Martin’s parents.
Juror B29 has come forward to say George Zimmerman got away with murder
“I felt like I let a lot of people down, and I’m thinking to myself, <<Did I go the right way? Did I go the wrong way?>>” she told Good Morning America programme.
But she said that based on instructions from the judge, she could not convict George Zimmerman under Florida law.
“That’s where I felt confused, where if a person kills someone, then you get charged for it,” Maddy said.
“But as the law was read to me, if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can’t say he’s guilty.”
Known as Juror B29, she said she initially voted to convict 29-year-old George Zimmerman of second-degree murder, but changed her mind after nine hours of discussing evidence on the second day of deliberations.
“I was the juror that was going to give them the hung jury,” she said.
“I fought to the end.”
Maddy, who is of Puerto Rican background, said the trial was “a publicity stunt”, because she believes Florida laws provided no opportunity to convict. But she said George Zimmerman will still be judged.
“George Zimmerman got away with murder, but you can’t get away from God. And at the end of the day, he’s going to have a lot of questions and answers he has to deal with.”
Earlier this month, another juror – known only as B37 – told broadcaster CNN that she believed George Zimmerman had good intentions, but events “just went terribly wrong”.
A crowd of over 500 swelled in Washington, DC Saturday in protest over last weekend’s George Zimmerman acquittal in Trayvon Martin case, with some crying for a boycott against Florida.
Comedian and long-time civil rights activist Dick Gregory addressed the crowd and told them to hit Florida where it hurts – in the wallet – by steering clear of Disney World and orange juice aisle.
The rally was one of many nationwide over the weekend, where demands for “Justice for Trayvon” came in the form of calls for an end to Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense laws and for the prosecution of George Zimmerman on charges he violated Trayvon Martin’s civil rights when he shot and killed the 17-year-old last year.
News of the boycott call came as Senator John McCain (R-AZ) joined President Barack Obama in calling for a review of Stand Your Ground laws across the nation.
“I can also see that Stand Your Ground laws may be something that needs to be reviewed by the Florida legislature or any other legislature that has passed such legislation,” John McCain told CNN, adding that his home state of Arizona should consider similar action.
John McCain stopped short of calling for tougher gun controls though, saying: “I don’t frankly see the connection.”
While praising protestors who staged a sit-in as an attempt to cajole Florida Governor Rick Scott into meeting with them, Dick Gregory told the crowd outside the federal courthouse in Washington that musician Stevie Wonder had the right idea when he pledged to no longer perform in Florida.
“How many of y’all have been to Disneyland to see a rat,” Dick Gregory asked with trademark humor.
Trayvon Martin backers call for Florida boycott
“But haven’t walked down the street to see King’s tomb? Had he not died, you wouldn’t be welcome in Orlando. So we not asking you to do anything that costs you. We just say save your money. Don’t spend it.”
As some members of the crowd chanted “boycott Florida”, Dick Gregory continued with his characteristic humor, according to Breitbart.com.
“Some of y’all ain’t been to Florida in your life and ain’t going,” said Dick Gregory.
“And all you got to do is get Florida to come to you. Now what do I mean by that? They got oranges that they can’t afford to have you not buy because they will rot.”
“I said to my grandmother, <<We not going to boycott Florida orange juice because Florida orange juice is sold under different names. We going to boycott orange juice>>,” he said.
“And when them orange growers start running in to take that governor and he knows he can’t stand his ground with them.”
“Justice for Trayvon” rallies continued elsewhere, as racial tensions remain high – and calls for change remain loud – across the U.S. in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal.
“We have the strength to wipe our tears away. Last Saturday we cried. This Saturday we march,” came the words of Reverend Al Sharpton as he addressed the crowds of a New York City protest Saturday.
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, also spoke at the New York rally, telling the crowd: “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours.”
Sybrina Fulton, her son Jahvaris, and Al Sharpton joined the rally as it marched to One Police Plaza at noon, where they were joined by Jay Z and his wife Beyonce, according to the New York Post.
Beyonce had shown her support for the case last week, asking for a moment of silence at a concert after the not guilty verdict was recorded.
While Trayvon Martin’s mother was in New York, the dead teenager’s father took part in a Miami rally on Saturday morning, according to NBC News.
Tracy Martin told supporters outside Miami’s federal courthouse: “I vowed to Trayvon, when he was lying in his casket, that I would use every ounce of energy in my body to seek justice for him.”
Reverend Al Sharpton and other supporters want the Justice Department to pursue federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.
He told the rally on Saturday: “They will not say that was the young man killed in Sanford. They will say that was the young man who helped change the laws in the United States of America.”
Former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who attended the New York rally, said: “Regardless of how you view the legality of the verdict in isolation, justice here was denied. An innocent young man was shot and killed and that is a tragedy.”
Attorney General Eric Holder announced last week that the department would investigate whether the Hispanic neighborhood watch man could be charged under those federal civil rights laws, which would require evidence that he harbored racial animosity against Trayvon Martin.
Most legal experts said it would be a difficult charge to bring.
Protests are under way across the US, a week after George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.
Demonstrators want federal charges to be brought against George Zimmerman, 29, over the February 2012 incident.
A Florida jury agreed that the neighborhood watch volunteer killed 17 year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense.
In his first comments, President Barack Obama admitted many black men in the US experienced racial profiling.
The protests against the court’s decision are being led by the National Action Network, headed by civil rights activist the Reverend Al Sharpton.
Thousands are gathering for “Justice for Trayvon” rallies outside federal court buildings in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
Al Sharpton told supporters on Saturday morning in Manhattan that he wanted to see the scrapping of “stand your ground” self-defense laws, such as that in force in Florida.
“We are trying to change laws so that this never, ever happens again,” he said.
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, told the crowd: “Today it was my son. Tomorrow it might be yours.”
Jay Z and Beyonce appeared on stage at the New York rally.
Protests are under way across the US, a week after George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin
In Miami, Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, was among those who gathered to the words of the civil rights song We Shall Overcome.
In an unexpected press call on Friday, President Barack Obama said very few black men in the US had not experienced racial profiling.
Barack Obama said the pain that African-Americans felt around the case came from the fact that they viewed it through “a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away”.
He said African Americans were also keenly aware of racial disparities in the application of criminal laws.
“That all contributes to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different,” Barack Obama said.
“When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago.”
He shared his experiences of being racially profiled in the past, such as being followed while out shopping.
“There are very few African-American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.
“There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she has a chance to get off,” he said.
Barack Obama called for the protests to remain peaceful, saying any violence “dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin”.
He said that although criminal matters and law enforcement were traditionally dealt with on a state and not a federal level, it would be useful to examine some state and local laws to see if they encourage confrontation in certain situations.
On Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder cited the case as he urged a nationwide review of the “stand your ground” laws, which permit the use of deadly force if a person feels seriously threatened.
The issue was never raised during the trial, though the judge included a provision about the law in her instructions to the jury, allowing it to be considered as a legitimate defense.
Trayvon Martin was shot dead by George Zimmerman after an altercation in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.
Last Saturday, the all-female jury of six found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
President Barack Obama has made his first comments on Trayvon Martin case since last week’s acquittal of George Zimmerman.
The president said: “Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago.”
The unarmed black 17-year-old was shot and killed in Florida in February 2012.
George Zimmerman, 29, said he opened fire on the teenager in self-defense and was acquitted of murder by a Florida court last week.
In an unexpected press call, Barack Obama said very few black men in the US had not experienced racial profiling.
Barack Obama said the pain that African-Americans felt around the case came from the fact that they viewed it through “a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away”.
He said African Americans were also keenly aware of racial disparities in the application of criminal laws.
“That all contributes to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different,” Barack Obama said.
President Barack Obama has made his first comments on Trayvon Martin case since last week’s acquittal of George Zimmerman
He shared his experiences of being racially profiled in the past, such as being followed while out shopping.
“There are very few African-American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.
“There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she has a chance to get off.”
Barack Obama also hailed the “incredible grace and dignity” of Trayvon Martin’s parents in the way they reacted to the verdict.
Calling for “soul-searching” from Americans on issues of race, Barack Obama also sounded a hopeful note, saying that race relations were improving with each generation.
Saturday’s not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman from the all-female jury of six prompted nationwide protests, with further demonstrations planned for this weekend.
Barack Obama called for the protests to remain peaceful, saying any violence “dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin”.
He said that although criminal matters and law enforcement were traditionally dealt with on a state and not a federal level, it would be useful to examine some state and local laws to see if they encourage confrontation in certain situations.
On Wednesday, US Attorney General Eric Holder cited the case as he urged a nationwide review of “stand your ground” laws, such as those in place in Florida, which permit the use of deadly force if a person feels seriously threatened.
The issue was never raised during the trial, though the judge included a provision about the law in her instructions to the jury, allowing it to be considered as a legitimate defense.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, said they are shocked and disgusted the jury in George Zimmerman’s trial found him not guilty of murdering their son.
George Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted of both second-degree murder and manslaughter on Saturday night after a month-long trial that gripped and divided the nation.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, who both testified their son was screaming for help on a 911 call that was a crucial piece of evidence in the trial, made a string of TV appearances this morning to talk about the verdict.
“I really didn’t believe that he was not guilty. My first thought was shock, disgust. I think people are forgetting that Trayvon was a teenager so he probably thought as a teenager,” Sybrina Fulton told Good Morning America.
“I really do believe he was afraid because he did call George Zimmerman creepy. So he was afraid and if you are 17 years old and you are afraid, you may not know what to do.”
Tracy Martin said: “I wish they really knew Trayvon for who he was and knew that he was a kid. They didn’t know him as a human being, a very decent human being, a fun-loving kid. He loved kids.
“I just wish they had an opportunity to really know who Trayvon was and to put that in context with what their decision was.”
George Zimmerman’s parents, Robert and Gladys, spoke to Barbara Walters this week and said that if they had the chance, they would tell the couple they are truly sorry about what happened the night their son fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
When asked whether he was comforted by this, Tracy Martin called it a “hard and fair question”.
“There’s no winner in this situation,” he said.
Trayvon Martin’s parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, said they are shocked and disgusted the jury in George Zimmerman’s trial found him not guilty of murdering their son
“Obviously, we are devastated more.
“I just think that all the circumstances surrounding books being written and the mischaracterization of us as parents, I just really don’t feel that it’s real sincere.
“But we continue to pray that we’ll find peace and strength to be forgiving parents.”
Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton have started a foundation named after their son and say they hope his death and the trial can serve as a catalyst to bring the country together.
“I think moving forward we need to educate ourselves as a community on the gun laws, on the laws, on the statutes. We need to come together more as a whole, not individual people, not individual races, religions. We need to come together as God’s people.
“We need to start learning each other, understanding each other. You can’t just judge a book by its cover. Something is wrong in so many ways to say that someone is suspicious just because you don’t know them.”
Sybrina Fulton added: “It’s not just about the Trayvon Martin case. Now it’s about your kids. It’s about other kids. What do we tell our sons?”
Today was the first day the two had spoken out about the verdict on TV.
They also appeared on the Today show where they told Matt Lauer they are still in disbelief over the verdict.
“Is this the intent for the justice system to have for victims. Trayvon wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Tracy Martin said.
“We felt in our hearts that we were going to get a conviction. We thought that the killer of our unarmed child was going to be convicted of the crime that he committed.”
When asked if they would like to say anything to the jury, he responded: “How can you let the killer of an unarmed child go free?
“What would your verdict have been had it been your child? And there’s no winner in this case at all. It’s just, I want them to put themselves in our shoes.
“Obviously anytime you have a person that makes an assumption that a person is up to no good, there’s some type of profiling there. Was he racially profiled?
“I think that if Trayvon had been white this wouldn’t have never happened. Obviously race is playing some type of role.”
Sybrina Fulton said she felt the jurors and the justice system failed her son “to a degree”.
“We let the process take its course. We didn’t get the verdict that we were looking for because we wanted [George Zimmerman] to be held accountable.
“Our focus has continued to change. First it was for an arrest then it was for a conviction…we were disappointed.”
When asked about forgiveness for George Zimmerman, Tracy Martin said “forgiveness takes time”.
“I think that the forgiveness is like a healing process, forgiven takes time,” he said.
“The Bible says that you have to forgive and forget, but also the healing process is a long process.”
Four of the jurors in the George Zimmerman trial have banded together to separate themselves from juror B37 who helped acquit the neighborhood watchman for the killing of Trayvon Martin.
The group released a joint statement after juror B37 spoke to CNN about their closed-door sessions after the trial.
“The opinions of Juror B37, expressed on the Anderson Cooper show were her own, and not in any way representative of the jurors listed below,” they said in the statement released Tuesday night.
In an effort to maintain their privacy, the four women identified themselves only as B51, B76, E6 and E40. One juror, B29, did not sign the document.
“Serving on this jury has been a highly emotional and physically draining experience for each of us,” the statement read.
“The death of a teenager weighed heavily on our hearts but in the end we did what the law required us to do.”
Even though they stepped away from juror B37’s claims, all six of the women had to agree on the not guilty verdict before it was announced on Saturday night.
One of juror B37’s most controversial claims in the Anderson Cooper interview was that Trayvon Martin “played a huge role in his death”.
“When George confronted him he could have walked away and gone home,” the woman said in the second portion of her post-trial interview.
While she was apologetic to Trayvon Martin’s family, she seemed more sympathetic to George Zimmerman’s position in the midst of the fight, as opposed to Martin’s own self defense.
“I have no doubt that George feared for his life,” she said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Four of the jurors in the George Zimmerman trial released a joint statement after juror B37 spoke to CNN about their closed-door sessions after the trial
“I’m 101% that he should have done what he did except for the things that he did before,” she said, referencing George Zimmerman’s decision to follow Trayvon Martin in his car and, fatefully, get out of the car and confront him.
While George Zimmerman himself never took the stand in his own defense, video recordings of him explaining the situation to police after the fatal shooting were submitted, effectively giving him the chance to tell his side without leaving himself open to a cross examination.
That was no matter for the juror: “I’m sure there were some fabrications, enhancements, but I think pretty much it happened how he said it happened.”
Initially this unidentified female juror was planning on writing a book about her experience on the trial- and even had a literary agent lined up early Monday afternoon- but after the first portion of her interview was aired that evening she and the agent decided not to follow up.
The second portion of B37’s interview was aired on Tuesday, and she went into more detail about how two specific tact used by the prosecution may have influenced the outcome.
Throughout her interview with Anderson Cooper, the woman regularly referred to the neighborhood watchman as George, and though she did call the 17-year-old Trayvon, she admitted that she felt more personally connected to George Zimmerman as opposed to Trayvon Martin.
“Trayvon wasn’t as well known to us because there wasn’t as much said about him,” she said.
Anderson Cooper brought up the fact that the two legal teams took very different visual approaches when making their closing arguments, with the defense holding up a concrete block like a portion of the sidewalk to show what they contend Trayvon Martin used to attack. On the opposite end, the prosecution held up the Arizona Iced Tea bottle and a bag of Skittles, saying that was the only thing he was armed with.
“The Skittles and the Arizona can were ridiculous to even compare it to,” she said.
“I believe he hit his head on the concrete, I believe he was trying to slam it…it was definitely enough to make you fear.
“I hope [George Zimmerman’s] family can live a normal life after a while. I don’t know how he’s ever going to do that.”
Yesterday it was revealed that the first vote that the six-woman jury took behind closed doors came as a draw, with three wanting to acquit, one ready to charge him with second degree murder and two for manslaughter.
In today’s segment, she made it clear that after hours of discussing the case and the evidence, the group had shifted to be five in favor of acquittal with one hold out.
“I wanted to find him guilty of not using his senses…you can’t charge him with anything because he didn’t do anything unlawful,” she said.
Juror B37 went on to sob while saying that she wanted to apologize to the Martin family for the tragedy that they had to go through, but she also had a message for George Zimmerman and his family- after it was revealed yesterday that his parents have been in hiding as well as the former neighborhood watchman and his wife.
“I hope his family can live a normal life after a while. I don’t know how he ever going to do that. He’ll never forget but I hope he can,” she said.
Juror B37’s interview aired just minutes before four of the remaining five jurors put out a statement saying that they want to remain anonymous and are formally requesting privacy.
B-37 – the juror who wanted to pen a book- is a white woman who volunteers rescuing animals. She is married to an attorney and has two adult children. She said she and her husband used to have concealed weapons permits. During the last round of questioning, she said she had an issue with the type of weapons people are allowed to carry. She also thought weapons’ training was inadequate for people seeking permits. “It should become harder,” she said.
B-51 is retired, unmarried and doesn’t have kids. She has lived in Seminole County for nine years working in real estate and run a call center where she said she had experience resolving conflicts. When asked if George Zimmerman did something wrong by following Trayvon Martin instead of waiting for police, she said: “Yeah, I guess he did do something wrong.”
A six-woman jury acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Florida
B-29 recently moved to central Florida from Chicago. She enjoys watching the Real Housewives on television and works as a nurse on an Alzheimer’s section of a nursing home. She said she hadn’t paid much attention to the shooting. She said she has been arrested, but her case was dropped. It’s not clear why she was arrested or exactly what happened to her case, though she said she was treated fairly. She is married and has several children. A prosecutor described her as “black or Hispanic” during jury selection.
B-76 is a white woman who has lived in central Florida for 18 years. She manages rental properties with her husband of 30 years. She has two adult children, including one who is an attorney. She is involved with rescuing animals in her free time. During jury selection, she said she had been the victim of a nonviolent crime. “Everyone deserves a fair trial,” she said.
E-6 is a white woman who is married and has two children. She has worked in financial services and has lived in Seminole County for two years. She is active in her church and involved with her children’s school. During jury selection, she said she didn’t know the facts of the case well.
E-40 is a white woman who works as a safety officer and recently moved to Seminole County from Iowa. She describes herself as a football fan. During jury selection, she said she had been the victim of a nonviolent crime.
Juror B37 in the George Zimmerman trial has revealed that at no point did the largely-white all-female jury consider the motivation behind the killing of Trayvon Martin.
The woman, identified only as Juror B37, said that they believed that it was a “tragedy” that came from George Zimmerman going too far but said that the former neighborhood watchman’s “heart is in the right place”.
Juror B37 told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that George Zimmerman made some poor decisions leading up to the shooting, but that Trayvon Martin wasn’t innocent either.
“I think both were responsible for the situation they had gotten themselves into,” said the juror, who was planning to write a book about the trial.
“I think they both could have walked away.”
The woman also said that she felt it was clear that the 17-year-old threw the first punch: “Trayvon decided that he wasn’t going to let (George Zimmerman) scare him… and I think Trayvon got mad and attacked him.”
When asked by Anderson Cooper if she would feel comfortable having George Zimmerman patrolling her neighborhood, she said that while Trayvon Martin’s death was tragic, it would serve as a learning experience.
“I would feel comfortable having George, but I think he learned a lesson,” she said, hesitating slightly.
“I think he’d be more responsible than anyone else on this planet right now.”
Hours after the interview with Anderson Cooper aired, the literary agent who agreed to represent the juror announced that she withdrew her services.
“After careful consideration of the book project with Zimmerman #JurorB37, I have decided to rescind my offer of representation,” agent Sharlene Martin said via Twitter.
Sharlene Martin also put out a statement from the juror herself, who said: “This potential book was always intended to be a respectful observation of the trial from my and my husband’s perspectives.”
“Now that I am returned to my family and to society in general, I have realized that the best direction for me to go is away from writing any sort of book and return instead to my life as it was before I was called to sit on this jury.”
In the CNN interview, Juror B37 said Sanford Police Detective Chris Serino made a big impression on her, because he would have been accustomed to dealing with murders and similar cases.
He would have known how to spot a liar, and yet he testified that he believed George Zimmerman, the juror said.
Legal analysts agreed that Chris Serino’s testimony was a blow to the state’s case.
The juror was not impressed by the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, who was talking with Trayvon Martin by cellphone moments before he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in February, 2012.
“I didn’t think it was very credible, but I felt very sorry for her,” the juror said.
“She didn’t want to be there.”
The juror also commented on defense attorney Don West’s knock-knock joke about knowing who George Zimmerman was during opening statements.
“The joke was horrible. Nobody got it,” she said.
The interview came two days after the six-woman jury acquitted George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch activist, of second-degree murder in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Florida.
Trayvon Martin was black, and George Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.
George Zimmerman was not arrested for 44 days, and the delay in charging him led to protests from those who believed race was a factor in the handling of the case.
While prosecutors accused George Zimmerman of profiling Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman maintained he acted in self-defense.
The juror said she didn’t think Trayvon Martin’s race was the reason that George Zimmerman followed him. She said she also believed Trayvon Martin threw the first punch and that George Zimmerman, whom she referred to as “George”, had a right to defend himself.
Juror B37 in the George Zimmerman trial has revealed that at no point did the largely-white all-female jury consider the motivation behind the killing of Trayvon Martin
“I have no doubt George feared for his life in the situation he was in at the time,” the juror said.
Juror B37 also outlined to CNN the process she and the other five jurors went through in their deliberations.
She said they spent the first day electing a foreman and getting organized. She said the jury instructions weren’t immediately clear and the evidence was in no order whatsoever.
George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder, but the jury also was allowed to consider manslaughter.
Based on an initial vote, three – including B37 – were in favor of acquittal, two wanted manslaughter and one wanted second-degree murder.
Juror B37 said the jury started going through all the evidence, listening to tapes multiple times.
“That’s why it took us so long,” B37 said.
When they started looking at the law, the person who initially wanted second-degree murder changed her vote to manslaughter, the juror said.
Then they asked for clarification from the judge and kept going over it again and again. B37 said some jurors wanted to find George Zimmerman guilty of something, but there was just no place to go based on the law.
B37 said jurors cried when they gave their final vote to the bailiff.
“I want people to know that we put everything into everything to get this verdict,” said the juror, who appeared to become emotional during the interview.
“We thought about it for hours and cried over it afterwards,” she said.
“I don’t think any of us could ever do anything like that ever again.”
Martin Literary Management announced Monday that it is representing B37 and her husband, who is an attorney.
The names of the jurors have not been released, but during jury selection it was disclosed that B37 works in an unspecified management position and has two adult children.
In a statement initially released Monday morning, Martin Literary said the book would focus on what it is like to be sequestered and why B37 felt she had no choice but to acquit George Zimmerman. The agency said it is approaching several publishers.
In a separate interview, Rachel Jeantel was asked by CNN’s Piers Morgan whether she thought race was a factor in George Zimmerman’s decision to follow Trayvon Martin prior to their fight.
“It was racial,” she said.
“Let’s be honest. Racial. If he were white, if Trayvon was white and he had a hoodie on, what would happen?”
She noted that the altercation happened in the early evening, when many people are out walking their dogs or doing other things.
Piers Morgan played back a recording of the juror’s comments about Rachel Jeantel’s education level and speech, and the witness said it made her sad and angry.
Rachel Jeantel, who is black, said she also had a feeling that the jury would return a not-guilty verdict.
“They’re white,” she said of the jury at one point.
“Well, one Hispanic. But she’s stuck in the middle. I had a feeling it was going to be a <<not guilty>>.”
While the court did not release the racial makeup of the jury, the panel appeared to reporters covering jury selection to be made up of five white women and a sixth who may be Hispanic.
Juror B37 signed the deal with her attorney husband and Martin Literary Management president Sharlene Martin, MediaBistro reported.
In previous reports, B-37 has been identified as a white woman who volunteers at an animal shelter and who is married to an attorney with two adult children.
During her voir dire – in which attorneys question would-be jurors to determine if they are suitable to take part in a case – reveals that she called Trayvon Martin “a boy of color” when asked to describe him.
She added that his killing was “an unfortunate incident that happened” and said she believed there were riots in Sanford, Florida after the killing – which is not the case.
She was also vocal about her hate of the media – saying she refused to read newspapers as they were skewed.
Literary agent Sharlene Martin originally said that now-defunct book would explain why the group of six women reached the decision to acquit the former neighborhood watch volunteer.
“My hope is that people will read Juror B37’s book, written with her attorney husband, and understand the commitment it takes to serve and be sequestered on a jury in a highly publicized murder trial and how important, despite one’s personal viewpoints, it is to follow the letter of the law,” she said.
She added that the book has the potential to open discussions about how laws might need to be revised in order to fit with modern society.
“The reader will also learn why the jurors had no option but to find Zimmerman Not Guilty due to the manner in which he was charged,” she said.
The juror is choosing to remain anonymous and it is unknown if they will conduct interviews as the project proceeds due to the reaction to the verdict.
Sharlene Martin has represented books written by high-profile writers, including Honor Bound by Raffaele Sollecito and Picture Perfect: The Jodi Arias Story by Shanna Hogan, due out in September.
Mystery still surrounds the identities of the jury members and there is still no indication of how long the six women, known only to the public as B76, B37, E6, B29, E40 and B51, will remain anonymous.
Jurors refused to talk to reporters about how they reached their decision on Saturday after they received numerous interview requests from media outlets.
Their names are being kept secret until Judge Debra Nelson lifts an order protecting their identities.
Attorneys have argued that the names should not be kept secret.
In June, the judge ruled they would remain anonymous for an unspecified period after the verdict and George Zimmerman lawyer Mark O’Mara argued they should be kept secret for six months after the trial.
Speculation also surrounds whether or not George Zimmerman himself will pen a book revealing his experiences. The AP suggested he could make money from the project or from a lawsuit he brought against NBC last year after it allegedly edited his 911 tapes to make him look like a racial profiler.
Following his acquittal on all charges, George Zimmerman will spend no time behind bars.
But the Department of Justice could file criminal civil rights charges, and George Zimmerman may face civil lawsuits from the family of Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed at the time of his death last year.
The verdict has sparked uproar across the U.S., with Trayvon Martin supporters claiming that the killing was racially motivated as they stage massive protests across cities from New York to Los Angeles.
Trayvon Martin’s family is considering whether to sue George Zimmerman in civil court for liability over the death of the unarmed black teenager.
George Zimmerman’s attorney, however, is convinced that his client is immune from such a suit.
Having already admitted to shooting Trayvon Martin and with the burden of proof lower in civil court than in criminal court, George Zimmerman may not emerge victorious from such a lawsuit.
While no estimates have yet been floated as to the amount of financial liability, George Zimmerman may face in a civil suit, Trayvon Martin’s family already settled with the town of Sanford, Florida, and the gated community Zimmerman shot the teenager in while patrolling as a volunteer neighborhood watchman.
The housing complex doled out over $1 million to the grieving family, according to the Orlando Sentinal.
Trayvon Martin’s family is considering whether to sue George Zimmerman in civil court for liability over the death of the unarmed black teenager
Mark O’Mara, George Zimmerman’s attorney, says his client is immune from liability.
“If someone believes that it’s appropriate to sue George Zimmerman, then we will seek and we will get immunity in a civil hearing,” Mark O’Mara said in a post-verdict press conference, adding: “We will see just how many civil lawsuits are spawned from this fiasco.”
Florida law would also prevent George Zimmerman from selling the rights to his story for a book or movie deal in order to pay for a civil suit should he be found liable for Trayvon Martin’s death, according to televised media reports.
George Zimmerman could also face trial on federal civil rights abuses in the death of Trayvon Martin.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Reverend Al Sharpton are working towards making that happen.
The NAACP with a petitionaddressed directly to US Attorney General Eric Holder and Al Sharpton with planned meetings with community leaders in Florida and likely rallies to follow.
The US Department of Justice confirmed today that it will look into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal charges against George Zimmerman in the wake of his acquittal.
The department opened an investigation into Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012, but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.
In a statement Sunday, the Justice Department said the criminal section of the civil rights division, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida are continuing to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal probe, in addition to the evidence and testimony from the state trial.
The statement said that, in the government’s words, “experienced federal prosecutors will determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation”.
This move follows demands from a furious NAACP for the Obama administration to intervene.
Already, over 100,000 people have signed up to an online petition and the NAACP has written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Department of Justice to press civil rights charges against 29-year-old George Zimmerman.
In his first public statement since the verdict, President Barack Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, saying his death was a tragedy and that the country should seek ways to stem gun violence.
Barack Obama urged Americans to broaden “the circle of understanding and compassion” in their communities and put some of the emotion the case has aroused into curtailing gun violence.
On Sunday, Daryl Parks, an attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin was non-committal when asked if they supported the NAACP’s call for George Zimmerman to be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
When asked on Fox News Sunday if Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin and mother, Sybrina Fulton, supported such a move, Daryl Parks seemed to defer.
“The beauty of our country is that we have several tiers of government, several aspects of laws and that different times different aspects apply,” said Daryl Parks.
“Different laws apply at different times, different places apply at different times. That would be a different arena.”
Both Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton chose not to be in the Seminole Circuit Court when the jurors announced their decision just before 10 p.m.
George Crump, the family’s attorney, said that they will still be pursuing a civil case against George Zimmerman.
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous was unequivocal in his response to the not-guilty decision by the Florida jury.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it will investigate the death of Trayvon Martin in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal
“We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,” Benjamin Jealous said in a statement.
“We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed,” he said.
Politicians such as Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y) and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson have all added their voices to the NAACP’s position and demanded the administration review the case.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, called the verdict “a sad day in the country” and “a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country”.
“I think this is an atrocity,” Al Sharpton said.
“It is probably one of the worst situations that I have seen.”
Jesse Jackson called the verdict: “Old South justice.”
“I’m disappointed and I’m saddened for the family,” Jesse Jackson said.
Benjamin Jealous said Trayvon Martin’s family may bring a civil suit against George Zimmerman but said federal criminal charges must be filed because evidence suggests race was a factor in the case.
He told CNN the black community is upset with a situation in which “our young people have to fear the bad guys and the good guys. The robbers and the cops and the self-appointed community watch volunteer who think that they’re keeping folks safer”.
Al Sharpton cited the example of Rodney King, the man whose videotaped beating by Los Angeles police triggered rioting two decades ago after a state criminal trial found the police officers not guilty.
Later, the Justice Department brought a federal case that resulted in the conviction of two officers.
However, after George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree and manslaughter charges by a Florida jury on Saturday, Attorney General Eric Holder has been left with a decision of massive implications.
The enormous pressure on Eric Holder, the United States’ first African-American attorney general, will grow over the coming days – especially in light of previous statements made on the matter.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a review of the shooting and Eric Holder went on record to say that he would take appropriate action if there was sufficient evidence of a civil rights crime.
“If we find evidence of a potential federal criminal civil rights crime, we will take appropriate action, and at every step, the facts and law will guide us forward,” said Eric Holder in a speech in April to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network.
However, in remarks subsequent to that, Eric Holder toned-down his comments, saying that the DOJ faces a “very high barrier” to bring federal criminal charges.
Eric Holder made personal remarks about the death of Trayvon Martin in April, saying “as a parent I reacted to it”.
“This is a pain that no parent should have to endure. The notion of having to bury a child is something that is, I think in some ways for a parent, the ultimate pain,” he said.
“The primary responsibility we have in the Justice Department is to support the state in its ongoing investigation, to do our own thorough and parallel investigation which we are in the process of doing and try to resolve this matter in as fair and complete a way and as quickly as we can.”
The full text of the NAACP’s petition to Attorney General Eric Holder
“Attorney General Eric Holder,
The Department of Justice has closely monitored the State of Florida’s prosecution of the case against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin murder since it began.
Today, with the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it is time for the Department of Justice to act.
The most fundamental of civil rights – the right to life – was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin.
We ask that the Department of Justice file civil rights charges against Mr. Zimmerman for this egregious violation.
Please address the travesties of the tragic death of Trayvon Martin by acting today.
Thank you”
George Zimmerman shot dead Martin in Sanford on February 26th, 2012.
George Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Trayvon Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman “profiled” Martin and concluded he was a criminal.
For their part, the NAACP is trying to build a ground swell of support for its call for federal charges.
President Barack Obama has called on Americans to spend time in “calm reflection” after neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin.
Barack Obama said Trayvon Martin’s death was a tragedy for America, but that it was “a nation of laws and a jury has spoken”.
The president also called for a renewed debate about gun violence.
Trayvon Martin case case sparked a fierce debate in the US about racial profiling.
George Zimmerman, 29, had been facing possible conviction for second-degree murder or manslaughter, but on Saturday he was cleared of all charges at his trial in Sanford, Florida.
Prosecutors had argued that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin dead on February 26, 2012, because he had racially profiled him as he walked through his neighborhood wearing a hooded sweatshirt in the rain.
Trayvon Martin was African-American. George Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.
But the defense said he had killed Trayvon Martin in self defense after the teenager punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for George Zimmerman’s gun.
The verdict sparked an angry reaction from many in the US.
Protest marches were staged in US cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta. In Oakland, California, some protesters started small fires and smashed windows.
In his statement, Barack Obama said the death of Trayvon Martin “was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America”.
He added: “I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher.
President Barack Obama has called on Americans to spend time in “calm reflection” after neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman was cleared of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin
“But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken.”
Barack Obama said all Americans should respect the call for calm reflection from the Martin family, and that “as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities.
“We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis.
“We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this.
“As citizens, that’s a job for all of us. That’s the way to honor Trayvon Martin.”
Barack Obama had commented on the Zimmerman case in March last year, saying: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Civil rights groups in the US have also called for calm, though have expressed their dismay at the verdict.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson told CNN on Sunday: “I remain stunned at the decision. The department of justice must intervene to take this to another level.”
He said “the American legal system has once again failed justice”.
But he also appealed for calm, saying anyone seeking to “compound our pain with street justice” would do “damage to the innocent blood and legacy of Trayvon Martin”.
Rights activist Al Sharpton said the verdict was “a slap in the face to the American people”.
He compared the case to the beating of African-American man Rodney King by police in 1991, which sparked widespread rioting.
A petition launched by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), demanding that the department of justice open a civil rights case against George Zimmerman, had received more than 350,000 signatures by midday on Sunday.
Meanwhile George Zimmerman’s family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks.
His brother, Robert, said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was “more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him”.
“He’s going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life,” he said.
Beyonce stopped her concert and called for a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin, rapper Young Jeezy released a song in his memory and Russell Simmons called for peace after George Zimmerman was acquitted by a Florida jury in the death of the teenager.
There was a wide range of reactions from celebrities after jurors cleared George Zimmerman late Saturday of all charges in the 2012 shooting death of the unarmed 17-year-old Martin.
Beyonce took a moment to honor Trayvon Martin during her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour concert at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Her concert started about 30 minutes after the Zimmerman verdict began to circulate.
“I’d like to have a moment of silence for Trayvon,” Beyonce star said as the stage grew dark with just a few key lights shining.
Beyonce then sang the chorus of I Will Always Love You, a song, fittingly given the location, written by country music star Dolly Parton and brought to a global audience by the late Whitney Houston, before transitioning into her hit Halo.
It was just one of several reactions from celebrities and artists following George Zimmerman’s acquittal by a six-woman jury.
Much of it focused on the perceived outrage of the situation. But others had more poignant responses.
Young Jeezy posted a new song, It’s a Cold World (A Tribute to Trayvon Martin), to his Facebook page with a comment: “I am in no way shape, form, or fashion … trying to capitalize off of the latest series of events. These are my true feelings and my form of expression about it.”
Russell Simmons, a producer and entrepreneur, posted a blog entry that said he’d be supporting the Trayvon Martin Foundation in helping to repeal laws like Florida’s Stand Your Ground law. He signed off: “God bless you little brother. Rest in peace.”
Beyonce stopped her concert and called for a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin
He also called for those upset with the verdict to channel their energy away from violence on Twitter, telling followers “we must remain peaceful. No matter what, remain peaceful”.
“If u have any anger this evening,” Russell Simmons wrote on Twitter, “put that energy into challenging these horrible laws that allow overly-anxious neighborhood watchmen to carry guns and shoot innocent people.”
Figures from music, film and sport repeated the sentiment while angry and saddened by the court ruling.
Stevie Johnson, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills compared the Zimmerman verdict to Michael Vicks dog fighting case.
“Living in a world where you fight dogs; you could lose everything (Mike Vick).. If you kill a black man you’re not guilty!#INjusticesystem,” Stevie Johnson wrote.
Musicians also tweeted their frustration with the jury’s verdict. Celebrities including Rihanna, Ice Cube, and Nicki Minaj criticized the court’s verdict.
Rihanna tweeted: “This is the saddest news ever!!! #whatsjustice.”
Ice Cube wrote: “The Trayvon Martin verdict doesn’t surprise me. Stanford, FL never wanted Zimmerman arrested. Now he’s free to kill another child.”
American Idol judge and pop star Nicki Minaj wrote: “And our taxes paid for that trial. We just paid to see a murderer walk free after killing an innocent unarmed little boy. #GodBlessAmerica.”
Actors spoke out against the verdict as well, sending their prayers to the Martin family and expressing their disapproval of the court’s verdict.
Singer and actress Mandy Moore responded similarly writing: “My heart is heavy…for all who knew and loved #TrayvonMartin. His life mattered. This is shameful.”
One star who overstepped the mark was New York Giants player Victor Cruz.
The footballer wrote: “Thoroughly confused. Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up to him.”
The message was promptly deleted.
Trayvon Martin’s father also used Twitter as a public forum to speak after the verdict was handed down in his son’s trial.
Tracy Martin released several tweets shortly after the jury’s verdict was announced.
“God blessed Me & Sybrina with Tray and even in his death I know my baby proud of the FIGHT we along with all of you put up for him GOD BLESS,” wrote Saturday night.
Then two minutes later Tracy Martin said: “Thanks to everyone who are with us and who will be with us so we together can make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
This morning he added: “Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY.”
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, added: “Lord during my darkest hour I lean on you. You are all that I have. At the end of the day, GOD is still in control. Thank you all for your prayers and support. I will love you forever Trayvon!!! In the name of Jesus!!!”
Protestors gathered in major cities across the US late into the night after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the Trayvon Martin case.
The demonstrators carried signs and gathered en mass in major cities across the country including New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.
Though the marches were non-violent police assembled close by to monitor the crowd’s activity.
In Los Angeles and Washington D.C. protestors carried signs that read, “Stop Criminalizing Black Men”, and “Stop Impunity for Cops and Wannabe Cops”.
Protesters in D.C. marched through the streets chanting “Trayvon was murdered”, and “No justice, no peace”, according to NBC 4 Washington.
Demonstrations like the one in D.C. organized quickly in the hours after news of the verdict broke.
After the verdict was announced an outcry of rage poured out over social media and from demonstrators in front of the court house in the moments after the not guilty verdict came down in the George Zimmerman trial.
Crowds outside the courthouse were outspoken about their disappointment at the verdict and hundreds took to Twitter to voice their discontentment with the justice system and jury’s verdict.
Violent words were thrown around on the social media outlet, and many people have already declared George Zimmerman a “dead man walking”.
Protestors gathered in major cities across the US late into the night after George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the Trayvon Martin case
Demonstrators outside the court started chanting “Justice for Trayvon”, according to USA Today. Other shouted “The system has failed”, in front of the courthouse where they were gathered en mass.
People held up banners reading “End racial oppression” as they chanted and others just screamed “No” in shock after the verdict, SkyNews reported.
The crowd outside the Florida courthouse quickly began to protest the verdict as a chant of “no justice, no peace”, rose up according to The Orlando Sentinel.
The newspaper reported that soon after the crowd learned of the verdict the police quickly closed the entrances to the courthouse ground. Those remained inside were relatively calm.
Amongst the protesters at the courthouse were members of the New Black Panther Party who wore shirts reading, “Freedom or Death”.
The paper reported that the militants spoke of ‘injustice’ in the moments after the ruling.
“No one, no one could have foreseen that he would walk away,” James Evans Muhammad, the party chairperson told the Sentinel.
A crowd of college students were amongst the louder voices present, chanting their dissent well after the verdict was announced, according to the newspaper.
Many on Twitter also expressed their unhappiness with the outcome of the trial.
Several Twitter users started to call George Zimmerman a “dead man walking”, conjecturing on his safety after his acquittal and threatening his life on the social media platform.
George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watchman who shot dead unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin last year, has been found not guilty.
Lawyers for George Zimmerman, 29, argued he acted in self-defense and with justifiable use of deadly force in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The jury retired on Friday to consider its verdict on charges of either second-degree murder or manslaughter.
The case sparked a fierce debate about racial profiling in the US.
Protesters are gathering in Sanford, the Florida town where the shooting took place.
Police and community leaders have appealed for calm.
After the verdict, Judge Deborah Nelson told George Zimmerman he was free to go.
“Your bond will be released. Your GPS monitor will be cut off when you exit the courtroom over here. And you have no further business with the court,” Judge Nelson said.
George Zimmerman showed little reaction as the verdict was read out.
“Hopefully everyone will respect the jury’s verdict,” his lawyer Mark O’Mara told reporters after the case.
Mark O’Mara said George Zimmerman would now have to be “very cautious and protective of his safety because there is still a fringe element who have said that they would revenge – that they would not listen to – a verdict of not guilty.”
Lawyers for George Zimmerman argued he acted in self-defense and with justifiable use of deadly force in the death of Trayvon Martin
Another member of his defense team, Don West, said: “I’m thrilled that this jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty.”
The case brought into sharp relief some of the most divisive issues in the United States: race, gun control and equal justice under the law.
Florida police did not arrest George Zimmerman for six weeks after the shooting, provoking mass rallies in Florida and throughout the US.
Under the state’s controversial “stand your ground” law, the use of lethal force is allowed if a person feels seriously under threat.
Benjamin Crump, the Martin family lawyer, said: “Trayvon Martin will forever remain in the annals of history… as a symbol for the fight for equal justice for all.”
He, too, appealed for calm, saying “for Trayvon to rest in peace, we must all be peaceful”.
The family’s legal team said they were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read out.
State Attorney Angela Corey said she believed prosecutors had “brought out the truth on behalf of Trayvon Martin”.
“This case has never been about race or the right to bear arms,” she said.
“We believe this case all along was about boundaries, and George Zimmerman exceeded those boundaries.”
As the jury retired on Friday, the judge told the panel of six women to consider whether George Zimmerman acted in self-defense and with justifiable use of deadly force.
Without explicitly discussing race, the prosecution had suggested George Zimmerman assumed the African-American teenager, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt as he walked in the rain, was up to no good.
But the defense said Trayvon Martin punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for George Zimmerman’s gun.
The accused, who was legally armed with a pistol, had been sitting in his vehicle on a dark street when he saw Trayvon Martin.
George Zimmerman telephoned police to report a suspicious person, then left his vehicle in apparent pursuit of the teenager.
Shortly afterwards, Trayvon Martin was found dead, shot in the chest.
Earlier, George Zimmerman’s lawyer said he had proven his client’s “pure, unadulterated innocence” in Martin’s death.
But prosecutors said the accused had told a series of lies.
President Barack Obama commented on the case last March following calls for the arrest of George Zimmerman.
He said the “tragedy” of an unarmed black teenager shot dead in Florida should prompt some national soul-searching.
“If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon,” President Obama told reporters at the White House.
Following the verdict, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – best known for its battles against segregation and discrimination – said it was calling “immediately for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the civil rights violations committed against Trayvon Martin”.
“This case has re-energized the movement to end racial profiling in the United States,” Roslyn M. Brock, chairwoman of the NAACP, said in a statement.
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