Parents defend character of unarmed son who was shot dead in Florida

The unarmed Florida teen whose fatal shooting by a neighborhood watch volunteer set off a national uproar had been suspended from his Miami high school 10 days earlier for having marijuana residue in his book bag, a family spokesman said on Monday.

The residue was found in a plastic bag inside Trayvon Martin’s book bag, family spokesman Ryan Julison said.

But Martin’s parents said media interest in their son’s suspension was just an effort to sully the teenager’s reputation.

“I would just like to say that, even in death, and Trayvon is gone. He will not be returning to us. Even in death, they are still disrespecting my son, and I feel that that’s a shame,” Tracy Martin said.

“The only comment that I have right now is that they’ve killed my son, and now they’re trying to kill his reputation,” Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, said.

Toxicology test results were still pending on the body of Martin, 17, who was gunned down inside a gated community in the central Florida city of Sanford on February 26. A neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, said he shot Martin in self-defense during a scuffle and has not been charged with a crime.
 
Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton said there should be increased interest into Zimmerman’s past.

“We’re dealing with a self-appointed watch-guy who disobeyed the dispatcher’s instructions that he agreed to. All else is irrelevant. Now, if you want to discuss something relevant, discuss what Zimmerman might have had in his system. Discuss his past.

Mr. Zimmerman was not tested – Trayvon was. Let’s examine why we had a test on the victim rather than the one who was aggressive. Let’s not play this double standard of trying to demonize who is dead and sanitize who was the cause of the death,” Sharpton said.

The case has sparked a national uproar and international interest. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed online petitions and marches have been held in a variety of U.S. cities to bring attention to the case, and call for Zimmerman’s arrest.
 
A march in Martin’s honour is planned for this Saturday at Toronto City Hall. It is scheduled for 7 pm and organizers are asking participants to bring candles with them.