Zimmerman acquittal sparks protests
Zimmerman may face civil rights charges or wrongful death suit by Martin’s parents
U.S. President Barack Obama urges Americans to respect jury’s decision,
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama urged Americans to respect the decision of jurors on Sunday following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, a case that has bitterly divided the country along racial and partisan lines since the boy was gunned down more than a year ago.
“I know this case has elicited strong passions,” Obama said, referring to the slaying of the black 17-year-old as a “tragedy” for all of America.
“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. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son.”
Zimmerman’s legal problems, however, seemed far from over a day after a jury of six Florida women cleared him of manslaughter and second-degree murder charges — a verdict that stunned the black community and civil rights groups and spurred largely peaceful protests in the streets in several cities.
The jury accepted that Zimmerman had acted in selfdefence when he shot and killed Martin as the teenager walked to his father’s house in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., near Orlando, in February last year.
Zimmerman had called the police after he spotted Trayvon at night, but ignored orders not to confront the teenager, who he believed was “up to no good.” A fight ensured during which he shot Martin dead. Zimmerman, a mortgage underwriter described during the trial as a “wannabe cop,” smiled briefly after the verdict was read out and was hugged by his mother and father.
The Justice Department said in a statement on Sunday that it’s investigating Martin’s death to determine whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman’s been acquitted in the state case. The department launched a probe a year ago but stepped aside to allow Florida’s prosecution to proceed.
Martin’s parents are also considering a wrongful-death civil suit against Zimmerman. Sixteen years ago, O.J. Simpson was ordered to pay $25 million in compensation to Nicole Brown Simpson’s family members despite his acquittal in criminal court.
Many blacks saw overt racism in Zimmerman’s focus on a black boy wearing a hoodie as he walked through a gated community.
The verdict, many argued this weekend, proves the criminal justice system is still inherently biased against black people given Martin, the unarmed slaying victim, was successfully portrayed as the aggressor in the case.