that, do you feel you were getting fair treatment, and a second question that is similar to both of you. what do you say regarding the tensions, what do you tell people that have dug in on one side or the other? >> i would like to keep my bar license for a couple more years. and second part of the question? >> second part of the question was, what do you tell people this has become, people have watched around the country and have dug in on either side of this, what do you tell people given the tension that could follow this verdict? >> you know, that has been such a challenge for me. obviously while i have tried a number of cases over the last 33 years or so, a number of them with very high stakes. death penalty cases. nothing of course like this with the media attention. nothing that had the case tried over and over and over again in the media. nothing where the media was accused of such irresponsiblity

early on, frankly. being swept along with this narrative that simply has been shown not to be true. to me, as a trial lawyer, that was incredible distraction. because i like to in fact, the only place i can try a case is in the courtroom, and i think we did. that i do not know how to respond. >> yes. >> you mentioned about george wantsing to get his life back, there's one person that is not going to. have you something to to the family? >> they have suffered a loss of trayvon martin. any time any life is lost, particularly a young life, it's a tragedy. we hear about it in car accidents and with cancer, i lost a 13-year-old niece to cancer. we hear about it constantly and it's a tragedy.

i will not shy away from the fact that the evidence supported that george zimmerman did nothing wrong and that he was battered and beaten by a 17-year-old who for whatever reason, and we will not know, thought that he had to lash out and attack violently and it turned out that all of the forensic evidence supports that. none of it supports that george was the acongregregressoaggress not morally, could it have been avoided? 45 seconds before the gun shot, when george was getting battered, i still believe that that decision was in trayvon martin's hands more than my clients. as i mentioned they get my greatest sympathies for their tragics loss of their son, no one should have to suffer losing a child, ever. but it happens much more than we

are willing to acknowledge sometimes or that we want to admit. this is a tragedy like many other loss of children. it is just not one that george was responsible for. >> when the jury asked for clarification on the instructions regarding manslaughter was there nervousness that george would face the lesser charges? >> my understanding is that they were confused by a confusing jury instruction. i said to the judge, mr. west argued one day and before i started my closing the next day. that the manslaughter instructions were confusing. if you look at it, justifiable homicide is identified within manslaughter and deadly force is somewhere separate. if you read them together, they are logically inconsistent and i think the jury as smart as they are, they were thinking and

looked at it and said, why are you telling us about excusable homicide? we had to, even though it had no application to the facts of the case. >> i have a question. >> sure. >> hi, usa today. don west, you said that i'm thrilled the jury kept the tragedy from becoming a travesty, can you talk about what the tragedy is. we talked about the racial issues here. can you tell us what you meant by that? >> the tragedy is the loss of trayvon martin's life, regardless of what he was doing or immediately what led up to it, it's a tragic loss of life. it not only will impact of course, trayvon martin's family and all those that knew him forever and ever. this event itself also impacts george zimmerman forever, and

ever, this is something that no one gets over. there's no winners or monsters here. that's the tragedy. the travesty, it would have been a travesty of justice if george zimmerman was convicted. >> thanks guys, appreciate the time. i seem to -- i think someone said it was the last question. so -- >> please. >> we are watching the defense attorneys for george zimmerman on this night in which a jury has given its verdict of not guilty in the george zimmerman murder trial. a couple of things to watch out for on your screen, don west and mark o'mara taking questions. we showed you first the prosecution's response and now the defense's response to the verdict this evening that their client george zimmerman is not guilty. not of second degree murder, not of manslaughter. the jury of six women making that decision earlier this

evening. and this case had huge implications across the country. it has so politically and racially divided the nation in many ways, but tonight, justice is served. in america, because the justice that we look for comes from a jury and that jury has rendered its verdict, we are still watching and listening, this is mark o'mara. let's listen in. >> a man who believes in the system, whose dad was a judge, who maybe wanted to be a cop, and gets a system -- two systems went against george zimmerman that he cannot understand. you guys, the media. he was like a patient in an operating table where mad scientists were committing experiment on him and he had no anesthesia. he did not know why he was turned into this monster. but quite honestly you had a lot to do with it, you just did.

you took a story that was fed to you and you ran wit, and you ran right over him. and that was horrid to him. then, he comes into a system that he trusts. let's not forget, six voluntary statements. voluntary surrender and he believes in the system, that he really wanted to be part of, right? and then, he gets prosecutors that charge him with a crime they could never, ever prove. it's not like they -- they did not lose evidence along the way, right? so, i don't think anyone would argue with me in this room, that they had the evidence of second degree murder. this in your heart kind of stuff, that is not what we are supposed to do and it's not what they are supposed to do. so, those two systems failed him. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> all right, and what had happened there, was that we thought we had heard the last question. that is what mark o'mara had said and then there was one

final question yet again as the defense attorneys for george zimmerman have been taking questions in a news conference. and then to the left of your screen is the crowd that has been outside that courthouse all day long, and really since deliberations began yesterday, and much of the trial watch method way with people standing outside the courthouse in sanford, florida, a calm situation tonight, as far as our cameras have been able to capture, they are close in to the courthouse, want to mention that. mark o'mara at one point saying that nothing can bring back trayvon martin. when asked about whether he felt this case was a tough one, a fair one to fight, he said that they felt a bit david and goliath but we won were his words. and we heard from the prosecution earlier tonight in the news conference. what i was mentioning before we went back to mark o'mara. was the implications and the stakes that were so high in the case. a jury that felt that it needed to be sequestered and identities to be kept secret.

even some of the witnesses in the case wanted to be kept quiet, because they feared that whatever verdict they would reach would not please the public. we have seen marches in this, and all sorts of things play out publically in the streets there in the state of florida and across the country in response to the shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin. was it murder or self defense? a jury has decided. six women in florida that in fact it was self defense and they have acquitted 29-year-old george zimmerman. so those were the stakes in the case, what we are seeing tonight play out in america is the reaction to that justice. george zimmerman is a free man, and as we just heard his defense team talking about. he will go home with his family now and for the first time since right after the night of february 26th, 2012, his life will go on beyond the point of the shooting that night. we have a couple of guests

re with by at studio-h in fox me earlier tonight on fox report. as we were waiting to see what the jury would do. they had taken a dinner break, they had a question for the judge. we had no anticipation that they would reach a verdict so quickly after the dinner break. but they have. you are both with us and we appreciate you guys standing by, judge, i will start with you. this verdict came quickly after the dinner conversation and we knew they could continue to deliberate because the judge said, that was possible to happen. your reaction now to the acquittal of george zimmerman. >> well, we have been saying all along, it's a tough case, you have an emotional component that could over ride the legal components. the only thing we can do is ask jurors to follow the law. that is it. we cannot have them decide from the heart if it's illegal. they decided according to the law, and they did their duty. for that we should be proud of the jury. it does not take away the pain

that there's a 17-year-old boy that is dead, and as with don west, who i have disagreed and agreed with, that in of itself is a tragedy, but following it with a verdict that is not based on the law would be a travesty, so i agree with him there. >> i want to make our viewers aware, benjamin crump is expected to speak shortly, mercedes, if i cut you off that is why. go ahead. >> the jury reasonably believed that george zimmerman felt his life was in peril and because of that belief, they felt it was self defense. i do think that ultimately, the jury did what they thought was the right verdict. they were deliberate in coming to their conclusion. they asked for list of evidence that we saw early on in the deliberations. they wanted the list of evidence to go through it, so it was a

deliberate and they reached a conclusion, not based on their emotions but based on the facts presented. >> judge alex, one of the things you said earlier tonight is that what we may see if we see a verdict, and it were an acquittal, and it seems to be answered, even the defense side, not happy inside the courtroom. once the verdict was read, but he very, very calm. benjamin crump, attorney for the trayvon martin family. let's watch. >> good evening, my name is darrol parks, we represent the trayvon martin family. we are very, very, very saddened, but we have accepted the jury's verdict in the case. first and foremost, on behalf of tracy martin and sa brie that fulton, who are just heart broken really right now. and, we ask that you keep them

in your prayers. at this time, attorney crump will make a statement and then we will take a few questions. >> i'm here for my colleagues. the parents would like to thank all of the supporters throughout the nation and the world to everybody that attended a rally to the millions people that signed petitions. to the prosecution, miss ange-- everyone from the prosecutor's office, to everyone that put their hoodies up and to everyone who said i am trayvon, his family expressed their heartfelt

gratitude for helping them these past 17 months. to trayvon's parents your work in the name of your son, has made sanford and other cities a little safer for all of our children. i know trayvon is up there proud at the changes that you as his parents have inspired in his name. this morning, martin luther king's daughter, dr. bernice king, tweeted may message that read today is a defining moment for the status of my father's dream. whatever the zimmerman verdict is, she tweeted, in the words of

my father, we must conduct ourselves on the higher plain of the dignity and discipline. trayvon martin will forever remain in the history books next to others as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all. tracy and sybrina have asked that you respect their privacy, this is a very trying time. in conclusion, for trayvon to

rest in peace we must all be peaceful. thank you. >> thank you. just a couple of questions. yes? >> hi -- >> sorry. >> amanda evans, mr. crump the defense gave you a hard time throughout this, they just said moments ago that your first interview with rachel jeantel was made for tv and not for an investigation. your thoughts on that? >> it's easy to go back in a vacuum, miss jeantel, god bless her, she did not want to get involved in this matter in no way possible. so i think it's pretty well documented about the challenges we had to try to get her to do an interview and finally we got her to agree to do a telephone interview and we did that interview the best we could to make sure that we had her

statement. and trayvon's parents are thankful that she did come forward to act as a witness in this case. something she did not want to do. >> stephanie with west 2 news. does it bother you when people say this case is not about race? >> no. it doesn't. but, you know, the whole world was looking at this case for a reason. and what people wanted to see as we all said how far we have come in america in matter of equal justice, and certainly as we have said, we would be dishonestedishonest est -- dishonest if we did not acknowledge the racial tones of

the case. >> can you give us insight on why the martins were not in the courtroom for the reading? >> upon our advice, we knew it would be an emotional time for them. they have sat here for four weeks. i don't know how -- we were with them every step of the way. what they had to endure, the pain of hearing gun shot after gun shot, after gun shot, same call, faces of the son in the morgue. time and time again. as late as yesterday. upon our advice, we recommended to them that they should go home and attend their home church since we were going to sunday. upon our advice, they went home to go to church tomorrow and that's what they will do. >> mr. crump and mr. parks, hello. i think mr. parks you may have answered this question in part. i will ask it again. where was the family when the announcement was made in court tonight and did they skip it because they expected a particular outcome? >> i will just say, for

security, they were in a safe location and remain in a safe location, they will go to church tomorrow but i will not disclose the location at this time for security purposes. >> any more questions? please remember this is a very challenging time for their family and please respect their privacy. thank you. >> may i ask one last question, i'm sorry. i asked the same question of the prosecution. it's a question that came up during the trial, the prosecutors raised, do you think the outcome would have been different if the races were reversed? >> you know -- >> george zimmerman was black and trayvon martin was white. >> well, we know that a 17-year-old boy was killed. and i think all america has to dig deep in their heart to try to find out how we as a society can learn from this tragedy and how we can make sure that it's not repeated. >> just one more.

kyle hightower from the associated press, it's for you natalie. you have been in this community, you were born and raised here. there's people worried about things happening due to the verdict, how do you think the city will receive the news tonight? >> what i say is what i told sybrina sybrina and tracy, and i noted the changes that have been made in the wake of the shooting of trayvon martin and there's a victory in that. there's a child died and i think that because people took to social media and because 2.2 million americans changed the petition on change.org and demanded, not in an effort to

persecute george zimmerman, but in an effort to say, that a black 17-year-old child should be able to walk home from the store and not be shot. >> yes. >> so, i think for the people who did that, i do not want them to be discouraged. i think they may have saved the life of another child. because i think that from now on, if there's someone that wants to follow someone with a gun, i think they will think twice about it. so for those people, i say thank you for everything and sanford is -- sanford is changed for the better. and i think that you know, there's grace and dignity in what these people did in the peaceful protests. >> thank you. and we have been watching the silver attorneys for the trayvon

martin family tonight as we continue our coverage of the verdict that has been read and rendered in the case. a couple of hours now, that is settling in for the family of george zimmerman who is a free man tonight and for the family of trayvon martin who wanted to see what they termed as justice inity case, and they have in fact because the jury has rendered a verdict, not guilty for george zimmerman. the question will now shift to whether we will hear from any of the jurors and their want to answer questions that were had. they wanted to be anonymous throughout the preselection process and they were s sequestered throughout the trial. so we will see how that comes down. we heard from the defense attorneys for george zimmerman and his family. we have not heard directly from

the zimmerman family, or from george zimmerman himself, of course, this evening and we will watch for that. we have so much more coverage for you now, geradlo rivera is live in sanford, florida, and has been as they have been deliberating all evening earlier today and yesterday, and throughout the trial he has been covering it. "geraldo at large," geraldo, you are with us? >> yes, i am, it's a fox news alert. geraldo rivera reporting on the verdict of george zimmerman. the tragic florida youngster, that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. it was one of those awful tragedies in life, but not all tragedies are crimes. that is what happened here. they over charged george zimmerman, i believe, largely

because of outside political pressure. political pressure from civil rights icons. political pressure, indeed from the white house itself. you recall the president of the united states suggesting that if he had a son, his son would look like trayvon martin. it is one of those awful confluences of politics and justice, and they do not mix. this is a case that the original officers remember, ladies and gentlemen, the original officers and the local prosecutor, decided not to bring against george zimmerman, remember the circumstances. here is george zimmerman the neighborhood watch captain in a beleigerred community, his retreat there, that had been burglarized and you know, robbed before by youngsters, who looked a lot like trayvon martin did to awful night, 16 months ago, when he went from his father's house

to get the skittles and iced tea to bring them back to watch the all-star game. he was a stranger in the community, he had a hoodie on. hfs a rainy night, and his face not recognize aiblg to george zimmerman. zimmerman on alert because these punks get away with it. he has seen his community affected by the crimes and he was determined as watch captains are throughout communities around our country to keep their neighborhoods safe. not all deaths are criminal. this one clearly was over charged, there was no way on god's green earth that george zimmerman could have been found guilty of murdering trayvon martin. he didn't obviously have the ill will, the hatred and wreckless, utter disregard for the young man's life. he thought he was a hero. george zimmerman did.

he thought that he was doing the right thing. and for the state to charge him with murder was purely, i submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, a political decision. the state prosecutor angela cory who you saw her doing her best to spin this defeat, this humiliating defeat for the office in the best political light, she brought a case, she could never win because of outside political pressure. i believe that. i believe she will be found to have surpressed evidence in the case. i think this really stinks. politics and justice should just not mix as i gather here outside the criminal justice center with people who are obviously disappointed. we will speak to them and speak to others along the way, we have an excellent panel for you. let me begin with the judge, who has been here, careful, come on,

who has been here reporting on this as i have been now jeanine, you heard any remarks, dramatic but not unexpected, what say you? >> i think we were all expecting a not guilty verdict. geraldo, you made the point that i made earlier tonight. that is, that the duty of a prosecutor is to follow the law and make sure that the facts are sufficient to go forward and prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of all the jurors. it was clear that there was not sufficient evidence, which tells me why the case was not sent is to the grand jury. that it was a political decision. but, you know, the problem is that a 17-year-old is dead. this kid had skittles and iced tea, he did not deserve that. he did not expect it.

his family does not know how to deal with it now. but unchfortunately, by bringin the charges for which there was no evidence. the prosecutor crossed the line into the world of politics. into the world of justice for a. it was wrong. not surprising what the verdict was based upon the evidence. >> if i can, follow me. let's ask some of these people who have been here protesting, how do you feel about the verdict, you have to tell us? >> i'm very hurt, and a lot of us are hurt and bitter. because when it all started, zimmerman was asked not to pursue trayvon, he was a 17-year-old child has lost his life, because a grown man got out of his car and took things in his own hand as if he was an officer to bother somebody who was in the right place. he lived there. and justice has not been served

so we do know now that we are dealing with an injustice system. a broken system. >> you don't credit that whole notion that it was an unfortunate accident that george zimmerman did not set out to kill that youngster? >> it's not an accident. and what we are not understanding here is our lead prosecutor does a very great job in prosecuting young black men in jacksonville, florida, but for some reason, failed to prosecute zimmerman, we are not understanding how that came about. >> you do not expect that there will be any violence or any disorder? >> no, we are not hoping and praying that it don't be any violence. what we are doing here tonight is we are all going to unite and we are all going to go ahead and challenge the injustice system that we have. and we are also going to go to the governor's mansion and protest. so all different races, we are all going to come together and challenge the in justice system

we have. >> so jeanine, we have a situation where i wish this had a result that was more fair. and the result would have been no prosecution. the result that should have happened is that george zimmerman should have been chastized or sued by the family. youn. but the justice system and the political system in this country must remain separate. and the president on down, i believe, they crossed the line. there's no question that the president crossed the line when he said that trayvon could be my son. what that did was it basically geared everything up to we have to prosecute and now a special prosecutor and the fbi. there needs to be more, a young boy is dead. but you do not abuse the system. you do not inject politics into justice. >> my friend, and our friend, juan williams is among the guests who are gathered tonight,

juan is in the washington, d.c. bureau. juan, you wrote an excellent column for fox news. that suggested that both these men profiled each other. george zimmerman looked at trayvon martin and saw a person just like the people who had been convict miezing his neighborhood and making his neighbors suffer. that was the person he saw, he saw another hyde wearing thug from the neighborhood that was going to come and perpetrate another burglary or robbery. trayvon martin on his behalf, you know, the kid was living in miami with his mom, he was up in orlando, in the sanford, florida, visiting his dad, stranger in a strange place, he goes to do something perfectly legal, taking a known cut and he looks at zimmerman and in his

words, sees a creepy-ass white cracker that is stalking him. they both profiled each other. should this be a race case? should the president of the united states been involved? >> no question, that race was involved geraldo, it's not a race case in the sense that i think that you know, a lot of the media has super imposed that racial frame work on the case improperly, the story, the prosecutor said it right. that you know what? there was race involved here, but it's not the story, maybe race was part of the profiling that went on in zimmerman's mind, it's not the overall story. it's not a racial case.

how can most white people are relieved, isn't this oj simpson reversed? >> i hope not. i hope that people did not make george zimmerman into a hero. >> conservatives are all rooting for george zimmerman, i would point out that george zimmerman may be described as hispanic in a difference situation. there was a sense of injustice, the fact that there was a dead child and someone killed him and we don't know how to deal with it and we think something should be done when someone kills a

child that is unarmed. so technically, the -- >> the president -- >> hold on, hold on, the family asked for justice, the team knew that their child, no one had been arrested and put through the legal process and their child was dead. what we can say tonight is that the legal process went forward. the man was charged. and a jury gave their verdict. it may be that they did so on a technical legal basis, in terms of what second degree murder would have required to find him guilty or even manslaughter. there's an absence of wisdom and heart and that is why you think, you know what? why is it that this child is dead and you say, all white people are happy? i do not believe that. >> i'm not saying all white people. do not put words in my mouth. i'm saying generally speaking, if you were told that white -- >> you said that black people are unhappy and white people are happy. >> i did not say all.

>> i think -- >> juan, this case should never have been brought. this case should never have been brought. if it was not for race politics. you had the reverend jesse jackson, and the million hoodie march. this case would never have been brought at the level of murder in the second degree. that was a stunning unsupportable charge. why do you think i was so confident this many weeks and months predicting an acquittal, it was not because i'm a show boater who is sticking my neck out. it just did not qualify under the terms of the statute. it would not have been brought. if it was not for the aspect of race and politics. judge? >> juan, your premise is wrong. it's just wrong t the job of a prosecute senior to bring charges not to satisfy the public. not to make believe that the law does not cover it in terms of a

crime, well we will just air it publically. that is not the purpose of the criminal justice system. the purpose of a prosecutor and bringing a charge is when you have the evidence. and prosecutors across this country know what the law is and what they are obligation is. we do not bring charges to make people feel better. we don't bring charges to air the facts in front of the public. we bring charges when we can prove the facts beyond a reasonable doubt. the just is system is not set up to satisfy -- >> i think you heard -- >> do not interrupt me. the justice system is not here to satisfy the political interests of a particular party. >> now, juan you are up. >> i think you heard from the prosecutor. he said that in his opinion, it was a second degree charge, zimmerman had tracked trayvon martin, had a gun on him, got out of the car, and he believes

at that point, that there was some malice involved. as i said, i think the jury and i think the defense team made the case that really, the incident starts with the fight. and that is why they view it differencely. but, again, that is a technical call, the verdict made the verdict. >> it's not -- one person is dead, and he can't speak. >> that's right. the boy can't speak. he is dead. but again, there's a sense -- >> right. >> there's a sense in the country that there's injustice when you have a dead child and nobody, the criminal justice system does not respond and i think that is why there was pressure. geraldo, you asked me earlier about president obama, and let he me say -- >> listen, here is president obama. here is the president, here is the president of the united states and i will get back to juan and you can respond. >> i can only imagine what these parents are going through. and when i think about this boy,

i think about my own kids. my main message is, to the parents of trayvon martin. you know, fif i had a son, he would look like trayvon. >> juan, that's an awfully extraordinary intervention of the land here. if he began stepping in in every case that an injustice was perceived or foreseen, he would be the prosecutor of the land. it's hard to not believe that there's no connection between what the president of the united states said that afternoon and the charges longed against the neighborhood watchman or

neighborhood vigilante, whatever you want to call him, what every legal observer said this is unsupportable by the facts and certainly by the law. >> what the president said was political. because he is the epitome of politics, he is the president. but i think i have heard from governor jeb bush when the stand your ground law was put in place, and he said he did not think it applied to this case and he thought there was a problem here with the lack of criminal prosecution. so -- >> no. no. >> i think everyone, everybody, republican or democrat was curious about why no one was arrested why there did not seem to be prosecution, why there was not actions taken. and you know what? -- >> because some tragedies are not criminal. some tragedies are -- they are tragedies. that's why, these two people came together in a way that was

tragic, that the circumstances showed that this was a an awful, painful accident. >> that is -- we all respect the verdict, geraldo. >> what about the fact that apparently the special prosecutor's office withheld evidence from the defense. evidence that showed trayvon, puffing smoke and holding a weapon and jewelry on the bed and they did not let the defense see the pictures so recently that the i.t. guy had to give it himself as a whistle blower to the defense team and now, there will be an investigation and sanctions sought? this is a very big deal. >> they fired him. >> they fired the guy yesterday who identified the information that was not given to the defense. >> all right, now, i do not want to, juan, you sit there tonight, and we wouldn't justice, we want

racial harm any. i do not think the cause of racial harm any is enhanced by pandering and bringing charges that lawyers in a -- in the sober reflection of professional conduct would never bring. if this was two white guys they never would have charged anybody. >> oh, yes. >> i don't know -- >> if it was two white guys or two black guys you would not have had a jury. >> you have legal training, i don't. but let me just tell you, i think there was a concerted, there was tremendous concern nationwide that nobody was held to account and there was a dead child. and whether that is political pressure or not, politics sometimes interveens in our justice system, but in many cases it's appropriate in terms of bringing justice, had geraldo. >> i hear you loud and clear and i love you, you are my brother and thank you very much for coming on, juan williams. i have to take a short break we have got a stellar panel to lead

you through the night to discuss this case that has affected so many lives. the disappointment felt by the people behind me and the people, you know, who gather here outside the courtroom, palpable, the supporters of the trayvon martin family and i think that these parents. i have to say this, my heart bleeds for the martin parents. they were good people. they are good people, tracy mart martin the dad, a wonderful, respectable, hard working loving dad, and sybrina fulton, loving mom, did her best with trayvon, they tried so hard. this is not one of those cases where the kid had no supervision, no dad at home. this is not one of those cases. it's a child that had wonderful parents and was trying the best. our hearts go out to then. i have to stress though, sometimes tragedies are not crimes. big show, back after this break. [ male announcer ] at his current pace,

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>> this is a fox news alert, we are in sanford, florida, in this community that was racked by passion, by division, since this incident happened 16 months ago. and this young man was snuffed out before his life was able to begin, who was shot neighborhood watch captain, who thought he was doing what was best for his community. there has been dramatically different reactions to the verdict in the case. craig is with some of the people now and this is an illustration of how different the response is. go ahead, craig, who are you with? >> this is james mohamed ed a, is with the new black panthers.

they were respectful when the verdict was read, but it was a minute that people did not say anything. but they were well behaved and you, james, were part of keeping the crowd calm. tell me about that? >> our role is to come down and support the people of sanford, and more so, we want to put the message on freedom and justice and equality. so, we had a an opportunity to talk to the young people who were disappointed with the verdict, we wanted them to be expressing their feelings but not in a violent way, we understand there's a lot of police out here along with military and paramilitary units. part of our job is to come out and support the young people and make a stand of what we believe would have been a fair trial in the case and the outcome was predicted. >> and while there was a respectful response by the martin family supporters the zimmerman sponsors were there.

you did not hear any cheers. tell me about that. >> it's a bad thing, i sympathize with the martin family. but the trial it was all about not whether george got out of the vehicle and followed him, it was the self defense rule and i believe the jury. they weighed all the facts and they got them right and they come to the right conclusion of t the not guilty verdict. >> what do you think happens now? >> i think it has set back the racism a bit, i would say, and hopefully everything will come out peaceful, only time will tell. >> okay, tell me about your response here. are you holding the skittles and iced tea, you had a very emotional response after the shock came through. >> technically, george was wrong, because the 911 call said stay in your vehicle, we have help coming out. but he did not -- he did not obey what the 911 call said, he took on his pursuit, he did what

he wanted to do. so, it was -- i mean, trayvon -- we did our part. but george zimmerman should have been in prison tonight. >> geraldo, back to you. >> he very emotional response, but a respectful response, no violence, this is not going to be rodney king kind of response to thmpt there may be, i don't know, some odd acts of individuals acting out. but there's no, you know, passion to destroy in protest, that is not happening. there's disappointment on one side, there's pro foundry leaf on the other -- pro found relief on the other. we have more from sanford, florida after this.anno cer ] get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. the next generation with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. it penetrates rapidly. visible wrinkle results start day 1.

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this is a fox news alert as far as we know there has been emotional reaction to the dramatic but not unexpected verdict in the george zimmerman trial. who violence that we know of. at any meaningful scale. categorexacty is someone who hn emotional response to this and has a unique reason to have the responsibility. in 2005 her son anthony was killed by someone who invoked florida's stand your ground statute. tell me how you responded anded how that affects you?

>> my son was strangled to death for four minutes in a fast foot parking lot restaurant and they inflicted this law two days later and called it excusable homicide and it was an outrage because my son was innocent. this is a gross misuse of this law. this was something that was a canceled doctrine that was passed to protect people in their home and now taken out of the home and extremely abused by situation such as this. my heart cries out to these folks to the martin family and to the entire community here that has been subjected to what i have been subjected to and it is very personal to me. >> geraldo: if you could speak to the martin family directly what would you tell them? >> i would tell them that i'm so sorry that they have to go through what i have gone through and if there is any kind of justice in this, it is knowing that we can stand together and make a difference. we need to change this law.

we need to get together, people from everywhere, and make difference. >> geraldo: judge jeanine pirro, i believe -- sorry, come on back. kathy, say right there. can you make -- they were on squishy ground here. what people i think didn't get in terms of the stand your ground law which tragically affected this poor woman, this poor mom. >> i'm so sorry. >> geraldo: we all are. >> geraldo: and the self-defense statute. once george zimmerman felt his life in peril even though he initiated the encounter the self-defense in florida is very broad. i think that activists can rightfully argue to limit self-defense to limit or abolish stand your ground. they are the law. that is why is was so easy to predict the outcome in this case. don't you agree they are very expansionive the rights of people using deadly force.

>> the stand your ground law gives many people the ability to kill someone who then is not in a position to speak to himself and for the specifics of the situation and allows for homicides and the murder of individuals who are truly victims. and i think that it is -- that is why george zimmerman didn't invoke stand your ground because even that broad law you wouldn't have worked for him. and yet the self-defense law worked for him. but the point is this is a law that has to be looked at again. >> absolutely. >> it is too broad. it is too easy to claim. >> geraldo: give us 30 seconds and tell us about anthony. >> anthony was a college kid. he was good natured. he wanted to be a wildlife preservation officer. he was very loved by the community. he was never in a fight in his entire life. he was a protector. a mediator between his friends. very highly respected. did not deserve to die this way. >> geraldo: sorry. >> thank you.

>> geraldo: all right. folks, we have some other tremendous and important and impactful guests on this historic night. this was not the civil rights case of the 21st century. this was a tragedy that -- @ step! [ mom ] my little girl...she loves to help out on big jobs. good thing there's bounty select-a-size. it's the smaller powerful sheet that acts like a big sheet. look! one select-a-size sheet of bounty is 50% more absorbent than a full size sheet of the leading ordinary brand. ♪ i got it! [ mom ] use less with the small but powerful picker upper. bounty select-a-size. and try bounty napkins.

state of florida versus george zimmerman verdict we the jury find george zimmerman not guilty. so say we all, foreperson. >> geraldo: george zimmerman dramatically but not unexpectedly found not guilty. not innocent. he wasn't found innocent. he was found not guilty. not guilt in i am sure when the jurors finally speak and they have told us they are not in the mood to speak tonight will tell us i think that they believe that george zimmerman was responsible obviously for the death of this unarmed youngster but did not commit is a crime.