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


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.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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