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Trayvon Martin was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Walking back from a 7-Eleven to the Sanford, Florida townhouse of his father's fiancee on a dark and rainy February evening in 2012, Martin aroused the suspicions of neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Martin's death and one of the most intensely followed trials of the twenty-first century--a trial that provoked arguments about America's gun culture and racial profiling. As the case progressed, in cities across the county rallies calling for "Justice for Trayvon" were held, and everyone from President Barrack Obama to Hollywood stars to cable news personalities jumped into the debate over whether Martin's death was murder or a justifiable use of force by a man fearing for his life.

Shortly after 7:00 P.M. on Sunday, February 26, 2012, seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin talked on his cellphone with his friend, Rachel Jeantel. He carried a bag of Skittles and an Arizona watermelon juice cooler as he headed along a sidewalk in the Retreat at Twin Lakes townhouse community in Sanford. When George Zimmerman, driving his SUV to Target for an errand, looked out his window he spotted Martin and concluded, as he told police in a phone call, he was "a real suspicious guy." What about Martin made him suspicious is not completely clear. What is known is that Martin was unknown to Zimmerman, young, wore a hooded sweatshirt, walked slowly in the rain--and, most central to the debates that would later ensue, was black. Asked later that night in a police interview the cause for his suspicion, Zimmerman said, "I've never seen him in the neighborhood. I know all the residents. It was raining out and he was leisurely walking, taking his time, looking at all the houses."

Zimmerman called Sanford police at 7:09 to report his suspicions....

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George Zimmerman Trial - famous-trials.com

The reverberations of the killing of black teenagerTrayvon Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in February 2012 are still being felt five years later. Martins death and Zimmermans controversial acquittal of second-degree murder sparked a national conversation about racial injustice and, along with numerous other shootings, helped inspire the Black Lives Matter movement.

Zimmermans case was at the center of Monday nights installment of Oxygens four-nightThe Jury Speaksseries, which featured interviews with five jurors from the case: Christine Barry, Maddy Rivera, Lauren Germain, David Ramirez, and Amy Trunalone (Ramirez and Germain were ultimately dismissed before deliberation). They also talked to Zimmermans attorneys Don West and Mark OMara, as well as witness Rachel Jeantel, to get their perspectives.

Heres what we learned.

As with many high-profile cases, the Zimmerman jurors were screened to make sure they werent bringing in any preconceived knowledge or ideas about the case. Germain admitted that she hadnt even heard of Zimmerman until she showed up for jury duty. But that wasnt the only factor in choosing a jury.

There was a clear racial aspect to the jury selection, West said. Rightfully or wrongfully, we were more suspicious, if you will, of African-American jurors because of the way the case was presented in the media.

Floridas legal system eschews a 12-person jury in favor of 10 members, including four blind alternates who are dismissed before the 6-juror deliberation. From a pool of 750 jurors, Wests style of selection ultimately resulted in eight white jurors and two Hispanic jurors, and a parallel ratio of eight women to two men.

You have a young black man whos been shot, but you have eight white jurors and two Hispanics, Ramirez said. That struck me as kind of funny.

Obviously, the goal is to find people who will favor you, West said.

No one from the prosecution team was interviewed for the special, but other players indicate the prosecutions strategy hinged on the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, a friend of Martins who was the last person he talked to on the phone before he was killed. On the stand, Jeantel recounted Martin telling her he was being followed. Thinking Zimmerman was a rapist, she urged her friend to get away. As a confused young person who recently lost her friend, Jeantel did not exactly give stirring testimony, and the defense fought her hard in cross-examination.

I felt like I wasnt a witness, Jeantel said. Mr. West made me feel like I was a suspect.

As a result, the jurors reception of Jeantels testimony was muddled. Trunalone felt empathy for Jeantels plight, Barry felt the defense was too hard on her, and Germain said Jeantel didnt seem credible because she went back and forth in her answers. In other words, Jeantel was not sufficient, in and of herself, to point the jurors to an easy conclusion.

Since the fatal encounter between Zimmerman and Martin took place at night, there were few reliable eyewitnesses. Even the neighbors who spotted some of the fight from their windows could not provide definitive proof as to whether Martin really was attacking Zimmerman in a life-threatening way. The trial, therefore, focused more on ear witnesses neighbors who had overheard the confrontation from far away, and audio tape of their 911 calls. One of the tapes even included someone screaming for help. Depending on who screamed, it could have mammoth implications for the case.

If a victim, the one who ended up being shot, was screaming for help for a minute and then was still shot, that gives premeditation, OMara said. On the other hand, if it was George who was screaming, then obviously he was screaming out for help, didnt get it, and then had to shoot out of self-defense.

The source of the scream proved impossible to determine. The court summoned both Martins and Zimmermans mothers to see if they recognized the scream. Both of them said it was their son.

Zimmermans lawyers argued that their client only shot Martin in self-defense. Therefore, they had to show that Martin posed a threat to Zimmermans life. Some people nearby claimed to have seen the struggle, with one person on top of the other raining down blows, but accounts differed as to whether Martin or Zimmerman was on top.

One key piece of evidence came from the placement of bullet holes in Martins clothing. He was wearing a hoodie when he died, but the bullet hole in his hoodie was about three inches above the corresponding hole in his shirt. Specialists argued that this meant Zimmerman had shot Martin while the latter was leaning over him.

When you saw where the bullet hole was and you heard from different professionals, logistically that had to be the case, Trunalone said.

They basically said thats the reason why it was self-defense, Rivera added.

By all accounts, the final jury deliberation was passionate. At one point, Rivera threatened to quit, saying she was done and just wanted to get home to her husband and eight kids after three weeks away. But ultimately, the jurors said they dismissed their emotions and focused on the facts they had been presented. Even when Oxygen reunited Barry, Trunalone, and Germain to see if their judgment had changed (years afterZimmerman auctioned off the gun he used to kill Martin,agreed to participate in a celebrity boxing matchthat was ultimately canceled, and made headlines for multiple arrests), they all said not guilty, though they all admitted theirpersonal distaste for Zimmerman.

All I go back to is the law, Trunalone said. That is what we have. Were a democracy, and what weve got is the law. Were to apply it blind to any other thing. At that moment, at that moment, did that person think their life was in jeopardy? Thats the way you have to answer the question.

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The Jury Speaks: George Zimmerman jurors explain controversial ... - EW.com

Credit: Gary W. Green-Pool/Getty Images

It has been five years since neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman shot and killed black teenager Trayvon Martin, but the conversation surrounding the case continues.

Since the 33-year-olds extremely controversial acquittal for second-degree murder, the topic of racial injustice has been at the forefront of many peoples minds, even inspiring the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a four-night series on Oxygen called The Jury Speaks, five jurors from the case Christine Barry, Maddy Rivera, Lauren Germain, David Ramirez, and Amy Trunalone discuss the case and reveal whether theyd still choose a not-guilty verdict today.

There was a clear racial aspect to the jury selection, said Georges attorney Don West.

Rightfully or wrongfully, we were more suspicious, if you will, of African-American jurors because of the way the case was presented in the media.

Of the six jurors and four alternates, eight were white and two Hispanic, and the ratio of women to men was eight to two.

You have a young black man whos been shot, but you have eight white jurors and two Hispanics. That struck me as kind of funny, said David.

Obviously, the goal is to find people who will favor you, Don continued.

During the trial, the prosecution heavily relied on the testimony of Rachel Jeantel, a friend of Trayvon's who was the last person he talked to.

Rachel revealed Trayvon thought George was following him, but when she gave her testimony during the trial, she wasnt necessarily convincing.

I felt like I wasnt a witness. Mr. West made me feel like I was a suspect, Rachel said.

The jury also had a difficult time making sense of the ear witnesses, or people who heard George and Trayvon fighting before the killing.

If a victim, the one who ended up being shot, was screaming for help for a minute and then was still shot, that gives premeditation, said Georges other attorney Mark OMara said.

On the other hand, if it was George who was screaming, then obviously he was screaming out for help, didnt get it, and then had to shoot out of self-defense.

Though the jury members are vocal about their distaste for George, they all still agree they would have chosen the same not-guilty verdict.

All I go back to is the law. That is what we have. Were a democracy, and what weve got is the law, said Amy.

Were to apply it blind to any other thing. At that moment, at that moment, did that person think their life was in jeopardy? Thats the way you have to answer the question."

What are your thoughts on the case? Sound off below!

The Jury Speaks airs tonight, Tuesday, July 25 at 9 p.m. on Oxygen.

Excerpt from:
George Zimmerman Jurors Open Up About Controversial Verdict on ... - Wetpaint

Re: In My View by William Davis, Do black lives matter to blacks? (July 19, Page A6). Mr. Davis cites a number of statistics regarding black-on-black crime, and then goes on to disparage the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. While some of his statistics may be accurate, most of the realities he cites are the result of decades of failed systemic and societal conditions, and were not the motivation for the genesis of BLM.

The actual beginnings of BLM occurred following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012, and following the acquittal of his shooter, George Zimmerman. Following that tragedy were many police-involved fatal shootings of young black men, including Tamir Rice, a 12-year old discovered with a toy gun in 2014; Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014; Alton Sterling, shot at close range while pinned to the ground in 2016; Philando Castile, shot at close range in 2016 after a traffic stop; to name just a few. In these examples, all of the police officers were either acquitted, or charges were not brought at all.

Mr. Davis would have one believe that activists and others who consistently alter and distort the facts in high-profile matters are bent on convincing others that law enforcement is to blame... even when it was ...proved that witnesses were lying. It is more likely that Mr. Davis is distorting the facts, since a blanket statement like this cannot logically be applied to all police-involved shootings.

In perhaps his most inflammatory perception, Mr. Davis states that Ms. Georgia Hotton (and presumably all others who do not agree with his positions) has been duped by anti-American fanatics on the extreme left whose focus is to instill hatred and blind allegiance to the destruction of the United States of America, as we know it, through lies, deceit and evil conspiracies. This is simply an outrageous and blatantly inaccurate statement, and demonstrates precisely why this country is so polarized politically.

Mr. Davis concludes by stating his version of the root causes of the black communitys negative profile, which are apparently due to gang bangers, family values and lack of cooperation with police officers. I wonder if Mr. Davis has any black friends or family members, and if he does, I wonder if he has shared these views with them in an effort to hear another side. If he has spoken to a black father or mother who has a teenage son, he would know that these parents have given the talk to their son every time he walks out the front door. That talk emphasizes demonstrating respect and cooperation toward police officers precisely because they dont want to get a phone call that their son has been shot.

Talk is cheap. Especially talk which involves no perception of the other side, including the effects of decades of systemic and psychological racism on the black community. Conversation, communication and dialogue are the only things which will improve race relations and the political mood in this country.

Christine Mitchell lives in Green Valley.

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IN MY VIEW: We have to talk about it before situation improves - Green Valley News

George Zimmerman juror Maddy in Oxygens The Jury Speaks

*A juror inGeorge Zimmermans trial says she is still haunted four years later by her part in the verdict and feels forcefully included in the death of Trayvon Martin.

In Oxygens four-part true crime series The Jury Speaks, several of the most infamous court cases in American history are explored including trials involving Michael Jackson, Robert Durst and O.J. Simpson.

Part 3, airing tonight (July 24), reexamines the Zimmerman trial through the eyes of the jurors who deliberated on the case; many of whom had not closely followed the extensive media coverage of Trayvon Martins death. At the time of the not guilty verdict, juror Maddy explained in an interview: Its hard for me to sleep, its hard for me to eat because I feel I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martins death. And as I carry him on my back, Im hurting as much [as] Trayvons Martins mother because theres no way that any mother should feel that pain.

Four years later, Maddy continues to explain that she and the other jurors had no choice but to adhere to the law as it was outlined to them. Its a theme that seems to unite the cases in The Jury Speaks having to ignore a personal desire to administer justice, and apply only the letter of the law as described by the judge.

Maddy tells The Daily Beast, They give you this paper, and the five women were explaining it to me, saying, This is the way it has to goyou cant look at the situation from where George Zimmerman was calling 911 and was chasing him or, you know, hovering over himthats not necessarily intent to hurt anybody. You have to look at it when Trayvon Martin was on top of him. Did he feel like his life was in danger? So you look at the rules they gave you, and youre stuck in a box. You have no choiceits not emotional, its not what we want. In other words, The decision is made before we even get there.

Still, Maddy has doubts. I was the only juror who openly gave my objections and opinions to the world, she muses when asked about her post-trial interview. I just didnt have the chance to do it with [my fellow jurors], because they were very vocal, they said because I didnt know the law they were gonna help me. Was I manipulated? I dont know.

Maddy, who is Puerto Rican, was the only person of color on the six-woman jury. She says, If were being totally honest, that she felt very different from her fellow jurors, although race wasnt the only factor: I was around high-maintenance women, women who were very educated, women who were not my color, women who were not raised with the struggle that I was.

Maddy says a number of other jurors struggled with the not guilty verdict, but she recalls one woman whose motives she questions to this day. The only person who I can honestly say that I felt in my bones was racist, was the one who came out on TV, B37, she confesses. During an infamous CNN appearance, Juror B37 said that she believed Zimmermans heart was in the right place on the night of the attack, and that Martin probably threw the first punch.

Watch the trailer for Oxygens The Jury Speaks below:

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George Zimmerman Juror Still Haunted by Verdict: Was I ...