George Zimmerman: Not Guilty

Two days of deliberations in Florida culminated in a “Not Guilty” verdict for George Zimmerman, who stood accused of the murder of Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman shot and killed Martin while on neighborhood watch patrol in Sanford, Florida. The 17-year-old was unarmed at the time that he exited a convenience store with a pack of Skittles and an iced tea. Zimmerman claimed the shooting took place during an altercation and was committed in self-defense.

The Internet is already flooded with public outcries against the decision, which continues to play a divisive role in how we talk and think about race in our country—specifically, who the judicial system counts as worthy of protection and who it does not.

Cord Jefferson of Gawker writes:

Trayvon Martin is dead—and so many young men like him are dead or in prison—because in America it was his responsibility to take it. It was his responsibility to let a stranger with a gun follow him at night in his own neighborhood and suspect him of wrongdoing. It was his responsibility to apologize for being a black kid who scared people. It was not George Zimmerman’s responsibility to let a boy get home to his family.

Are you expecting the Zimmerman verdict to actually change the Florida's self-defense laws? Let us know in the Comments.

Related stories on TakePart:

• Can Trayvon Martin’s Blood Bring About the Color of Change?

• Stand Your Ground Laws: How Many More Innocents Will Die?

• On Trayvon Martin and the 20th Anniversary of the L.A. Riots