Talk of permanent Trayvon Martin memorial in Sanford sparks debate

Like virtually everything else about the Trayvon Martin shooting case, the removal of a makeshift memorial to the slain teenager by city officials in Sanford, Fla., has sparked controversy, and supporters of George Zimmerman say they will rally against a permanent one.

Last week, Sanford officials took down a memorial for Martin from the Retreat at Twin Lakes, the housing subdivision where Zimmerman shot and killed Martin on Feb. 26, after some neighbors complained it had become an "eyesore." The move angered Martin's family and the Concerned Citizens of Sanford, which said it was not notified by the city prior to its removal. Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte said items from the memorial were moved to the Sanford Museum in an effort to "protect and preserve" them while a permanent memorial is mulled.

But another group—the United Sanford Alliance—has launched a petition against the permanent memorial, according to NBC News.

"It's extremely unpalatable to the majority of residents," Frank Taaffe, Zimmerman's friend and neighbor, told NBC. "It's disdainful because we don't know yet who the victim was and who the aggressor was." (Late last week, a new makeshift memorial for Martin went up outside the Retreat at Twin Lakes.)

Zimmerman, who remains in jail, was charged with second-degree murder in Martin's death.

On Monday, dozens of recordings from phone calls Zimmerman made while behind bars in April, as well as audio from an interview with a prosecutor's witness, were released. State prosecutors and defense attorney Mark O'Mara fought to keep the audio files under seal, but Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. ruled the evidence is public information and ordered them to be made available.