Trayvon Martin's Parents Call For Change In Justice System
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and the Reverend Jessie Jackson continue their push for change in U.S. justice system.
Appearing Monday at the National Bar Association's annual conference at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Sybrina Fulton called the repeal of Florida's controversial 'Stand Your Ground' law.
"I think [the law] assisted the person who killed my son to get away with murder," said Fulton. "We have to change these laws so they don't happen to someone else child."
The Reverend Jessie Jackson spoke out about what he believes is an unequal justice system.
"The jurors said it was murder but the law let him off the hook therefore were going to fight 'stand your ground' laws," said Jackson.
Claiming he shot the teen in self-defense, a jury acquitted George Zimmerman earlier this month of second degree murder in Martin's death. Since then, protestors have called on federal officials to charge Zimmerman with violating Martin's civil rights and pressured Florida legislators to repeal the "Stand Your Ground" law.
"We stand for equal justice and equal protection under the law," said the Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump.
"We are asking all good citizens to not only talk about repealing these laws but actually suspend them," said John Page, president of the National Bar Association, the nation's largest association of African-American lawyers and judges.
Shortly after Zimmerman's acquittal, Page issued a statement on the verdict which read in part "We express our heartfelt condolences to Trayvon Martin's family on this tragic verdict. We also say 'Enough is Enough — It is NOT OK to kill our youth.' "
During the conference Fulton also addressed a call for a Florida boycott, saying she does not have a stance either way.
"People have a right to free speech and if that's their way of showing how they feel to express themselves about the verdict than I think that's something that they can do," said Fulton.
Governor Rick Scott has stood firm on his stance on the state's "Stand Your Ground" law. Scott has said that a special bipartisan task force he convened to review the law in the past found nothing wrong with it.
Topics of discussion at the National Bar Association's conference include gun violence, voting rights, judicial vacancies in addition to the Zimmerman verdict.
