From the Miami Herald:
Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey has charged neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman with second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Zimmerman turned himself in at about 8:30 p.m.
… The prosecutor’s decision capped weeks of protests nationwide, which were marked by student walk-outs in South Florida and throngs of marchers wearing hoodies in cities from New York to Seattle. The case of a hooded high school junior from MIami-Dade who went for a walk in the rain to get snacks became a national symbol of racial injustice. And for others, it became a glaring example of the media’s rush to judgment and willingness to try a case in the newsroom instead of a courtroom.
…Trayvon Martin died Feb. 26 in the Orlando suburb of Sanford after he returned from 7-Eleven, where he bought Skittles and iced tea. While walking back from the store to the townhouse he was visiting at the Retreat at Twin Lakes, the gated community’s watch captain spotted him and found him suspicious.
And then, based on what we’ve heard from Zimmerman himself, the neighborhood watch captain initiatied a confrontation that turned out to be fatal. After a botched local police investigation, a huge public outcry, and a second look at the case by law enforcement officials, Zimmerman will be held criminally liable for his actions that night.
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