In perhaps the least surprising development of the night, the NAACP is going all out to continue the prosecution of George Zimmerman. The group announced its intentions in a press release.
July 13, 2013
(Orlando) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People released the following statement on the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin:
NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock:
“Today, justice failed Trayvon Martin and his family,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the NAACP. “We call immediately for the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into the civil rights violations committed against Trayvon Martin. This case has re-energized the movement to end racial profiling in the United States.”
NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous:
“We are outraged and heartbroken over today’s verdict,” said Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “We stand with Trayvon’s family and we are called to act. We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed.”
NAACP Florida State Conference President Adora Obi Nweze:
“We lost a young man due to senseless violence, but justice did not prevail,” said Adora Obi Nweze, President of the Florida NAACP State Conference. “Last year we pushed for the arrest of George Zimmerman and a thorough investigation and trial. Today, we are still called to act. No one should be allowed to use this law to commit a senseless crime again.”
“Stand your ground” laws were never part of the Zimmerman trial. His defense argued ordinary self-defense, and won. The NAACP, then, is seeking nothing less than the eradication of the right of self-defense.
Complicating the NAACP’s wish to continue prosecuting Zimmerman, the Federal Bureau of Investigations probed Zimmerman in 2012 and found no evidence of racism in him.
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