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SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Jurors have found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
The six-member, all-woman jury deliberated for more than 15 hours over two days before reaching their decision Saturday night. They had been given the chance to convict Zimmerman of manslaughter but did not do so, despite asking for a clarification of the charge earlier in the evening.
After hearing the verdict, Judge Debra Nelson told Zimmerman he was free to go.
Jurors heard two different portraits of Zimmerman and had to decide whether he was a wannabe cop who took the law into his own hands or a well-meaning neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense because he feared for his life.
The jury, which has been sequestered since June 24, deliberated 16 hours and 20 minutes over two days. When the verdict was read, Mr. Zimmerman, 29, smiled slightly.His wife, Shellie, was in tears, and his whole family hugged.
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, who lost their son a few weeks after his 17th birthday, were not in the courtroom.
Prosecutors held a news conference after the verdict was rendered. We have the video below.