0 looked at it and said, why are you telling us about excusable homicide? we had to, even though it had no application to the facts of the case. >> i have a question. >> sure. >> hi, usa today. don west, you said that i'm thrilled the jury kept the tragedy from becoming a travesty, can you talk about what the tragedy is. we talked about the racial issues here. can you tell us what you meant by that? >> the tragedy is the loss of trayvon martin's life, regardless of what he was doing or immediately what led up to it, it's a tragic loss of life. it not only will impact of course, trayvon martin's family and all those that knew him forever and ever. this event itself also impacts george zimmerman forever, and ever, this is something that no one gets over. there's no winners or monsters here. that's the tragedy. the travesty, it would have been a travesty of justice if george zimmerman was convicted. >> thanks guys, appreciate the time. i seem to -- i think someone said it was the last question. so -- >> please. >> we are watching the defense attorneys for george zimmerman on this night in which a jury has given its verdict of not guilty in the george zimmerman murder trial. a couple of things to watch out for on your screen, don west and mark o'mara taking questions. we showed you first the prosecution's response and now the defense's response to the verdict this evening that their client george zimmerman is not guilty. not of second degree murder, not of manslaughter. the jury of six women making that decision earlier this evening. and this case had huge implications across the country. it has so politically and racially divided the nation in many ways, but tonight, justice is served. in america, because the justice that we look for comes from a jury and that jury has rendered its verdict, we are still watching and listening, this is mark o'mara. let's listen in. >> a man who believes in the system, whose dad was a judge, who maybe wanted to be a cop, and gets a system -- two systems went against george zimmerman that he cannot understand. you guys, the media. he was like a patient in an operating table where mad scientists were committing experiment on him and he had no anesthesia. he did not know why he was turned into this monster. but quite honestly you had a lot to do with it, you just did. you took a story that was fed to you and you ran wit, and you ran right over him. and that was horrid to him. then, he comes into a system that he trusts. let's not forget, six voluntary statements. voluntary surrender and he believes in the system, that he really wanted to be part of, right? and then, he gets prosecutors that charge him with a crime they could never, ever prove. it's not like they -- they did not lose evidence along the way, right? so, i don't think anyone would argue with me in this room, that they had the evidence of second degree murder. this in your heart kind of stuff, that is not what we are supposed to do and it's not what they are supposed to do. so, those two systems failed him. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> all right, and what had happened there, was that we thought we had heard the last question. that is what mark o'mara had said and then there was one even some of the witnesses in the case wanted to be kept quiet, because they feared that whatever verdict they would reach would not please the public. we have seen marches in this, and all sorts of things play out publically in the streets there in the state of florida and across the country in response to the shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin. was it murder or self defense? a jury has decided. six women in florida that in fact it was self defense and they have acquitted 29-year-old george zimmerman. so those were the stakes in the case, what we are seeing tonight play out in america is the reaction to that justice. george zimmerman is a free man, and as we just heard his defense team talking about. he will go home with his family now and for the first time since right after the night of february 26th, 2012, his life will go on beyond the point of the shooting that night. we have a couple of guests re with by at studio-h in fox me earlier tonight on fox report. as we were waiting to see what the jury would do. they had taken a dinner break, they had a question for the judge. we had no anticipation that they would reach a verdict so quickly after the dinner break. but they have. you are both with us and we appreciate you guys standing by, judge, i will start with you. this verdict came quickly after the dinner conversation and we knew they could continue to deliberate because the judge said, that was possible to happen. your reaction now to the acquittal of george zimmerman. >> well, we have been saying all along, it's a tough case, you have an emotional component that could over ride the legal components. the only thing we can do is ask jurors to follow the law. that is it. we cannot have them decide from the heart if it's illegal. they decided according to the law, and they did their duty. for that we should be proud of the jury. it does not take away the pain that there's a 17-year-old boy that is dead, and as with don west, who i have disagreed and agreed with, that in of itself is a tragedy, but following it with a verdict that is not based on the law would be a travesty, so i agree with him there. >> i want to make our viewers aware, benjamin crump is expected to speak shortly, mercedes, if i cut you off that is why. go ahead. >> the jury reasonably believed that george zimmerman felt his life was in peril and because of that belief, they felt it was self defense. i do think that ultimately, the jury did what they thought was the right verdict. they were deliberate in coming to their conclusion. they asked for list of evidence that we saw early on in the deliberations. they wanted the list of evidence to go through it, so it was a deliberate and they reached a conclusion, not based on their emotions but based on the facts presented. >> judge alex, one of the things you said earlier tonight is that what we may see if we see a verdict, and it were an acquittal, and it seems to be answered, even the defense side, not happy inside the courtroom. once the verdict was read, but he very, very calm. benjamin crump, attorney for the trayvon martin family. let's watch. >> good evening, my name is darrol parks, we represent the trayvon martin family. we are very, very, very saddened, but we have accepted the jury's verdict in the case. first and foremost, on behalf of tracy martin and sa brie that fulton, who are just heart broken really right now. and, we ask that you keep them in your prayers. at this time, attorney crump will make a statement and then we will take a few questions. >> i'm here for my colleagues. the parents would like to thank all of the supporters throughout the nation and the world to everybody that attended a rally to the millions people that signed petitions. to the prosecution, miss ange-- everyone from the prosecutor's office, to everyone that put their hoodies up and to everyone who said i am trayvon, his family expressed their heartfelt gratitude for helping them these past 17 months. to trayvon's parents your work in the name of your son, has made sanford and other cities a little safer for all of our children. i know trayvon is up there proud at the changes that you as his parents have inspired in his name. this morning, martin luther king's daughter, dr. bernice king, tweeted may message that read today is a defining moment for the status of my father's dream. whatever the zimmerman verdict is, she tweeted, in the words of statement. and trayvon's parents are thankful that she did come forward to act as a witness in this case. something she did not want to do. >> stephanie with west 2 news. does it bother you when people say this case is not about race? >> no. it doesn't. but, you know, the whole world was looking at this case for a reason. and what people wanted to see as we all said how far we have come in america in matter of equal justice, and certainly as we have said, we would be dishonestedishonest est -- dishonest if we did not acknowledge the racial tones of the case. >> can you give us insight on why the martins were not in the courtroom for the reading? >> upon our advice, we knew it would be an emotional time for them. they have sat here for four weeks. i don't know how -- we were with them every step of the way. what they had to endure, the pain of hearing gun shot after gun shot, after gun shot, same call, faces of the son in the morgue. time and time again. as late as yesterday. upon our advice, we recommended to them that they should go home and attend their home church since we were going to sunday. upon our advice, they went home to go to church tomorrow and that's what they will do. >> mr. crump and mr. parks, hello. i think mr. parks you may have answered this question in part. i will ask it again. where was the family when the announcement was made in court tonight and did they skip it because they expected a particular outcome? >> i will just say, for security, they were in a safe location and remain in a safe location, they will go to church tomorrow but i will not disclose the location at this time for security purposes. >> any more questions? please remember this is a very challenging time for their family and please respect their privacy. thank you. >> may i ask one last question, i'm sorry. i asked the same question of the prosecution. it's a question that came up during the trial, the prosecutors raised, do you think the outcome would have been different if the races were reversed? >> you know -- >> george zimmerman was black and trayvon martin was white. >> well, we know that a 17-year-old boy was killed. and i think all america has to dig deep in their heart to try to find out how we as a society can learn from this tragedy and how we can make sure that it's not repeated. >> just one more. kyle hightower from the associated press, it's for you natalie. you have been in this community, you were born and raised here. there's people worried about things happening due to the verdict, how do you think the city will receive the news tonight? >> what i say is what i told sybrina sybrina and tracy, and i noted the changes that have been made in the wake of the shooting of trayvon martin and there's a victory in that. there's a child died and i think that because people took to social media and because 2.2 million americans changed the petition on change.org and demanded, not in an effort to persecute george zimmerman, but in an effort to say, that a black 17-year-old child should be able to walk home from the store and not be shot. >> yes. >> so, i think for the people who did that, i do not want them to be discouraged. i think they may have saved the life of another child. because i think that from now on, if there's someone that wants to follow someone with a gun, i think they will think twice about it. so for those people, i say thank you for everything and sanford is -- sanford is changed for the better. and i think that you know, there's grace and dignity in what these people did in the peaceful protests. >> thank you. and we have been watching the silver attorneys for the trayvon martin family tonight as we continue our coverage of the verdict that has been read and rendered in the case. a couple of hours now, that is settling in for the family of george zimmerman who is a free man tonight and for the family of trayvon martin who wanted to see what they termed as justice inity case, and they have in fact because the jury has rendered a verdict, not guilty for george zimmerman. the question will now shift to whether we will hear from any of the jurors and their want to answer questions that were had. they wanted to be anonymous throughout the preselection process and they were s sequestered throughout the trial. so we will see how that comes down. we heard from the defense attorneys for george zimmerman and his family. we have not heard directly from the zimmerman family, or from george zimmerman himself, of course, this evening and we will watch for that. we have so much more coverage for you now, geradlo rivera is live in sanford, florida, and has been as they have been deliberating all evening earlier today and yesterday, and throughout the trial he has been covering it. "geraldo at large," geraldo, you are with us? >> yes, i am, it's a fox news alert. geraldo rivera reporting on the verdict of george zimmerman. the tragic florida youngster, that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. it was one of those awful tragedies in life, but not all tragedies are crimes. that is what happened here. they over charged george zimmerman, i believe, largely because of outside political pressure. political pressure from civil rights icons. political pressure, indeed from the white house itself. you recall the president of the united states suggesting that if he had a son, his son would look like trayvon martin. it is one of those awful confluences of politics and justice, and they do not mix. this is a case that the original officers remember, ladies and gentlemen, the original officers and the local prosecutor, decided not to bring against george zimmerman, remember the circumstances. here is george zimmerman the neighborhood watch captain in a beleigerred community, his retreat there, that had been burglarized and you know, robbed before by youngsters, who looked a lot like trayvon martin did to awful night, 16 months ago, when he went from his father's house to get the skittles and iced tea to bring them back to watch the all-star game. he was a stranger in the community, he had a hoodie on. hfs a rainy night, and his face not recognize aiblg to george zimmerman. zimmerman on alert because these punks get away with it. he has seen his community affected by the crimes and he was determined as watch captains are throughout communities around our country to keep their neighborhoods safe. not all deaths are criminal. this one clearly was over charged, there was no way on god's green earth that george zimmerman could have been found guilty of murdering trayvon martin. he didn't obviously have the ill will, the hatred and wreckless, utter disregard for the young man's life. he thought he was a hero. george zimmerman did. he thought that he was doing the right thing. and for the state to charge him with murder was purely, i submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, a political decision. the state prosecutor angela cory who you saw her doing her best to spin this defeat, this humiliating defeat for the office in the best political light, she brought a case, she could never win because of outside political pressure. i believe that. i believe she will be found to have surpressed evidence in the case. i think this really stinks. politics and justice should just not mix as i gather here outside the criminal justice center with people who are obviously disappointed. we will speak to them and speak to others along the way, we have an excellent panel for you. let me begin with the judge, who has been here, careful, come on, who has been here reporting on this as i have been now jeanine, you heard any remarks, dramatic but not unexpected, what say you? >> i think we were all expecting a not guilty verdict. geraldo, you made the point that i made earlier tonight. that is, that the duty of a prosecutor is to follow the law and make sure that the facts are sufficient to go forward and prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of all the jurors. it was clear that there was not sufficient evidence, which tells me why the case was not sent is to the grand jury. that it was a political decision. but, you know, the problem is that a 17-year-old is dead. this kid had skittles and iced tea, he did not deserve that. he did not expect it. his family does not know how to deal with it now. but unchfortunately, by bringin the charges for which there was no evidence. the prosecutor crossed the line into the world of politics. into the world of justice for a. it was wrong. not surprising what the verdict was based upon the evidence. >> if i can, follow me. let's ask some of these people who have been here protesting, how do you feel about the verdict, you have to tell us? >> i'm very hurt, and a lot of us are hurt and bitter. because when it all started, zimmerman was asked not to pursue trayvon, he was a 17-year-old child has lost his life, because a grown man got out of his car and took things in his own hand as if he was an officer to bother somebody who was in the right place. he lived there. and justice has not been served so we do know now that we are dealing with an injustice system. a broken system. >> you don't credit that whole notion that it was an unfortunate accident that george zimmerman did not set out to kill that youngster? >> it's not an accident. and what we are not understanding here is our lead prosecutor does a very great job in prosecuting young black men in jacksonville, florida, but for some reason, failed to prosecute zimmerman, we are not understanding how that came about. >> you do not expect that there will be any violence or any disorder? >> no, we are not hoping and praying that it don't be any violence. what we are doing here tonight is we are all going to unite and we are all going to go ahead and challenge the injustice system that we have. and we are also going to go to the governor's mansion and protest. so all different races, we are all going to come together and challenge the in justice system we have. >> so jeanine, we have a situation where i wish this had a result that was more fair. and the result would have been no prosecution. the result that should have happened is that george zimmerman should have been chastized or sued by the family. youn. but the justice system and the political system in this country must remain separate. and the president on down, i believe, they crossed the line. there's no question that the president crossed the line when he said that trayvon could be my son. what that did was it basically geared everything up to we have to prosecute and now a special prosecutor and the fbi. there needs to be more, a young boy is dead. but you do not abuse the system. you do not inject politics into justice. >> my friend, and our friend, juan williams is among the guests who are gathered tonight, juan is in the washington, d.c. bureau. juan, you wrote an excellent column for fox news. that suggested that both these men profiled each other. george zimmerman looked at trayvon martin and saw a person just like the people who had been convict miezing his neighborhood and making his neighbors suffer. that was the person he saw, he saw another hyde wearing thug from the neighborhood that was going to come and perpetrate another burglary or robbery. trayvon martin on his behalf, you know, the kid was living in miami with his mom, he was up in orlando, in the sanford, florida, visiting his dad, stranger in a strange place, he goes to do something perfectly legal, taking a known cut and he looks at zimmerman and in his words, sees a creepy-ass white cracker that is stalking him. they both profiled each other. should this be a race case? should the president of the united states been involved? >> no question, that race was involved geraldo, it's not a race case in the sense that i think that you know, a lot of the media has super imposed that racial frame work on the case improperly, the story, the prosecutor said it right. that you know what? there was race involved here, but it's not the story, maybe race was part of the profiling that went on in zimmerman's mind, it's not the overall story. it's not a racial case. how can most white people are relieved, isn't this oj simpson reversed? >> i hope not. i hope that people did not make george zimmerman into a hero. >>