Trayvon's Parents Talk To CBS This Morning About Zimmerman Verdict
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – For the first time since a central Florida jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of the murder of their son, Trayvon Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and father, Tracy Martin, talked to CBS This Morning about the "shock" of the verdict after it was read.
"I was in a bit of shock," Fulton said about the verdict. "I thought surely he would be found guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter at the least, but I just knew that they would see that this was a teenager that was trying to get home. This was no burglar. This was somebody's son that was trying to get home."
CBS' Norah O'Donnell pressed Fulton asking her if she was "stunned" by the verdict.
"I was stunned," Fulton said. "I couldn't believe it."
Since the verdict was read, at least one juror, B37, has come out and said that she didn't believe race had anything to do with the shooting death of Martin. When asked about Juror B37's comments that Trayvon played a huge role in his own death, Fulton said the juror didn't "know Trayvon."
"Trayvon is not a confrontational person," Fulton said. "So instead of placing the blame on the teenager; we need to place the blame on the responsible adult. There were two people involved. We had an adult who was chasing a kid; and we have the kid who we feel was afraid."
CBS' Charlie Rose asked Fulton and Martin's attorney Benjamin Crump if a civil suit will be filed against Zimmerman in the wake of the not guilty criminal verdict. Crump said that the team is looking at all legal options.
"We are asking the department of justice to answer that question for us," Crump said. "Charlie...can a private citizen with a gun profile and follow our children home because the United States Supreme Court doesn't even allow the Supreme Court to profile people based on race. So this is an issue 'cause we need to know what to tell our children."
Martin's father, Tracy, was asked by Rose if there was one thing that people should remember about Trayvon.
"I want America to know that Trayvon was a fun loving child," Martin said. "He was our child. We miss him dearly. Just have your child's life taken away from you like that. It hurts. It's a process that will take a long time to start the recovery from."
