DEVELOPMENTS
— After she was dropped by her literary agent, a juror in the George Zimmerman trial has decided against writing a book on the high-profile case, she said in a statement, citing the “depth of pain” many in the public associate with it. The woman known publicly only as B-37, her jury selection designation, said that serving in sequestration as a juror “shielded me from the depth of pain that exists among the general public over every aspect of this case.”
— R&B singer Lester Chambers is recovering from injuries he suffered over the weekend after a woman leaped onto the stage and shoved him when he dedicated a song to Trayvon Martin during a concert in the San Francisco Bay Area. Family members said Chambers had a bruised rib muscle and nerve damage after he was attacked Saturday at the Hayward Russell City Blues Festival. Witnesses reportedly heard 43-year-old Dinalynn Andrews Potter shout “it’s all your fault” before shoving Chambers, 73. Andrews Potter was arrested on suspicion of battery, cited and released.
— Dozens of protesters carrying signs demanding justice for Trayvon Martin crammed into the lobby of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s office Tuesday and refused to leave until the governor either met with them or called lawmakers back to the Capitol to address the state’s “stand your ground” law. Neither was likely to happen soon. Scott was in New York City. And his office issued a statement saying the governor supports the law.
News services
Civil rights leaders said Tuesday they are planning vigils and rallies in 100 U.S. cities this weekend to press the Justice Department to bring charges against George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watch volunteer acquitted in the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin.
In a speech Tuesday to an NAACP convention in Orlando, Attorney General Eric Holder said “I am concerned” about the case and pledged that his department would conduct a thorough review.
Holder also urged that laws such as Florida’s “stand your ground” statute allowing people to use licensed firearms when they feel threatened should be invoked only after the person first tries to retreat from a dangerous situation.
“It’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” Holder said. “These laws try to fix something that was never broken.”
Martin was visiting his father and returning to the home of his father’s fiancee after a trip to the store when Zimmerman identified him as a potential criminal. Zimmerman was carrying a firearm concealed in the back of his pants waist when, he said, Martin, who was unarmed, suddenly assaulted him and then started beating his head on the ground.
At that point, Zimmerman told local police, he pulled out the weapon and shot the 17-year-old. It is exactly that kind of situation that the Florida law permits, but that Holder believes should be invoked only when “no safe retreat is available.”
Zimmerman had been charged with second-degree murder, but a jury of six women found him not guilty Saturday of that charge as well as the lesser charge of manslaughter. The verdict touched off demonstrations and marches around the country.
“People all across the country will gather to show that we are not having a two- or three-day anger fit. This is a social movement for justice,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said as he announced plans for the weekend protests.
The rallies and vigils will occur in front of federal court buildings at noon Saturday in cities including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York.
Zimmerman’s acquittal touched off violence and vandalism in California late Monday.
In Los Angeles, people ran through streets, breaking windows, attacking people on sidewalks and raiding a Wal-Mart store, while others blocked a major freeway in the San Francisco Bay area in the third night of demonstrations.
Fourteen people were arrested after multiple acts of vandalism and several assaults in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles police vowed Tuesday to crack down with quick action and arrests if further disturbances arise. Demonstrators must remain on sidewalks Tuesday night and will be arrested if they commit any crimes or block traffic, police said.
“For those of you who were here last night and came for the wrong reasons, if you come here again tonight, you will go to jail,” police Chief Charlie Beck said at a news conference.
The Justice Department has said it is looking into Martin’s death to determine whether federal prosecutors will file criminal civil rights charges against Zimmerman. His lawyer has told ABC News that Zimmerman will get his gun back and intends to arm himself again.
The key to charging Zimmerman lies in whether evidence exists that he was motivated by racial animosity to kill Martin. While Martin’s family has said the teen was racially profiled, no evidence surfaced during the state trial that Zimmerman had a racial bias.
Zimmerman’s friends and family have repeatedly denied he harbored racial animosity toward blacks. Florida did not use its own hate crime laws against Zimmerman.
The lone juror in the case who has spoken publicly — known only as Juror B-37 because their identities have not been released — said Monday that she did not believe Zimmerman followed Martin because the teen was black.
Still, supporters of the Justice Department filing civil rights charges say additional evidence could exist in the federal investigation that didn’t come up in the state prosecution of Zimmerman.
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