Protests erupt as US jury clears Zimmerman over Martin's death
Source: Agencies |
July 15, 2013, Monday
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PROTESTS were held yesterday after a Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of murdering unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, in a racially charged trial that transfixed the United States.
The trial aroused strong passions among those who believed that Zimmerman - a volunteer neighborhood watchman whose father is white and whose mother is Peruvian - racially profiled and stalked Martin, and those convinced he acted in self-defense.
Spontaneous protests broke out overnight in US cities, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta, with larger organized gatherings planned later yesterday.
In Oakland, California, protesters smashed windows and spray painted cars, but most overnight demonstrations were peaceful - and closely watched by police.
Zimmerman, 29, had been accused of pursuing Martin, 17, through a gated community in Sanford, Florida, and shooting him during an altercation on the rainy night of February 26, 2012.
Florida police initially declined to press charges against Zimmerman, sparking mass protests in several US cities. He was eventually arrested in April 2012 and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The specter of the deadly April 1992 riots in Los Angeles, which broke out after a similarly racially-charged case, still lingers among law enforcement officials.
Fearing violence after the verdict, activists and community leaders appealed for calm. Police were out in force in Sanford, and the crowd outside the courthouse was loud at times, but peaceful.
The six women jurors who deliberated for 16 hours over two days found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter on Saturday night.
Debates about racial profiling, guns, self-defense laws and the equality of justice that arose from the case continued the morning after the verdict. "I remain stunned at the decision," civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said on CNN yesterday. "The (US) Department of Justice must intervene to take this to another level."
Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said yesterday he had spoken to senior Justice officials about pursuing federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
"When you look at comments made by young black men who lived in that neighborhood about how they felt especially targeted by (Zimmerman), there is reason to be concerned that race was a factor in why he targeted young Trayvon," Jealous told CNN.
The jurors were sequestered during the three weeks of testimony and remained anonymous by court order. They declined to speak to reporters after the verdict.
The court unshackled Zimmerman, who had received death threats, from an electronic monitoring device that he had been wearing while on bail. Zimmerman now faces a possible civil wrongful death lawsuit from Martin's family.
The trial aroused strong passions among those who believed that Zimmerman - a volunteer neighborhood watchman whose father is white and whose mother is Peruvian - racially profiled and stalked Martin, and those convinced he acted in self-defense.
Spontaneous protests broke out overnight in US cities, including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta, with larger organized gatherings planned later yesterday.
In Oakland, California, protesters smashed windows and spray painted cars, but most overnight demonstrations were peaceful - and closely watched by police.
Zimmerman, 29, had been accused of pursuing Martin, 17, through a gated community in Sanford, Florida, and shooting him during an altercation on the rainy night of February 26, 2012.
Florida police initially declined to press charges against Zimmerman, sparking mass protests in several US cities. He was eventually arrested in April 2012 and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The specter of the deadly April 1992 riots in Los Angeles, which broke out after a similarly racially-charged case, still lingers among law enforcement officials.
Fearing violence after the verdict, activists and community leaders appealed for calm. Police were out in force in Sanford, and the crowd outside the courthouse was loud at times, but peaceful.
The six women jurors who deliberated for 16 hours over two days found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter on Saturday night.
Debates about racial profiling, guns, self-defense laws and the equality of justice that arose from the case continued the morning after the verdict. "I remain stunned at the decision," civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said on CNN yesterday. "The (US) Department of Justice must intervene to take this to another level."
Benjamin Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said yesterday he had spoken to senior Justice officials about pursuing federal civil rights charges against Zimmerman.
"When you look at comments made by young black men who lived in that neighborhood about how they felt especially targeted by (Zimmerman), there is reason to be concerned that race was a factor in why he targeted young Trayvon," Jealous told CNN.
The jurors were sequestered during the three weeks of testimony and remained anonymous by court order. They declined to speak to reporters after the verdict.
The court unshackled Zimmerman, who had received death threats, from an electronic monitoring device that he had been wearing while on bail. Zimmerman now faces a possible civil wrongful death lawsuit from Martin's family.
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