Trayvon Martin Death: Zimmerman Could Face Civil Suits, Federal Prosecution
With chants and prayers, sermons and signs, outrage over a jury's decision to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager poured from street protests and church pulpits on Sunday amid calls for federal civil rights charges to be filed in the case.
By Sadho Ram — 15 Jul 2013, 04:54 PM — Updated over 11 years ago
UPDATE: Charges still possible in black US teenager Trayvon Martin's murder
A juror in the George Zimmerman trial on Wednesday called for changes in the self-defense law that she said gave her no option but to find Zimmerman not
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The US neighborhood watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager is now a free man, but the justice department said it is looking into Trayvon Martin's death to determine whether federal prosecutors will file criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman.
Former U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad said federal prosecutors "would have to show not only that the attack was unjustified, but that Mr. Zimmerman attacked Mr. Martin because of his race and because he was using a public facility, the street."
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Trayvon Martin death: US protests over Zimmerman verdict
Thousands protested in New York on Sunday against the acquittal of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, a day after his trial for killing unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin ended in Florida.
Protester: "If it had been a white boy who had been murdered, and a black guy who had murdered him, would they have acquitted him?"
Image via bbcimg.co.ukDemonstrations large and small broke out across US in support of the family of Trayvon Martin as protesters decried the not guilty verdict as a miscarriage of justice.
Lawmakers, members of the clergy and demonstrators who assembled in parks and squares on a hot July day described the verdict by the six-person jury as evidence of a persistent racism that afflicts the nation six years after it elected its first African-American president.
GALLERY: Thousands protest at George Zimmerman verdict across US
Protesters rally in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial in the Brooklyn Borough of New York Picture: REUTERS/Keith Bedford
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People gather at a rally in support of Trayvon Martin in Times Square Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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About 1,000 people sat in Times Square, drawing curious looks from the tourists who packed the so-called Crossroads of the World. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Police attempted to funnel the crowd into controlled lanes but were unable to. Later they halted the march about eight blocks short of Times Square, but the demonstrators made their way around the officers. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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In New York about 1,000 to 2,000 of the demonstrators abandoned the protest site at Union Square to march in the streets toward Times Square, slowing or stopping traffic. Picture: AP
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Police confront a crowd of demonstrators on the Interstate 10 freeway as they protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin trial, in Los Angeles Picture: REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn
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U.S. President Barack Obama called for a peaceful response to the case that has polarized the U.S. public over the past 16 months. In general, the demonstrations were peaceful, though the New York march became disorderly at times, and in Los Angeles protesters blocked a major highway (above). Picture: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
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While a jury of six women absolved Zimmerman of any crime with their not-guilty verdict, civil rights leaders decried the decision, and demonstrators took to the streets in New York, Boston, San Francisco and other cities. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty Images
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Thousands of demonstrators demanding "Justice for Trayvon" marched in major cities across the United States on Sunday to protest the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. Picture: Getty Images
Image via telegraph.co.ukUS President Obama urges calm after racially-charged murder trial
US President Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, as thousands of civil rights demonstrators turned out at rallies to condemn racial profiling.
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Zimmerman, cleared late Saturday by a Florida jury of six women in the shooting death of the unarmed Martin, still faces public outrage, a possible civil suit and demands for a federal investigation.
Obama, who once said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," called for a peaceful response to a case that polarized the U.S. public from the beginning, raising issues of racial profiling and gun control.
indianexpress.com"We are a nation of laws and a jury has spoken," the first black US president said in a statement. "I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son."
dnaindia.com
How jury acquited Zimmerman of all charges
A jury acquitted George Zimmerman on Saturday night of all charges in the death of Trayvon Martin, bringing to an end a case that set off nationwide protests and searing debates over racial justice and self-defense laws.
Mr. Zimmerman, a 29-year-old former neighborhood-watch volunteer who is Hispanic, fatally shot the 17-year-old, who was unarmed and black, in a gated community here last year.
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The defendant faced a second-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and the lesser charge of manslaughter, which carries a maximum 30-year sentence.
The six female jurors, who were sequestered during the three-week trial, reached the decision on their second day of deliberation at the Seminole County courthouse. They had to weigh the testimony of more than 50 witnesses and evaluate hundreds of pieces of evidence.
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