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GEORGE ZIMMERMAN FOUND NOT GUILTY

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George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of murder in the death of 17-year old Trayvon Martin.

The Judge has announced that his bond has been released, and that his GPS has been cut off.

Zimmerman killed Martin in February 2012 in Sanford, Florida.

Early on in the case, legal experts began to suspect that a verdict of guilty was unlikely.

Our Erin Fuchs wrote:

Prosecutors presented their last witness on Friday, after one very rough week of testimony and one better one.

The main hurdle for prosecutors was to prove that Zimmerman didn't "reasonably believe" the gunshot he fired was necessary to save his life or prevent serious injury, Abrams points out. Based on Zimmerman's injuries, it's clear there was some kind of physical fight between him and Martin.

The state's own witness, Zimmerman's neighbor Jonathon Good, testified Martin was straddling Zimmerman before the shot was fired — which would suggest the teenager was the aggressor. While another neighbor testified it was Zimmerman on top of the fight, the differing eye witness testimony could sow seeds of doubt in jurors' minds as to who was beating up whom.

"There are significant weaknesses in the state's case — most importantly conflicting eyewitness accounts which themselves create reasonable doubt as to what happened that night," former prosecutor Elizabeth Parker told USA Today.

The Jury had been given the option to convict Zimmerman of manslaughter, and at one point today the jury had asked the judge to clarify the manslaughter option.

A civil suit against George Zimmerman from the family of Trayvon Martin is likely.

This video shows moment the verdict was reached.

SEE ALSO: NAACP says a civil suit will be filed

SEE ALSO: Al Sharpton calls verdict a slap in the face

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