Trayvon Martin’s Mom on Verdict: “I Couldn’t Believe It”

Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton in court July 8, 2013Joe Burbank/MCT/ZUMAPRESS.com


Trayvon Martin’s parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, spoke to CBS This Morning today in their first interview since George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering their 17-year-old son. Fulton said she was “stunned” that Zimmerman was acquitted.

“I was in a bit of shock,” she said. “I thought surely he would be found guilty of second-degree murder—manslaughter at the least. But I just knew that they would see that this was a teenager trying to get home. This was no burglar.”

Fulton stressed that her son was just a child when he was killed. “Instead of placing the blame on the teenager we need to place the blame on the responsible adult,” she said. As for whether or not civil action might be taken against Zimmerman, Martin and Fulton’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said they are exploring all options and are also hoping for federal charges. “We’re asking the Justice Department, can a private citizen with a gun profile and follow our children home?” he said.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate