Although Sanford s police chief publicly said there was not enough evidence to file charges, Gov. Ri

In the 10 months since her teenage son was killed, Trayvon Martin s mom became a nationally known activist who mostly sleeps in hotels as she bounces from one speaking engagement to another talking about self-defense laws.
George Zimmerman s defense lawyers will subpoena Facebook, Twitter and Miami-Dade schools in a widespread pursuit of clues to suggest that Trayvon Martin could have thrown the first punch on the night he was killed, a sign that attorneys are going into attack mode in preparation for their case.
Trayvon Martin budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide grabbed his killer s gun just moments before he died and uttered a profanity-laced threat. In a desperate life-or-death struggle, George Zimmerman clutched Trayvon s wrist, broke his grip on the semi-automatic firearm and shot him once in the chest.
Their deep divide on the killing that rattled America underscores the sharp contrasts that mark the case that became one of the highest profile news events of 2012. Hundreds of thousands of people, from Seattle to Miami, Sanford to Manhattan, took to the streets to demand an arrest budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide in the weeks following budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide the Feb. 26 death of a black teenager at the hands of a Hispanic neighborhood-watch volunteer.
Even now, after the nation s news channels have moved on to other tragedies and the story that rocked the country fell off the front pages, budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide both families are preparing for a murder trial that promises budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide to reopen wounds and spark fears of civil unrest. As lawyers prepare for 2013 s trial of the year, both Sanford and Miami have launched community relations projects. In Miami, budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide civic leaders are clearly budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide worried about reactions to the trial s outcome.
A case that started with the killing budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide of an unidentified teen wound up raising the national conscience on issues of gun control, racial profiling, self-defense law and police bias. Zimmerman s family decries a media frenzy they believe distorted truth and justice. The Martins look back at a national scandal and feel pride.
Martin, a South Florida-area truck driver, had taken his son up to Sanford, a racially diverse community north of Orlando , to ride out a 10-day school suspension. Trayvon had been caught at Michael Krop High in North Miami-Dade with a small plastic bag containing marijuana residue. Suspended for the third time, the teen went to cool his heels at the Central Florida townhouse complex where his father s girlfriend lived.
With his dad out for the evening, Trayvon went to the store for snacks. On his way back from 7-Eleven, he encountered George Zimmerman, an affable, exceedingly polite neighborhood budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide watch volunteer who was in the insurance business and had a habit of calling police whenever he saw something awry.
Zimmerman had a license to carry a concealed weapon, a firearm he has said he carried everywhere except work. He says he was on his way to Target when he spotted someone lurking around in the rain looking in windows. After a series of burglaries at the Retreat budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide at Twin Lakes neighborhood, Zimmerman did what he had done several times before when he spotted black men he did not recognize.
After enduring a prolonged physical attack from Trayvon Martin, screaming for help countless times and receiving no help, and all the while in fear for my life, I shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense, Zimmerman budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide wrote in a recent statement posted on his website. I did not shoot to take his life, I shot to save my own.
Indeed, a photo taken at the scene showed Zimmerman with a swollen bloody nose. Did Trayvon deck Zimmerman for no reason? Or did the skinny high school student defend himself against a shorter but stockier gunman who chased him?
In the days and weeks following the shooting, a story was promoted that I am a racist and a murderer, Zimmerman wrote. budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide These untruths spread through the community, the government, and the nation, amplified by a media frenzy seeking ratings over truth.
So adamant is he about the media s manipulation of the story that this month Zimmerman sued NBC for editing his call to police in a way that made it appear as if his suspicion of the teenager was based largely on race.
Zimmerman has this on his side: Sanford police apparently believed him. Although records show a detective recommended a manslaughter charge, lawyers have listed detectives to testify for the defense.
While some residents who were there that night blasted the police for a shoddy investigation, others said they saw Trayvon straddling Zimmerman as the two struggled on the ground. budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide One man said the teenager was hitting Zimmerman MMA-style.
Mixed martial arts. I had never seen that sport, but I saw it on YouTube and was amazed at the savage manner they beat people, Zimmerman s mother, Gladys, told Univision budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide news anchor Jorge Ramos in a recent interview.
They said, This message is for your neighbor Gladys Zimmerman. You can tell her I ll be waiting for her by her post office box where I will slit her throat, recalled budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide Jeff Peterson, a neighbor on their Lake Mary street. This thing changed everybody s life in this neighborhood, and George didn t even live here.
A former Seminole State College criminal justice student, Zimmerman was raised in Virginia and moved to Central Florida after high school. He lived alone in his parents house for several years until his parents retired and joined him in Florida .
He is married to Shellie, a nursing student. His father, Robert Sr., is a retired magistrate, which many critics believe was a chief reason that Zimmerman was afforded the benefit of the doubt by police.
There was a creation of a racial narrative, because basing the story on the merits of the crime was not sufficiently sensational to those who wanted to report more, Zimmerman budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide s brother Robert told Univision. Racism is a lucrative sport. Many people have their hands in a money bag, and there s a lot of money to be made."
The Zimmermans focus much of their ire on Benjamin Crump, the civil rights budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide attorney whose constant media exposure forced law enforcement to take a second look at the case. Crump, who has filed a claim with the homeowners association where Zimmerman served as crime watch coordinator, has yet to bill in the case. Neither has Zimmerman s defense budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide team.
Crump thinks back on the furor, the day marchers shut down Broadway, the rallies in Sanford, the dozens of Miami-Dade schools where students walked out in protest, and feels no regret. He said history has shown that when blacks are killed by whites, particularly whites acting in a law-enforcement budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide capacity, budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide the only way to get a case going is by turning to the media.
Although Sanford s police chief publicly said there was not enough evidence to file charges, Gov. Rick Scott appointed a special prosecutor from Duval County , who filed a second-degree murder charge. The Sanford police chief was fired.
A trial is scheduled for June 10, and a self-defense immunity hearing will be held in the spring. At that hearing the judge will decide whether to throw out the case and offer Zimmerman immunity from both civil suits and criminal prosecution.
My guy is innocent and the evidence strongly supports that, O Mara said in an interview earlier this month. Someone should drop $1 million in his defense fund account so he can get a real defense. He s been put through budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide the wringer.
For their activism, Trayvon s parents were skewered by right-wing bloggers, who tried to embarrass them by revealing personal information and photos. Trayvon s profanity-laced social media comments were picked over and scrutinized, and the parents were criticized for releasing angelic-looking photos of a teenager whose Twitter profile showed teeth covered budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide by a removable gold grill.
People try to say I did all this for money. I go to work every day. We have been hard-working people for 30 years. budget car rentals melbourne to adelaide I have never even claimed unemployment, Martin said. The thing that gets me is that they [the Zimmermans] talk about how they are living like hermits.
Fulton said it still hurts when she hears negative things said about her son. She wishes she had talked more about his personality, how he liked going skating, talking to girls on the phone and how he practically lived at Forzano Park in Miramar . That s where he played football and worked in the concession stand.
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