WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday called the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin “unnecessary,” raising questions about whether he believed the shooter, George Zimmerman, acted in self-defence.
A jury in Sanford, Florida, on Saturday found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter after a three-week trial in which defence lawyers argued that Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, shot Martin in self-defence.
Immediately following the verdict, civil rights activists began calling for federal charges against Zimmerman, saying the trial in Florida failed to serve justice.
While Holder did not indicate whether he intended to bring a federal case, he referred to the incident as the “tragic, unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin.”
Zimmerman, 29, has gone into hiding since the verdict. Friends, family and defense lawyers have said he will need time to put his life back together and was considering entering law school to help people wrongly accused of crimes.
Zimmerman’s parents told ABC television on Monday they were unaware of his whereabouts and feared for his safety after receiving death threats.
Asked by interviewer Barbara Walters if his son would remain in hiding, Robert Zimmerman said, “If I was him, I would.”
His mother, Gladys Zimmerman, described the moment she saw her son after the verdict. “I hugged him. I kissed him,” she said. “And he said, ‘Thank you, mom. I want to go home.’”
Ben Crump, a lawyer for Martin’s divorced parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, said the family would weigh its options regarding a wrongful death civil lawsuit. For now, they were still devastated by the verdict, he said.
“She cried, she prayed to God, and then she cried some more,” Crump said of Fulton.
“She said, ‘I will not let this verdict define Trayvon. We will define our son Trayvon’s legacy.’ It was real inspiring.”
The verdict triggered protests across the United States from people who said Zimmerman racially profiled Martin, 17, as a possible criminal and pursued him while armed with a loaded 9mm pistol.
Then on Sunday the Justice Department announced it would reopen its investigation into the case. It said prosecutors would determine whether any of the “limited” applicable civil rights laws had been violated, and whether the case met guidelines for bringing a federal case after a matter has been decided in state court.
By finding Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder, the Seminole County jury rejected the charge that Zimmerman acted with ill will, spite or hatred.
A juror told CNN yesterday that most if not all six jurors believed it was Zimmerman and not Martin who was calling for help in the background of a 911 emergency call.
“I think it was George Zimmerman’s. All but probably one (juror agreed),” said the juror, identified as B-37 and with her face darkened.
The remarks by Holder, the chief US prosecutor and an appointee of President Barack Obama, came as he addressed a convention of Delta Sigma Theta, a black sorority.
“The Justice Department shares your concern. I share your concern,” Holder told some 14,000 sorority members at a Washington convention centre.
The US Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 would require the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, shot Martin because of race.
More than 800,000 people signed an online petition of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asking Holder to file civil rights charges against Zimmerman, the association said yesterday.
