Tonight, the action in the Trayvon Martin case returned to Florida.
After Sanford city officials gave police chief Bill Lee Jr. a vote of “no confidence” last night, he was replaced this evening by Angela B. Corey, a prosecutor from Jacksonville. Corey was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott, who also created a task force today, led by Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, to make recommendations for changing state laws. Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law, which eliminates the requirement that people threatened outside their homes must retreat instead of using force, has come under intense scrutiny since the Martin shooting.
The news was announced just before a rally attended by thousands of people in Sanford’s Fort Mellon Park. Reverend Al Sharpton spoke despite his elderly mother’s death last night. U.S. Representative Corrine Brown took the podium before Sharpton and asked the crowd, “What do you want?” The crowd yelled back: “We want an arrest!”
About 1,500 people marched in New York City last night, demanding the prosecution of Martin’s killer, neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman.
