Shooting of Trayvon Martin
Police did not arrest Zimmerman until six weeks later. This was because of Florida's stand-your-ground law, which allows people to shoot others in order to defend themselves. Zimmerman was put on trial. On July 13, 2013, a jury decided that he was not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Protests were held in more than 100 cities in the United States by people who thought that decision was unfair. President Barack Obama made spoke in response to public anger about the trial verdict on July 19. He said, "Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago". Maddy, a juror for the trial, told ABC News that Zimmerman "got away with murder".