Can't believe he is walking. At least it shows we are not the only country with a dubious legal system.
Civil rights groups in the US have expressed dismay after neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman was found not guilty of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida last year.
Rights leader Jesse Jackson said he was "stunned" and that the Department of Justice (DoJ) should intervene.
Meanwhile Mr Zimmerman's family and lawyers have said they now fear he could face revenge attacks.
The case sparked a fierce debate in the US about racial profiling.
Trayvon Martin's relatives say they are "hurt" and "disappointed" over the verdict
Prosecutors had argued that Mr Zimmerman opened fired on 26 February 2012 because he assumed that Trayvon Martin, who was African-American and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt as he walked in the rain, was up to no good.
But the defence said he shot Trayvon Martin in self defence after the teenager had punched their client, slammed his head into the pavement and reached for Mr Zimmerman's gun.
Defence 'ecstatic'
Mr Zimmerman was facing possible conviction for second-degree murder or manslaughter, but on Saturday he was cleared of all charges by the six-women jury at Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida.
Protesters converged on the Seminole County Criminal Justice Centre shortly after the jury retired to consider its verdict - a couple of dozen of them at first. Then, on the second day of deliberations, a larger and louder group whose numbers slowly started to grow. They stood chanting and staring up at the fifth floor window of the courthouse, where the all-women jury was considering its verdict.
Then, when signs of movement suddenly filled that window, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. The excitement was short-lived however: As word spread of George Zimmerman's acquittal reached them a sense of sadness - sometimes mixed with anger - filled the hot and humid summer night.
Police and community leaders in central Florida have appealed for calm, but with further protests planned, they've drawn up contingency plans just in case this verdict is met with a violent response.
One of his lawyer's, Mark O'Mara, said the defence team were "ecstatic".
"George Zimmerman was never guilty of anything except protecting himself in self defence. I'm glad that the jury saw it that way," he said.
Another defence lawyer, Don West, said the prosecution had been "disgraceful".
"As happy as I am for George Zimmerman, I'm thrilled that this jury kept this tragedy from becoming a travesty," he said.
However, following the verdict, protest marches were staged in US cities including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.
In Oakland, California, some protesters started small fires and smashed windows.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson told CNN on Sunday: "I remain stunned at the decision. The Department of Justice must intervene to take this to another level."
It appears to be very difficult for black Americans to seek justice in the legal system”
In a Facebook posting, he said "the American legal system has once again failed justice". But he also appealed for calm, saying anyone seeking to "compound our pain with street justice" would do "damage to the innocent blood and legacy of Trayvon Martin".
Right activist Al Sharpton also appealed for calm, but said the verdict was "a slap in the face to the American people".
He compared the case to the beating of African-American man Rodney King by police in 1991, which sparked widespread rioting.
Campaign group the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has launched a petition demanding that the DoJ open a civil rights case against Mr Zimmerman.
Its president, Benjamin Todd Jealous, wrote: "The most fundamental of civil rights - the right to life - was violated the night George Zimmerman stalked and then took the life of Trayvon Martin."
Revenge fears
Daryl Parks, lawyer for the Martin family, told BBC News he hoped the case would be a wake-up call for the US.
'Stand Your Ground' laws
Provide that people who fear for their lives can use deadly force to defend themselves without having to flee a confrontation
Cited by Florida police after they released George Zimmerman without charge on the night of the shooting
Allows use of deadly force if citizen believes it is necessary "to prevent death or great bodily harm" or "imminent commission of a forcible felony"
Critics say they encourage a "shoot first" attitude
At least 33 states allow use of deadly force in self-defence, according to Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
US media on Zimmerman verdict
"Many will realise that if there is a law that would allow you to kill an unarmed teenager, then that's a law that we probably should look at and change," he said.
Florida police had angered many by not arresting Mr Zimmerman for six weeks after the shooting, citing the state's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows a citizen to use lethal force if he or she feels in imminent danger.
But Mr Parks said the trial had given the US "a new perspective on black life - when a young black person gets killed, the approach that it takes to investigate, to arrest the person that did it".
Mr Zimmerman's brother, Robert, and his lawyers said they were concerned for his safety.
Meanwhile Mr Zimmerman's family and representatives have said they are afraid he could fall victim to revenge attacks.
His brother, Robert said he had received frequent threats on social media and there was "more reason now than ever to think that people are trying to kill him".
"He's going to be looking over his shoulder the rest of his life," he said.
Comments
(warning, possibly nsfw language and racial epithets are used, but dont let that detract from the point he's making)
So much so that I sort of wanted Zimmerman to get off.
The majority of the genocide started with Andrew Jacksons passing of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Removal_Act
Like the video above suggests, if Zimmerman was black this would have barely made local news...
The media made a convinction virtually impossible. Zimmerman now has to live the rest of his life living with the fact he killed somebody and has been vilified by the media he will no longer be able to lead a normal life.
What's your point ? If its America's not a great country, you're wrong. If its that you look down on America because you think Britain has no skeletons in the closet, you're wrong. If its that you think this is a fair decision, then despite the decision I think you're wrong.
Waaah, de gubberment won't let me fire my workers when I feel like it. Waaah, de gubberment takes too much money off me in taxes. Waaah, de gubberment doesn't do enough to deter terrorists. Waaah, de gubberment interferes too much in general. Waaah de gubberment
Tell you what - why don't you come back over here? You'd LOVE it in the UK.
I also struggle to comprehend what you write.