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Today's Question Blog
Michael Olson

What do you think of the acquittal of George Zimmerman?

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Trayvon Martin rally
Demonstrators hold signs during a demonstration, dubbed "One Thousand Hoodies for Trayvon Martin Support Rally," protesting the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and to demand justice for his killer, Thursday, March 29, 2012, on Northrop Plaza at the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus. AP Photo/The St. Paul Pioneer Press, John Autey

"The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin is reverberating far beyond Florida, writes NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates. "On Sunday, President Obama acknowledged the strong passions the verdict has incited. He asked Americans 'to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son.'"

Many people are trying to make sense of a case that sparked a national conversation on race and gun laws.

Longtime civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said in a statement he was "deeply disappointed by the verdict" and that it seemed to "justify the stalking and killing of innocent black boys and deny them any avenue of self-defense."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqoZl7zCea8

The NAACP was, coincidentally, holding its annual conference in Orlando as the verdict was announced Saturday night in nearby Sanford, Fla.

Dominique Tuggle, who was attending the conference, said: "A completely innocent verdict was the last thing that I thought the jury would come back with, so it was shocking and very upsetting. I couldn't bring myself to watch the news or to go on any social media networks."

Wes Hall, another conference participant, pointed out that juries often hear things the public isn't privy to: "We don't know all the evidence. We can watch the trial, but when you get in that deliberation room and all those facts are laid out in front of you, that's when the true justice happens. And it's not over. Just because we have a verdict now does not mean that this story is over."

Today's Question: What do you think of the acquittal of George Zimmerman?