On the rainy night of February 26th, 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman in a gated Sanford, Florida community. Martin’s shooting became symbolic of not only gun violence, but racial profiling in the United States in the 21st century, and sparked a conversation between all Americans.

Zimmerman was the neighborhood’s Neighborhood Watch coordinator, and was out patrolling the neighborhood that night. Originally, this case was not going to be heard in front of a jury, and be tried on the Stand Your Ground law in Florida, which allows shooting someone to be legal if a person feel as if their life is being threatened. But due to much protesting, the state of Florida agreed to prosecute George Zimmerman on second degree and manslaughter charges.

   Many considered this case important, not only because a young man was killed, but also because this case brought up issues such as gun control laws, and racial profiling, which is still a problem in the United States.

On June 10, 2013 Zimmerman’s trial began. The trial lasted 33 days, concluding yesterday, July 13, 2013. The jury of five white women and one black woman found Zimmerman not guilty of both second degree murder charges and manslaughter.

Students from AHS have mixed feelings on the outcome of the Zimmerman case. Some believe that Zimmerman should have been found guilty and not let him walk out of the courtroom free.

“I believe Zimmerman should have been found guilty,” senior Katherine Ross said, “But because of the lack of evidence and vague Florida laws, the prosecution had a difficult time proving beyond a reasonable doubt Zimmerman was guilty.”

While other students believe the jury made the right decision in the case.

“I believe the jury made the right decision because they were unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt [Zimmerman was guilty of manslaughter] due to lack of evidence,” said senior Melissa Pratt “Personally, I’m not on either side because the media has twisted the story so much [on both sides].”

While this is the end of the Zimmerman murder trial, Zimmerman is suing NBC Universal for defamation, or editing his phone call with 911 to make him seem guilty, and many other groups are planning civil right suits against Zimmerman as well.