Update: Jury deliberated 16 hours over two days. jURY POLLED, all in agreement : Not Guilty
just a few notes:
The judge has told Jury that they have a right to speak or not speak to the press.
The judge tells Zimmerman the GPS monitor he has been wearing will be cut off in a few minutes.
Evidence will be released and not held by the court.
George Zimmerman’s mother, a Latina, his father and sister also in the courtroom.
Some point out the Jury was composed of all females.
Some of the media outside the courtroom is stirring the racial pot; saying people are stunned at the verdict,
’emotions running high’ inmplying ‘black’ people are stunned and emotions running ‘high.’
Contrary to some of the media people, a black father who was waiting outside with his young son, says of the verdict,’there is a family heartbroken,’ and that he brought his son to see’ history’ … and his son, about 9 years old and also African American, says about the ‘not guilty’ verdict, ‘I think justice was done.’
Amazing clang between first words out of media accounts, and first words out of first African Americans interviewed.
Two not-black reporters on CNN opine re Zimmerman’s aquital, that ‘no one will pay for Trevon’s death.’ The implication of that tone will be decided by many in the coming days.
To add more kindling, CNN’s legal says the verdict “doesnt mean he [Zimmerman] isnt guilty, doesnt mean he is innocent…” The legal spokesperson for CNN goes on to say, that the prosecution merely didnt meet the burden of proof. He also says “what Zimmerman did was wrong.”
CNN reports that a verdict has now been reached in the trial of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin. TMV will provide more details as they emerge. Once an actual verdict is announced a separate post will go up.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.