After weeks of testimony in the George Zimmerman trial, the six-member jury returned a verdict of not guilty after just over a day of deliberations.
Following the verdict, one of the lawyers for Zimmerman said the only thing his client had been guilty of was protecting himself by using self-defense.
One of the attorneys representing the family of the slain Trayvon Martin spoke of what could be learned from the tragic incident. He said the important thing was to learn from what happened so it did not happen a second time.
Attorneys from both Zimmerman and the Martin family spoke separately with the media following the not guilty verdict. The jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Martin in February of 2012.
Zimmerman maintained all along that he shot the teenager in self-defense, when he was attacked by Martin.
Prosecutors argued Martin had profiled and then stalked Martin before killing him.
One Zimmerman attorney called the prosecution of his client disgraceful, but the biggest tragedy he said was the loss of life.
Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump called for nationwide clam following the verdict. He said he received a tweet on Saturday morning from Reverend Martin Luther King’s daughter Bernice calling the day a defining moment for her father’s dream. Saying no matter how the verdict comes back, everyone had to conduct themselves with discipline and dignity.
That was echoed by Crump who said that for Trayvon to rest peacefully, everyone needed to act peacefully.
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