With chants and prayers, sermons and signs, outrage over a jury’s decision to clear George Zimmerman in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager poured from street protests and church pulpits Sunday amid calls for federal civil rights charges to be filed in the case.
Demonstrations large and small broke out across the country in support of the family of Trayvon Martin as protesters decried the not guilty verdict as a miscarriage of justice.
As details of the event continue to unfold, Global News looks at key events in the Trayvon Martin shooting case.
February 26, 2012: Neighbourhood watch captain George Zimmerman, 28, spots Trayvon on the rainy evening and calls 911 to report a suspicious person. According to reports, Zimmerman then follows Trayvon against the advice of the 911 dispatcher.
Zimmerman claims he shot the teen in self-defence. Reports state Trayvon was walking home from a convenience store with a bag of Skittles in his pocket.
March 8, 2012: Trayvon’s parents ask the Sandord police department investigating the case to release the 911 tapes that might potentially help explain how their son died.
March 12, 2012: Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee says no arrest has been made in the case because there is no evidence to dispute the shooter’s claim of self-defence.
March 16, 2012: 911 calls made to police on the evening of the shooting are made public.
March 19, 2012: The U.S. Justice Department announces it will launch an investigation into Martin’s death.
March 20, 2012: ABC News reports the Sanford police department admitted to missing “a possible racist remark” by Zimmerman, when he was talking to the 911 dispatcher just before the shooting.
March 21, 2012: Hundreds of protesters in New York City demand justice in what is dubbed the “Million Hoodie March.” The gathering is a tribute to Trayvon, who was wearing a hoodie at the time of his death. Crowds chant “I am Trayvon!” and “Arrest Zimmerman now!”
It is the first of what will become several large protests across the United States.
March 22, 2012: After the Sanford police department faces numerous accusations it had bungled the investigation, Bill Lee announces he is temporarily stepping down as police chief.
March 23, 2012: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks publicly about Trayvon’s death saying, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” The president vows to “get to the bottom of what happened.”
Fox News broadcaster Geraldo Rivera says he believed the hoodie Trayvon was wearing the night of the shooting made him “suspicious looking.”
“I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies…I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was,” he said.
March 24, 2012: The leader of the New Black Panther Party announces a $10,000 bounty for the capture of Zimmerman at a protest in Florida.
March 26, 2012: One of Zimmerman’s friends appears on ABC’s Good Morning America. According to Joe Oliver, Zimmerman wishes he could tell Trayvon ‘s parents he’s “very, very sorry.” The friend adds Zimmerman thought he was doing the right thing.
An attorney for Trayvon’s mother confirms Sybrina Fulton filed trademark applications for two slogans containing her son’s name: “Justice for Trayvon” and “I Am Trayvon.”
The applications said the trademarks could be used for such things as DVDs and CDs.
March 28, 2012: A security video shows Zimmerman being led in handcuffs from a police car after he fatally shot Trayvon.
March 31, 2012: About a thousand people carrying signs and wearing T-shirts with Trayvon’s image march to the Sanford Police Department.
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While Zimmerman’s attorney, Craig Sonner, has said in more than one interview that his client’s nose was broken during the fight with Martin, Sanford police Sgt. David Morgenstern confirms the man in the video is Zimmerman and that “Zimmerman has no apparent injuries in this video, which dramatically contradicts his version of the events of February 26.”
April 9, 2012: Local civil rights and community groups hold a march and rally in downtown Los Angeles, demanding justice for Trayvon.
April 10, 2012: Zimmerman’s attorney confirms the authenticity of a new website that allows supporters to raise money for his client. All the money raised from the site, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, will go to the neighbourhood watch volunteer.
“I am the real George Zimmerman,” the website says. “As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website’s sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.”
Later the same day, Zimmerman’s attorneys announce they had withdrawn as his counsel, saying they hadn’t heard from him since Sunday. Against his advice, Sonner says Zimmerman went against his lawyers’ advice and contacted the special prosecutor who will decide if he should face charges.
April 11, 2012: Zimmerman is arrested after he turns himself in after being charged with second-degree murder and could face life in prison if convicted.
Zimmerman’s new attorney, Mark O’Mara, says he will invoke the “stand your ground” law in Zimmerman’s defence and says his client will plead not guilty.
April 12, 2012: Zimmerman makes his first court appearance. The judge tells the court an arraignment will be held on May 29 before another judge.
April 23, 2012: Zimmerman is released from jail on $150,000 bail as he awaits his second-degree murder trial.
April 27, 2012: Zimmerman’s lawyer says his client’s bail might have been set higher if a judge knew about $200,000 raised by a website in Zimmerman’s defence.
May 18, 2012: More than 200 pages of photos and eyewitness accounts released by prosecutors show details of a violent confrontation in a Florida gated community between the neighbourhood watch volunteer and the teenager.
Zimmerman and Martin were in a loud and bloody fight in the moments leading up to the shooting and Zimmerman appeared to be getting the worst of it, with wounds both to his face and the back of his head.
June 1, 2012: A judge revokes Zimmerman’s bond and orders him
to return to jail within 48 hours.
June 3, 2012: Zimmerman returns to Florida and is in policy custody.
June 4, 2012: Zimmerman’s lawyer files a motion seeking a
new bond hearing for Trayvon Martin’s shooter.
June 5, 2012: On his legal team’s website, Zimmerman’s attorney says he will delay his client’s request for a new bond hearing. He offers no further explanation.
July 5, 2012: A Florida judge sets bail for a second time at $1 million for Zimmerman.
July 18, 2012: In his first lengthy TV interview, Zimmerman says he wants to apologize to Trayvon Martin’s parents for fatally shooting their son but insisted he was not pursuing the teenager on the rainy night they confronted one another.
December 10, 2012: Defence attorneys ask judge to end the 24-hour GPS monitoring of Zimmerman.
February 22, 2013: Defence attorneys seek to obtain a deposition from a witness who says she was on the phone with the teenager before he was killed.
February 26, 2013: Martin’s parents mark one year anniversary of their son’s death with a vigil.
April 30, 2013: Zimmerman tells the judge that he agrees with his defence attorneys’ decision not to seek an immunity hearing under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law.
May 28, 2013: Judge rules to limit what attorneys can mention in their opening statement at Zimmerman’s trial.
Attorneys won’t be able to mention Trayvon Martin’s drug use, suspension from school and past fighting during opening statements.
June 10, 2013: Jury selection begins in a Florida courtroom where George Zimmerman is going on trial for second-degree murder in the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin.
June 22, 2013: The judge says that prosecution audio experts who point to Trayvon Martin as screaming on a 911 calls moments before he was killed won’t be allowed to testify at trial.
Judge Debra Nelson’s written ruling was release. She had heard argument during a multiday hearing on whether to allow testimony from two prosecution experts. One expert ruled out Zimmerman as the screamer and another said it was Martin.
June 23, 2013: The six jurors and four alternates are beginning their time together in a sequestered bubble: They won’t return to their homes for weeks, contact with family and friends will be limited, and Internet and phone usage is restricted.
July 3, 2013: Prosecutors call forensics experts and college professors who they hoped would weaken Zimmerman’s claims of self-defence and professed ignorance of Florida’s “stand-your-ground” defence law.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA expert Anthony Gorgone testifies that Martin’s DNA was not found on the grip of Zimmerman’s gun, and Zimmerman’s DNA was not found under the unarmed teen’s fingernails. Zimmerman says he shot Martin in the chest to protect himself as Martin reached for his gun during a fight.
While cross-examining Gorgone, defence attorney Don West focuses on the packaging of the DNA samples, suggesting they could have led to the samples being degraded. Gorgone told him Martin’s two sweatshirts had been packaged in plastic while wet, instead of a paper bag where they can dry out, and when he opened the samples they smelled of ammonia and mould.
July 5, 2013: Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, testifies that screams for help captured on audio of a 911 call came from her 17-year-old son.
Two weeks and about three dozen witnesses later, prosecutors rest their case in Zimmerman’s second-degree murder trial.
July 8, 2013: Zimmerman’s attorneys continue to call witnesses, some of who are the same neighbours and investigators that were called by prosecutors.
July 9, 2013: An expert on gunshot wounds hired by the defence testifies that a neighbourhood watch volunteer’s account of how he fatally shot an unarmed black teen is consistent with the forensic evidence.
Dr. Vincent Di Maio said that the trajectory of the bullet and gun powder on Trayvon Martin’s body support George Zimmerman’s version that Martin was on top of him when Zimmerman fired his gun into Martin’s chest. The gun’s muzzle was against Martin’s clothing and it was anywhere from two to four inches from Martin’s skin, he says.
The presiding judge ends the court session without ruling whether she will allow Trayvon Martin’s text messages dealing with fighting to be introduced at Zimmerman’s murder trial.
July 10, 2013: Zimmerman’s defence attorneys wrap up their case.
July 11, 2013: Closing arguments set in Zimmerman trial.
Jurors are allowed to consider the lesser charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Prosecutors end their closing arguments.
July 12, 2013: Defence gives closing arguments.
Jury begins deliberations in the murder trial Zimmerman.
Jurors will have to determine whether Zimmerman took the law into his own hands or was in a fight for his life and shot Martin in self-defence.
July 13, 2013: Jury finds Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and declines to convict him on a lesser charge of manslaughter.
July 14, 2013: Zimmerman’s acquittal sparks protests across U.S.
IN PHOTOS: Thousands react to George Zimmerman verdict in Trayvon Martin murder case
July 15, 2013: Peaceful rallies and protests continue following Zimmerman verdict.
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