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Few cases in history divide the public, but those that do become infamous. The George Zimmerman case, in which an armed neighborhood watch officer shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, is one such example, where the final verdict led to widespread shock and criticism. Oxygens The Jury Speaks, premiering Saturday, July 22 at 9/8c, takes a closer look at some of these, including the polarizing George Zimmerman case.

George Zimmerman lived at the Retreat in Twin Lakes in Sanford, Florida, where Trayvon Martin was living with his mother and her finac at the time. In September 2011, Zimmerman was elected as the local neighborhood watchs program coordinator. Between his appointment and the February 26, 2012 shooting of Martin, Zimmerman placed several calls to the police reporting suspicious characters in the neighborhood all of them black males.On the evening of Feburary 26, 2012, Zimmerman saw Martin returning to the Twin Lakes community while running a personal errand. At around 7:09pm, Zimmerman called police to report a suspicious character, reporting that Martin was wearing a hoodie, and that he looked up to no good. He also said these assholes, they always get away.

Two minutes into the call, Zimmerman proclaimed, hes running, at which point Zimmerman got out of his car and pursued Martin on foot, which he relayed to the police dispatcher on the phone. He ended the phone call to the police at approximately 7:15pm. What happened next is of great contention, but it ended with Zimmerman shooting and killing 17-year-old Martin 70 yards from the back door of his house. Martin was unarmed. In his pockets there was a bag of Skittles, some Arizona fruit juice, cash, headphones and a lighter.

Police arrived at 7:17pm and took Zimmerman into custody. Martin was lying face down in the grass, but police noticed that his back was wet and covered in grass.Meanwhile, Zimmermans car had been moved by his wife before police were able to establish it as part of the crime scene.On questioning, Zimmerman told police he had been shouting for help before her shot Martin. He also had a bloody, swollen nose, and cuts on the back of his head, apparently from whatever physical altercation had transpired with Martin. After five hours of questioning Zimmerman was released on the grounds that the police chief believed there was no evidence to suggest he wasnt acting in self-defense when he killed Martin. He used Floridas Stand Your Ground law to prohibit police from making an arrest.

During the investigation, there was suggestion that police werent thorough enough, as they hadnt tested Zimmerman for intoxication.The media whipped into a frenzy, and many commentators suggested that based on evidence it looked like not only was Zimmerman the aggressor, that he targetted Martin in a case of racial profiling. It wasnt until March 20, 2012 that the Justice Department and the FBI announced a full investigation would be taking place, including an examination of whether or not Trayvon Martins civil rights were violated.

The county medical examiners autopsy report found that Martin died from a single, close range gunshot to the chest, with only one small wound on his left ring finger. One witness reported having seen Martin on top of Zimmerman, punching him while Zimmerman called for help. A 13-year-old boy reported a similar story, but his mother disputed the testimony on the grounds that police had applied pressure and suggestion on the boy, and only interviewed him five days after the incident, at which time his memory was blurred. The mother also said she didnt believe the shooting was in self-defense. Meanwhile, other witnesses reported seeing no altercation happening at all, and backed up the notion that Zimmerman wasnt acting in self defense at all. These witness reports were obviously at odds with Zimmermans story. But on February 24, 2015, both the civil rights investigation and the FBI investigation were terminated because of a lack of evidence.

The case took on new life in the media, leading to widespread indignation and outrage not only in the States, but across the world. Martins mother hired an attorney and on March 16 won a bid to have Zimmermans 911 calls from the night of the shooting publically released.Protests sprung up across the country, calling for Zimmermans arrest. On April 11, 2012, Zimmerman was finally arrested and charged with second degree murder.

More than a year after the shooting, on June 10, 2013, his trial began. But by July 13, 2013, the had jury found Zimmerman, to the shock of the nation, not guilty. Floridas special self-defense laws made it impossible for prosecutors to prove Zimmerman acted in cold blood beyond a reasonable doubt, and ultimately, allowed him to walk free. The Black Lives Matter movement was titled after the phrase was used in a viral Facebook post about the verdict.

[All photos: Getty Images]

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A Short History Of The George Zimmerman Case - Oxygen (blog)

The George Zimmerman case rocked America, and spawned the Black Lives Matter movement as we know it today. The case is the subject of Oxygens The Jury Speaks, premiering Saturday, July 22 at 9/8c, which explores the controversial jury decision to acquit Zimmerman of the murder of unarmed 17-year-old, Trayvon Martin. The case was covered extensively in the media at home and abroad, and divided society, leading to outrage and ongoing protests. Here are the most shocking facts from the case.

1. George Zimmerman was obsessed with reporting suspicious characters to the police

A neighborhood watch coordinator, in the months leading up to Martins shooting, Zimmerman called police on multiple occasions to report suspicious characters in the neighborhood all of them black males.

2. Zimmerman ignored police instruction

On the night of February 26, 2012, when Zimmerman rang police to report another suspicious character Trayvon Martin he was instructed by the police dispatcher not to get out of his car. He got out anyway, and pursued Martin, eventually shooting him dead.

3. Zimmerman was not arrested by police that night

Police took Zimmerman in for questioning, and Zimmerman told them hed acted in self-defense, calling for help and fearing for his own life. After five hours of questioning Zimmerman was released on the grounds that the police chief believed there was no evidence to suggest he wasnt acting in self-defense when he killed Martin. This decision was based on Floridas Stand Your Ground law, which prohibited police from making an arrest in a case where lethal force was used in the administration of self-defense.

4. Trayvon Martin had no visible wounds other than the gunshot

Zimmerman alleged that Martin attacked him, and that he was acting in self defense when he shot the teen. However, autopsy reports showed that Martin died from a single, close range gunshot to the chest, with only one small wound on his left ring finger.

5. Trayvon Martin was unarmed at the time of his death

Further complicating Zimmermans story of self-defense was the fact that Martin was unarmed at the time of his death. In his pockets, police found Skittles, Arizona fruit juice, a lighter, some cash, and headphones. The Skittles came to symbolize the injustice and racial profiling many believed Martin was a victim of.

6. Zimmermans father wrote a letter suggesting his son was the real victim

In an open letter to the Orlando Sentinel on March 15, 2012, Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmermans father, suggested that the media and public were being unfair to his son. He said that because Zimmerman was Hispanic, he could not possibly be a racist.

7. Martin was on the phone to his girlfriend when he was shot

Martins 16-year-old girlfriend said she heard someone ask Martin what he was doing, and Martin asked that person why they were following him. She then reported hearing some kind of altercation, before the line went dead.

8. The Sanford Police Chief stepped down as a result of the investigation

As scrutiny of the Sanford Police Department mounted, the Chief, Bill Lee, temporarily stepped down amid accusations that the case and investigation were mishandled.

9. It took 44 days months for Zimmerman to be arrested

After the shooting, it took police more than a month to arrest Zimmerman. His trial only began on June 24, 2013, more than a year after the shooting.

10. George Zimmerman was found not guilty

By July 13, 2013, the jury found Zimmerman, to the shock of the nation, not guilty. A Facebook post that went viral included the phrase black lives matter, and the three words were picked up to title the Black Lives Matter movement. The movement is still a triggering issue across America today, inspiring protests in the memory of Trayvon Martin and other black citizens believed to have been unjustly killed, their murderers allowed to go free.

[All photos: Getty Images]

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10 Of The Most Shocking Facts From The George Zimmerman Case ... - Oxygen (blog)

Courtroom dramas arent just the stuff of television soaps and sagas. Real life can sometimes be just as shocking as fantasy. Oxygens The Jury Speaks, premiering Saturday, July 22 at 9/8c, looks at some of the most unbelievable trials in history and examines the verdicts that made us gasp from the perspective of the jurors. If youve ever wondered why a juror voted the way they did, and how it affected the rest of their lives, The Jury Speaks has first hand interviews with the jurors whose verdicts changed the world. In the meantime, ere are some of the most shocking trial verdicts in history.

1. George Zimmerman

Neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman infamously shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. After police arrived at the scene, Zimmerman was briefly questioned but not arrested, with the local police chief saying there wasnt enough evidence to counter Zimmermans claim that he had acted in self defense. When the incident hit the media, protests rippled across America, and six weeks after the shooting Zimmerman was finally arrested. On trial, Zimmermans representatives argued self defense, and he was shockingly found not guilty of murder, despite accusations of racial profiling.

2. Darren Wilson

Black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014. Brown had allegedly been involved in a robbery shortly before he was confronted by Wilson. The two scuffled, fighting for Wilsons gun, and Brown eventually broke free and fled. Wilson pursued him, and eventually caught up. Brown, unarmed and surrendering, was held by Wilson at gunpoint, and allegedly took a step towards Wilson at which point, Wilson fired. A total of twelve bullets were discharged from Wilsons weapon, and Brown was shot six times. Like the Zimmerman case, protests alleging racial profiling took over the U.S., and when Wilson was found not guilty at trial, riots erupted in Ferguson and across the country.

3. O.J. Simpson

Probably the most famous case in American history, former footballer O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her partner, Ronald Goldman, despite compelling evidence. DNA evidence including bloody footprints and a glove, not to mention a high speed police chase in which Simpson was high-tailing for the Mexican border with a bag of cash werent enough to return a guilty verdict, and the country was polarized by the outcome. The verdict, watched lived by millions of Americans, shocked the nation.

4. Casey Anthony

In June, 2008, Casey Anthonys four year old daughter, Caylee, went missing in Orange County, Florida. However, Casey didnt report her daughter missing until July. Once the police began investigating, they found evidence suggesting Casey was responsible for her daughters disappearance. On trial, Casey changed her story multiple times and made up lies that were debunked. Despite decomposing human remains found in the trunk of Caseys car, the jury still decided there was reasonable doubt, and acquitted her of her daughters murder, and angry, disbelieving crowds protested at the courthouse and outside Caseys parents house.

5. Lorena Bobbitt

In a fit of rage, Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband, John Wayne Bobbitts penis. She also threw it out a car window on a Virginia highway. At trial, Lorena said her husband was abusive and had raped her during their marriage. Shockingly, despite overwhelming evidence, Lorena was acquitted of the crime on the grounds of insanity. Meanwhile, Johns penis was surgically reattached, and he went on to star in porn films.

6. Amanda Knox

In 2009, Seattle student Amanda Knox was studying in Italy, where she lived with her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. Kercher was found raped and murdered in their flat, and Knox, along with her Italian boyfriend Rafael Sollecito and Ivory Coast immigrant Rudy Guede, were found guilty of the crime. The public found she was treated unfairly by the Italian courts, which were accused of being biased against her as an American. There were also suggestions that evidence against her had been tainted in the process of investigation. Knox was re-tried and acquitted in 2013, when she went back to America. In a shocking twist, Italian courts retried her in her absence, once again finding her guilty. There was another appeal, and she was exonerated in 2015.

7. Brock Turner

Brock Turner was caught sexually assaulting an unconscious woman by two witnesses. Turner was sentenced to only six months (and would only serve three), which left the public in a state of outrage, given his guilt, and the severity of his crime. Further outraged was caused as the judges decision hinged on the impact of the crime on Turner, rather than his victim.

[Photos: Getty Images and Wikipedia Commons]

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7 Of The Most Shocking Trial Verdicts In History - Oxygen (blog)

July 6, 2017

Today is Thursday, July 6, the 187th day of 2017. There are 178 days left in the year.

Today in local history

In 1962, a report from the American Embassy in Japan disclosed that Wilmington was one of the cities that Japanese businesses had identified as "opportunity areas" for investing in the United States.

In 2001, a seismology professor from Duke University was preparing to place a seismograph more than 1,300 feet below the surface of the earth to look for clues into the mystery of the Seneca Guns, the loud booms that occasionally rattle houses along the coast. The 1,300-foot-deep hole was drilled as part of a separate study by the U.S. Geological Survey of the coastal plain's subsurface geology. The professor, Peter Malin, was conducting research into possible seismic activity along the coast, but said he suspected the Seneca Guns were probably an atmospheric phenomenon rather than a seismic one.

Elsewhere on this date

In 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed in England for high treason.

In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga.

In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur tested an anti-rabies vaccine on 9-year-old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by an infected dog; the boy did not develop rabies.

In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Ottoman Turks.

In 1933, the first All-Star baseball game was played at Chicago's Comiskey Park; the American League defeated the National League, 4-2.

In 1942, Anne Frank, her parents and sister entered a "secret annex" in an Amsterdam building where they were later joined by four other people; they hid from Nazi occupiers for two years before being discovered and arrested.

In 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title as she defeated fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. The Harry S. Truman Library, the nation's first presidential library, was dedicated in Independence, Missouri. Sixteen-year-old John Lennon first met 15-year-old Paul McCartney when Lennon's band, the Quarrymen skiffle group, performed a gig at St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool.

In 1964, the movie "A Hard Day's Night," starring The Beatles, had its world premiere in London. British colony Nyasaland became the independent country of Malawi.

In 1967, war erupted as Nigeria sent troops into the secessionist state of Biafra. (The Biafran (bee-AF'-ruhn) War lasted 2 1/2 years and resulted in a Nigerian victory.)

In 1971, jazz trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong died in New York at age 69.

In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. Medical waste and other debris began washing up on New York City-area seashores, forcing the closing of several popular beaches.

In 1997, the rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting the soil and rocks of the red planet.

Ten years ago: A man on a balcony over the New York-New York casino floor in Las Vegas opened fire on the gamblers below, wounding four people before he was tackled by off-duty military reservists. (The gunman, Steven Zegrean, was later convicted of charges including attempted murder and was sentenced to 26 to 90 years in prison; he died in April 2010 less than a year into his term.) Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, pioneer of the modern historical romance novel, died in Princeton, Minnesota, at age 68.

Five years ago: At a 100-nation conference in Paris, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hailed an accelerating wave of defections in President Bashar Assad's inner circle as the United States and its international allies pleaded once again for global sanctions against the Syrian regime. Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was released from jail in Florida for a second time while he awaited his second-degree murder trial for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)

One year ago: President Barack Obama scrapped plans to cut American forces in Afghanistan by half before leaving office. Double-amputee Olympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in a South African prison for murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Philando Castile, a black elementary school cafeteria worker, was killed during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights by Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who was charged with second-degree manslaughter (Yanez was acquitted at trial). Former Fox News Channel anchor Gretchen Carlson sued network chief executive Roger Ailes, claiming she was cut loose after she had refused his sexual advances and complained about harassment in the workplace, allegations denied by Ailes. (Carlson later settled her lawsuit for a reported $20 million.) The augmented-reality game Pokemon Go made its debut in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

Today's Birthdays: Singer-actress Della Reese is 86. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is 82. Actor Ned Beatty is 80. Singer Gene Chandler is 77. Country singer Jeannie Seely is 77. Actor Burt Ward is 72. Former President George W. Bush is 71. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 71. Actor Fred Dryer is 71. Actress Shelley Hack is 70. Actress Nathalie Baye is 69. Actor Geoffrey Rush is 66. Actress Allyce Beasley is 66. Rock musician John Bazz (The Blasters) is 65. Actor Grant Goodeve is 65. Country singer Nanci Griffith is 64. Retired MLB All-Star Willie Randolph is 63. Jazz musician Rick Braun is 62. Actor Casey Sander is 62. Country musician John Jorgenson is 61. Former first daughter Susan Ford Bales is 60. Hockey player and coach Ron Duguay is 60. Actress-writer Jennifer Saunders is 59. Rock musician John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) is 58. Actor Pip Torrens is 57. Actor Brian Posehn is 51. Political reporter/moderator John Dickerson (TV: "Face the Nation") is 49. Actor Brian Van Holt is 48. Rapper Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) is 47. TV host Josh Elliott is 46. Rapper 50 Cent is 42. Actress Tia Mowry is 39. Actress Tamera Mowry is 39. Comedian-actor Kevin Hart is 38. Actress Eva Green is 37. Actor Gregory Smith is 34. Rock musician Chris "Woody" Wood (Bastille) is 32. Rock singer Kate Nash is 30. Actor Jeremy Suarez is 27.

Thought for Today: "Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing." Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (born this date in 1907, died 1954).

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FLASHBACK: This date in history, July 6, 2017 - StarNewsOnline.com

Irv Gotti says he wants to shake s--t the f--k up with his new BET anthology series, Tales.

And Gotti, who created and produces the series, did just that in the shows June 27 premiere episode, Fk the Police in which a white man (played by Brody Jenner) was lynched by an African-American mob.

I am not a political guy at all. I just seen the chance to put the mirror up to the world with the concept of Tales, Gotti says. You get a glimpse of what black people go through. Now you see the same scenario being done to white people, so how does it feel? In real life these things are happening, so maybe we should rethink and change.

I created a fictitious world where white people are the minority living within zones separated by rich and poor, he says. Just watching over the past six years the injustices of seeing cops kill black people and nothing happens I felt [NWAs] Fk the Police record could be an interesting concept that can make a statement, cause a little change and get people to think. So I took the shot.

The Queens-born Gotti (born Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) is best-known as the co-founder (with his brother Chris) of Murder Inc Records, working with acts including Ja Rule, DMX and Ashanti. And he says that the music used in Tales will be an integral component of the eight-part series.

The songs I picked are very descriptive, he says. Cold Hearted by Meek Mill is about friendship, betrayal, jealousy and anger so thats what [this] Tuesdays episode will be about. Story To Tell by Biggie Smalls is telling you about adultery, cheating and the whole relationship aspect.

Gotti says he conceived the idea for Tales about six years ago, but it wasnt until two years ago that it finally got the green light. [Tales] was received with open arms but it was a process, he says. I had to fight for things that I wanted. For the first episode, BET was wary about doing a story based on race, and portraying white people like that so I had to really fight to have it that way.

I called up Brody Jenner I told him, I need a favor, I gotta hang you from a tree. He said What! I thought it would shock people seeing a white man hanging from a tree. [The Notebook director] Nick Cassavetes played the role of Rodney King in one scene. [King] got hit 56 times whats your explanation for whopping this guys ass like that? He was on the floor not handcuffed, it was filmed and [all the cops] were let off. With Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman wasnt even a cop and they let him off. Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, we see these things and nothing is happening. It sends the message to black people that Your life aint worth st and we are letting you know that.

The premiere episode also featured Chet Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Gotti says he has other stars in mind for future roles on Tales.

My celebrity dream cast would be Denzel Washington, Daniel Day Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, and Samuel L. Jackson, he says. That would be epic.

Tales 8 p.m. Tuesday on BET

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'Tales' creator flips the script on race in provocative series - New York Post