1. Orlando Sentinel
For those who felt certain that George Zimmerman was guilty of murder when he shot Trayvon Martin, the verdict … is a bitter pill to swallow. The reaction has included an understandable measure of outrage, sorrow and cynicism. It's been a painful journey that isn't yet over. And make no mistake: Justice, for all its imperfections, was done. Zimmerman was afforded his constitutional right to face his accusers - the state - and was judged by a jury of his peers. All of that said, however, let's be truthful: This case was, and still is, about this nation's racial struggles … It forced Americans to yet again confront our stubbornly persistent racial misunderstandings, tensions and divisions. Orlando
2. The Guardian
It took 44 days after Martin's death and a national campaign in the US for Zimmerman to be arrested. In that time, evidence was lost as the Florida police insisted that the state's law on self-defence barred them from bringing charges. The prosecutors said the case was not about race … and yet, without the element of race, Martin might still be alive. Zimmerman's pursuit of and confrontation with him was premised on the assumption that the very presence of a black teenager in a gated community was sufficient cause for alarm … On Sunday, the president said the acquittal should be met with calm reflection, and reminded Americans that theirs was a nation of laws … The question this case poses is: whose laws? London
