George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty in Death of Trayvon Martin
A six-person jury comprised of all women in Florida found George Zimmerman not guilty in the killing of Trayvon Martin on Saturday after more than 16 hours of deliberation over two days.
Zimmerman, 29, shot and killed Martin, 17, on February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. The case received national attention after Zimmerman was initially let go by police and not charged, under the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows a person to use deadly force if he feels his own life is in danger.
Martin was unarmed and had been walking to his father's girlfriend's home when Zimmerman saw him. Zimmerman called police because he thought the situation was suspicious. Zimmerman claimed that Martin later attacked him and that he shot Martin in self-defense; the prosecution claimed that Zimmerman had profiled Martin, following him even after police told him not to do so.
The subsequent trial has been followed intensively on cable news channels, frequently dividing anchors, guests and, presumably, viewers into "Team Zimmerman" or "Team Trayvon" sides.