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The Justice Department will not file civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, a Florida neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin. (Reuters)

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that George Zimmerman will not face federal criminal civil rights charges for shooting and killing teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012.

Zimmerman fatally shot Martin while the unarmed African American 17-year-old was walking in Sanford, Fla. The shooting became a national flashpoint, sparking a discussion of race relations that continues to reverberate since the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and other incidents across the country.

The death of Trayvon Martin was a devastating tragedy, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a statement. It shook an entire community, drew the attention of millions across the nation, and sparked a painful but necessary dialogue throughout the country.

As a result of the announcement Tuesday, the federal investigation into the shooting has been closed.

Holder said that the comprehensive examination determined that there was not enough evidence for a federal hate crime prosecution. But he addedthat Martins premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface.

Martins familysaid in a statement that they were disappointed with the findings, but thanked the people who offered prayer and other support over the years.

We remain poised to do everything in our power to help eradicate senseless violence in our communities, because we dont want any other parent to experience the unexplainable loss we have endured, Martinsfamily said. We will never, ever forget what happened to our son, Trayvon, and will honor his memory by working tirelessly to make the world a better place.

His family also thanked the Justice Department for the extensive and thorough investigation into the killing of our son. A Martin family attorney confirmed that representatives of the family met with JusticeDepartmentofficials on Tuesday to be told about the decision. They were also joined by officials from the FBI.

The decision was not unexpected, as three law enforcement officials told The Washington Postlast fall that Zimmerman was not expected to facecharges. It was announced two days before the third anniversary of Martins death and almost three weeks after what would have been Martins 20th birthday.

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George Zimmerman wont face civil rights charges in ...

Sybrina Fulton, left, the mother of Trayvon Martin, and George Zimmerman who was acquitted on second degree murder charges in Martin's Feb. 26, 2012 killing. Getty Images

MIAMI -- The mother of Trayvon Martin says she's disappointed that federal prosecutors decided not to charge a neighborhood watch volunteer with a hate crime for killing her son three years ago.

Speaking with The Associated Press on Wednesday before the third anniversary of her 17-year-old son's death, Sybrina Fulton says she still believes George Zimmerman got away with murder.

"He took a life, carelessly and recklessly, and he shouldn't deserve to have his entire life walking around on the street free. I just believe that he should be held accountable for what he's done," Fulton said.

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The U.S. Justice Department announced it will not prosecute George Zimmerman on civil rights charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The...

Zimmerman claimed he shot the unarmed teenager in self-defense after confronting Martin while volunteering for his neighborhood watch group. A jury acquitted him of second-degree murder the next year.

The case sparked a national conversation about race, bias and crime in part because Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, was not immediately arrested after shooting Martin, who is black.

The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday that it found insufficient evidence to establish that Zimmerman willfully deprived Martin of his civil rights or killed him because of his race.

"The Justice Department is the top of the line here," Fulton said. "But what they found just wasn't enough."

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Trayvon Martin's mother: George Zimmerman got away with murder

Published: Friday, 2/27/2015

BY TAYLOR DUNGJEN BLADE STAFF WRITER

Before noon Thursday, University of Toledo law students Maysaa Ouza and Lauren Smith were convinced that George Zimmerman should have been found guilty in the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin. An hour later, the two were less sure.

Its interesting to hear all this, Ms. Ouza said after defense attorney Donald Wests recount of the 2013 trial and how it was portrayed by the mass media. Instead of feeling certain of his guilt, Ms. Ouza and Ms. Smith were undecided.

Mr. West gave an hourlong presentation to a nearly full house at the universitys Richard and Jade McQuade Law Auditorium, showing photos of the trial, playing calls made to Sanford, Fla., police, and reviewing media coverage. The lecture was sponsored by the College of Law and the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity.

The story had been in the national spotlight for about six weeks when Mr. West joined Mr. Zimmermans defense team and, at the time, the case didnt seem very special to me, he said, but the lack of an immediate arrest of Mr. Zimmerman for the shooting death of the 17-year-old Martin youth triggered absolute fury in the media.

The Martin youth and Mr. Zimmerman met, in what turned out to be a fatal encounter, on Feb. 26, 2012, in the Sanford neighborhood where Mr. Zimmerman lived and the Martin youth was visiting his father.

Mr. West said some media coverage of the case wasnt entirely accurate. He said Mr. Zimmerman was not, as reported, acting as a neighborhood watch commander the night the Martin youth was killed, but rather was on his way to Target. He also took issue with the photos used by the media, a years-old picture of Mr. Zimmerman, showing him bigger than he was at the time of the shooting, and a 12-year-old Trayvon Martin, rather than an age-appropriate photo.

After the lecture, not everyone was convinced. Some questioned how the case could not have been seen as racially motivated when Mr. Zimmerman described the Martin youth to a police dispatcher, as seeming suspicious and as if there was something wrong with him.

I dont think a guy who is planning a murder calls police first and then waits four to five minutes to do it, Mr. West said.

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Zimmerman's attorney visits UT

If George Zimmerman wouldn't have gotten out of his car to follow Trayvon Benjamin Martin, he would probably be wearing a hooded sweatshirt and be 20 years old Thursday. Zimmerman had a gun. Trayvon wore "hoodies" even when it was 100 degrees in Miami Gardens.

If Martin wouldn't have gotten suspended for 10 days for having a pipe to smoke marijuana, he would have probably graduated from Dr. Michael M. Krop High School and George T. Baker Aviation School. He would probably be a college student at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, where friends said he wanted to go.

"I honestly feel that the murderer of our son should've been convicted," Trayvon's father said Wednesday, after meeting with Department of Justice officials who said Tuesday that they wouldn't file civil rights charges against Zimmerman, because of insufficient evidence to establish that he willfully deprived Trayvon of his civil rights or killed him, because of his race. For years, the NAACP has pushed for action.

"He took a life, carelessly and recklessly, and he shouldn't deserve to have his entire life walking around on the street free," Fulton said. "I just believe that he should be held accountable for what he's done."

It's not easy to let go of perceived injustice. Zimmerman didn't deny killing him, yet a Seminole County jury -- of five white women, a Latina and no African-Americans -- found the aspiring law enforcer not guilty. He was acquitted July 13, 2013.

They didn't convict himof second-degree murder, because they didn't believe the killing was "done from ill will, hatred, spite or evil intent." They also didn't find him guilty of manslaughter for "intentionally" committing acts that caused the boy's death.

MULTIMEDIA FLASHBACK: Listen to 911 calls, screams, gunshot

Zimmerman "got away with murder, but can't get away from God," said the Latina juror identified as Maddy, a mother of eight. She added that she was "hurting" and having trouble eating and sleeping. She said she was confused and was told that "if you have no proof that he killed him intentionally, you can't say he's guilty."

African-American parents nationwide -- including President Barack Obama -- felt empathy when they saw Fulton cry. On Thursday morning, TIME revived a 2012 column"Advice for Young Black Boys, 3 Years After Trayvon Martins Death." It warned boys that "black maleness is a potentially fatal condition" and the awareness that it increases the likelihood of being perceived as a villain or a criminal "could save your life."

Zimmerman said he assumed that the boy -- who was unarmed, while walking home, as he talked on his cell phone, after buying Skittles and an Arizona brand watermelon flavored drink -- was up to no good at 7:09 p.m., Feb. 26, 2012. There was a march and a rally, after police didn't arrest the man who got in the way of him making it back home.

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In Miami Gardens, 'Lovin' Trayvon Martin, hatin' George Zimmerman' hits heart of racist reality

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