Trayvon Martin's Father: 'I'll Never Grasp' Why Jury Acquitted Zimmerman
Screenshot/ABC
In their first interview since the George Zimmerman "not guilty" verdict was handed down, Trayvon Martin's parents spoke about their reaction to their son's killer walking free and about how there are "no winners" in this situation.
Martin's father, Tracy, said on ABC's Good Morning America show (video embedded below) that he'll "never grasp" the jury's decision to acquit Zimmerman of all charges and that the verdict was "devastating."
"I wish they really knew Trayvon for who he was and knew that he was a kid," he said. "They didn't know him as a human being."
And in reaction to Zimmerman's parents expressing sympathy for the Martin family and saying they pray for Trayvon every day, he said: "There's no winner in this situation. Obviously we are devastated more and I just think that all the circumstances surrounding books being written and mis-characterization of us as parents, I really don't feel that it's real sincere, but we continue to pray that we'll find peace and strength to be forgiving parents."
Martin's parents weren't in the courtroom when the verdict was read. His mother, Sybrina Fulton, said she saw the verdict on television.
"My first thought was shock. Disgust," she told GMA. "I really didn't believe that he was not guilty."
Tracy and Sybrina made the rounds on the morning shows Thursday, appearing on GMA, the Today show, and CBS This Morning. Sybrina told CBS that she's shocked Zimmerman wasn't found guilty of anything at all.
"I thought surely that he would be found guilty of second degree murder, manslaughter at the least," she said. "This was no burglar. This was somebody's son that was trying to get home."
Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon in Florida in 2012 following a confrontation in Zimmerman's neighborhood. The jury had the option to convict Zimmerman of second-degree murder or manslaughter, and they found him not guilty of both.