We still today want justice. We still today want justice. And we will not be satisfied until justice is obtained. And we will not be satisfied until justice is obtained. Ofwe will speak with some those in the streets and to the reverend Jesse Jackson as well as philip agnew, head of the dream defenders, a coalition of young people of color in florida, formed after Trayvon Martins death. 2013 and beyond, it is in europe propelled by black and brown youth in our formative years criminalized, marginalized , cast aside and forgotten. We found strength in our struggles, determination. We are good kids growing up in bad states. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets across the country following the acquittal of George Zimmerman. A sixmember jury found zimmerman not guilty on all charges in a seconddegree murder trial for the killing of Trayvon Martin. On sunday, ral
Inaction in the aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin, the goal was to ensure that the system worked through the proper process. That the killing of an unarmed 17yearold black child did not go uninvestigated and unprosecuted. So now the first part of that system has played out. The jury has returned a verdict of not guilty, a verdict we must respect. Now we must grapple what that verdict means. We must grieve the reality that no one has been held responsible for the violent lost of someones child. We must confront as generations have done before us the stark realities of race, violence and justice. In just a few moments were going to speak with benjamin crump, the attorney for Trayvon Martins family. As we get started in our coverage this morning the verdict, trial of George Zimmerman i want to bring in craig mel sin who has been covering the trial in sanford, florida. Craig, describe for me, if you will, the scene last night. Last night starkly different from what were seeing now
Life. What it boiled down to is a kid minding his own business being followed by a stranger. I gave the mother the message as soon as it happened. Her response was wow. Does this speak it a larger issue of race in america. I think our Justice System is color blind. I think there are many people who go out and shoot other people who are black and they should other people who are black and they are not charged. Clearly ground for civil rights charges here. Civil rights needs to be talked about, but not in the context of the George Zimmerman verdict. America has to dig deep in their heart to try to find out how we, as a society, can learn from this tragedy. George zimmerman found not guilty on all charges. The verdict has raised many questions. What went wrong with the prosecution case and what wrong right with the defense. Only the jurors now. Joining me now, Paul Henderson and defense attorney karen desoto. Thanks for joining me on this big news day. Pa paul, im going to start with you.
Zimmermans defense team reacted last night by expressing gratitude to the jury of six women that found their client not guilty. We are ecstatic with the results. George zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in selfdefense. Im glad the jury saw it that way and give everyone thanks, particularly those who doubteded georges reasons and doubted his background now understand the jury knew, everything they knew, was enough for them to find him not guilty. That reaction came moments after the Prosecution Team expressed their disappointment with the verdict. We truly believe that the mind set of George Zimmerman and the words that he used and the reason that he was out doing what he was doing fit the bill for seconddegree murder. Want to go straight now to msnbcs craig melvin live for us in sanford. Youve been outside this courthouse throughout this whole thing and you were there when the verdict came down. What was the reaction like for those Court Observers that ca
Counity Prayer Services today. Kerry, whats the mood down there . Reporter well, the pastors opened the church today and invited the community to join them along with the mayor, the police chief, the city manager, and to talk about what has happened here with this not guilty verdict. This is the way the system works. It was a demand by the community to have a thorough investigation to lead to a trial, if there were charges. There were charges. And then to accept the jury verdict. There are those who say they find it hard to accept the jurys verdict because they feel they watched much of this trial and heard Something Different. So in the effort to make sure that there was communication so that there is not a violent protest of people frustrated, theyre opening the lines of dialogue, making sure that people are listening and that the mayor and the police chief and others are addressing concerns that they hear. This as the backdrop as we take you across the country and you look at some o