Nearly a year and a half after Trayvon Martin was shot dead in a central Florida neighborhood, a jury found the man who killed him -- George Zimmerman, who argued that he fired in self defense -- not guilty.

The fact that Zimmerman fired the bullet that killed Martin was never in question, but the verdict means the six-person jury had reasonable doubt that the shooting amounted to a criminal act.

The verdict caps a case that has inflamed passions for well over a year, much of it focused on race and gun rights.

The jurors deliberated for 16½ hours total, including 13 on Saturday alone, before delivering their verdict. Five of the women are white, one is a minority.
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When he learned his fate, a quiet Zimmerman had little visible reaction. His face was mostly expressionless. He turned and shook the hand of one of his attorneys before sitting back down, only openly smiling after court was adjourned. His parents, Robert and Gladys Zimmerman, were seated nearby, but Martin's parents were not in the courtroom.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara said a short time later that he and his team were "ecstatic" with the verdict.

"George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in self defense," O'Mara said.

Trayvon Martin's father, Tracy Martin, took to Twitter to thank those who have supported his family and vowed they will continue to fight.

"Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY," he tweeted.

The jury -- made up of all women -- had three choices: to find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder; to find him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter; or to find him not guilty.

Earlier in the day, the jury had asked the court for clarification on its instructions regarding manslaughter. Such a query couldn't even have been posed a few days ago: Judge Debra Nelson ruled Thursday, over the defense's vehement objection, to include manslaughter as an option for jurors, in addition to a second-degree murder charge.

To convict Zimmerman of manslaughter, the jurors would have had to believe that he "intentionally committed an act or acts that caused the death of Trayvon Martin." That charge could have carried a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, though the jury was not told of that possible sentence.

For second-degree murder, the jurors would have had to believe that Martin's unlawful killing was "done from ill will, hatred, spite or an evil intent" and would be "of such a nature that the act itself indicates an indifference to human life."

Ultimately, they believed neither. And that means Zimmerman can walk free.

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Scores who had gathered outside the Sanford, Florida, courtroom hoping for a guilty verdict reacted in disbelief after word of the decision trickled through the crowd. Hours earlier, they had given speeches, singing songs and chanting, "We want justice." Some appeared angry, others appeared sad.

Zimmerman supporters also rallied in the courtyard during the day, holding signs saying "Self-defense is a basic human right," "Not enough evidence," and plainly "Not guilty." They had an entirely different view of the case: that Zimmerman had been wrongly implicated, that he'd just done what he could to save his life.

Florida State Attorney Angela Corey defended the second-degree murder charge that was filed against Zimmerman, telling reporters late Saturday that the allegations "fit the bill" for the charge.

"We believe that we brought out the truth on behalf of Trayvon Martin," Corey told reporters shortly after the verdict was announced.

One of her prosecutors, Bernie de la Rionda, expressed disappointment with the jury's decision, but acceptance as well.

"It's not perfect, but it's the best of the world," he said of the jury system. "And we respect the jury's verdict."

The response from NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous struck a far different tone.

"We are outraged and heartbroken over today's verdict," Jealous said in a statement, vowing to pursue "civil rights charges" in the case. "We stand with Trayvon's family, and we are called to act."

Don West called the prosecution of his client "disgraceful," adding, "I'm thrilled the jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty."

"But it makes me sad that it took this long, under these circumstances, to finally get justice," he added.

His colleague, O'Mara, struck a different tone. He made a point to compliment local law enforcement authorities and, especially, the jury and all the time and effort they put into the process.

"They listened they took notes, they were as engaged as anyone else in the process," O'Mara said. "And it made for the type of verdict that we had to have."

ogugua88: What a joke.

CFCfan: I tell you. He wasn't even found guilty of manslaughter. Very strange indeed.

ogugua88:

That's Florida and our weird judicial system for ya. This reminds me of Casey Anthony.

ogugua88:

That's Florida and our weird judicial system for ya. This reminds me of Casey Anthony.

SniperInADiaper:

I thought the same thing.

ogugua88:

That's Florida and our weird judicial system for ya. This reminds me of Casey Anthony.

Roland17: There is no way you are going to convince anyone Racial profiling is not consistent with this case.

Roland17: What irks me most is that the Prosecution/ state of Florida is not even talking about appealing the case.

birdman: Umm, lets not even go there. I dont see the comparison at all. I know people want to circle around the facts here because its painful, but its either we acknowledge the race issue here or wait until the dude being kieeled is your brother, or mother etc. RIP Trayvon, another victim of a racist Florida judicial system

Roland17: This is a very big shame, i am very disappointed with the ruling, the prosecution team did a very bad job especially with the witnesses, they did little or nothing to convince the Jury.

George Zimmerman killed the kid.. the 911 responder clearly told him to back off from the kid but he went ahead..

Its just a big shame, a jury consisting of 6 women

birdman:

As soon as I saw the jury, I knew what the verdict was and why. They had that shamed, stressed look where they cant make eye contact. I had no idea Florida was swimming with bigots.

CFCfan:
The jury comprised of 5 white women and 1 Black/Hispanic lady. They are all mothers.

ogugua88:

Casey was as guilty as Zimmerman. The two of them got off for what? I hate law in general. No one can pay me enough money to be a defense lawyer. Circumstantial evidence my foot.

ogugua88:

Anthony was as guilty as Zimmerman. The two of them got off for what? I hate law in general. No one can pay me enough money to be a defense lawyer. Circumstantial evidence my foot.

Roland17: Anyone who has followed this case, should know the prosecution made a very bad case.

birdman: Yup she was guilty. I just dont think these two are same thing. Florida has been plotting this stand-your-ground thing for a while and there are serious racial overotnes that cannot be ignored. Every black person that has tries to claim stand-your-ground has gone to jail. Even the black woman in Florida trying to stop a man from molesting her. Adding Casey Anthony to the mix distracts from the issue here, imo.

Im not trying to detract from the thread with arguments, so ima let it be. This is some f'd up ish. I cant even imagine how the mom must feel.

Roland17: Anyone who has followed this case, should know the prosecution made a very bad case.

ogugua88:

It would have helped if their star witness was coherent... and didn't have an attitude problem... oh, and spoke English too.