On the night of February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in a Florida neighborhood while on his way home from a convenience store. The killing opened emotional debates about racial profiling and self-defense laws.
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The man who killed Trayvon Martin was 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who decided to follow Martin as the teenager walked back from a trip to a convenience store. There was a scuffle that ended when Zimmerman shot Martin in chest. Zimmerman claimed protection under the Florida's Stand Your Ground Law , which gives people the liberty to use deadly force if they believe their lives are in danger. For nearly three weeks the jurors listened to testimony about what happened the night Martin was killed, trying to make sense of the struggle, and who was the aggressor. Martin was unarmed, but the defense claimed that he used the concrete sidewalk as a "weapon" against Zimmerman. With only one eyewitness, Zimmerman, and a lack of evidence, a jury made up of six women found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and he was acquitted of all charges on July 13, 2013.Verdict sparks protests
On the night of the confrontation, Zimmerman told 911 dispatchers that a “real suspicious guy" looked like he was "up to no good." The police dispatcher told Zimmerman not to pursue Martin, but Zimmerman decided to act. Following the verdict announcement, people took to the streets and social media to voice their reactions. Hundreds of protesters in Los Angeles closed down 10 Freeway chanting “Justice for Trayvon,” and thirteen people were arrested on the third night of protests. Police in Atlanta said more than 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside of the CNN Headquarters. In Washington, D.C., peaceful protests started around midnight Saturday and continued Sunday morning and in New York City, hundreds of protesters marched into Times Square.Trayvon Martin protest in Times Square via @TRAPAHOLICS pic.twitter.com/uiVhJfuR1b — Jim Roberts (@nycjim) July 15, 2013
Outside Dept. of Justice: a quiet protest for #trayvon . @ABC7News pic.twitter.com/1IEIkKpeQZ — Hatzel Vela (@hatzelvela) July 15, 2013
Crowd of 100+ gathered in Leimert Park Plaza to protest Trayvon Martin verdict. pic.twitter.com/wSToJlgxi4 via @kaceymontoya — LAist (@LAist) July 14, 2013President Obama released a statement saying: “The death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. Not just for his family, or for any one community, but for America. I know this case has elicited strong passions. And in the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher. But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken." Meanwhile the Twitterverse was up in arms with people from all over the country expressing their views in tweets and hashtags. Celebrities also participated, with Solange Knowles tweeting a picture from a rally for Trayvon while her sister Beyonce held a moment of silence in honor of Martin during her Mrs. Carter World Tour concert in Nashville Saturday evening.
Zimmerman is no angel but the lack of evidence and the concept of self-defense, especially in Florida law, gave the jury little other choice — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2013
This is not "only" about race. This is about laws that allow racist acts to go unpunished. We must change laws that promote injustice — Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) July 14, 2013
