Trayvon Martin Legal Team

An attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family discussed the photos and text messages that George Zimmerman`s defense team wants to show a jury at trial. Ultimately, Crump says, he hopes to raise awareness of the injustices of the justice system — how black and brown people are infinitely more likely to be racially profiled, arrested and abused by police, charged with a crime, convicted or forced to plead guilty, serving longer prison sentences from a younger age. and consequently to lose their civil rights and their prospects for work and success.» His goal, he says, is to fulfill America`s promise of equality. We cannot have two systems of justice: one for white America and one for black America. We must ensure that all our citizens have the right to equal justice,» he said. «He`s so much more to us than a lawyer,» says Sybrina Fulton, Martin`s mother. «He gives the best legal advice possible, but he also lets the family have a say. I felt like I had someone I could really trust. Fulton remembers praying with Crump before every testimony and hearing. «He`s a good old country boy,» she says.

«He`s a family-oriented man and he`s compassionate.» OâMara, who also represents plaintiffs in civil rights cases involving allegations of police brutality and misconduct, praises Crump for exposing the implicit bias against young black men in the legal system. «We need to find a way to become more aware of the fact that our system is biased,» says OâMara. «Ben is one of those people who drags our dirty laundry in front of us, puts it in the spotlight and says, `Fix this. On Thursday night, NBC News learned that Zimmerman`s defense team had filed a request to postpone the trial. Zimmerman`s attorney, Mark O`Mara, plans to present photos as evidence showing Trayvon Martin blowing smoke, what appears to be marijuana and a hand holding a gun. Additional evidence released Thursday via a website by Zimmerman`s defense team includes texts from Martin discussing smoking marijuana, school suspension and guns. Last year, Raja was convicted of manslaughter and attempted first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison — the first conviction of a police officer for a stabbing while on duty in Florida in three decades. After the conviction, Crump, who represents Jones` family in an illegal death trial against Raja and Palm Beach Gardens, called it a milestone for black Americans — because we often don`t see police convicted and convicted for killing our children. The Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, which paid Raja`s legal fees during the trial, assisted him in his appeal to the West Palm Beach 4th District Court of Appeals. Nunn, an expert on race-related legal issues, says Crump was created at a time when very few lawyers were interested in taking on civil rights cases. «The courts had made recovery more difficult, and you had to wonder if there would be a sanction against you for filing a complaint deemed worthless,» says Nunn. «There`s not a lot of money.» Nunn says much of Crump`s success has been his ability to use the media to garner public support behind him.

«You always hear the comment, `I don`t want to hear this in the media.` Well, if it`s a civil rights case, you have to do it. Not only can you have a good grasp of the legal aspects of the case. They need a broader competency that includes working with the public and the media. His first victory will be: «Am I able to promote prosecution? The second victory will be: «Can I ensure recovery for my client? He also defended some of the text messages in which Trayvon spoke of violence. TV and movie credits: In 2018, Crump hosted a TV One documentary series, Evidence of Innocence, about wrongfully convicted people. He also produced a documentary about the late rapper Tupac Shakur and played a cameo role in the 2017 Marshall biopic about his personal hero Thurgood Marshall. «Ben`s goal has always been to help people,» Parks says. «When you get poor in a black neighborhood, you`re used to sticking together because you`re not used to working from a resource pool. You`re always running out of sticks, and that`s the side you`re fighting on.

Jeff Deen, a former Florida assistant district attorney and head of a state agency representing criminal defendants, told NBC News that strict rules on character evidence would likely make Martin`s texts and photos inadmissible in court. When Trayvon Martin, 17, on 26. In February 2012, his killer, George Zimmerman, was not arrested. Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, was a self-proclaimed armed neighborhood watchdog who eventually claimed self-defense and was acquitted of murder charges. As Crump approached high school age, his mother saw few opportunities for him in Lumberton and sent him to his stepfather, a math teacher in Broward County. He excelled at South Plantation High School and received a scholarship to Florida State University, where he studied criminal justice. As president of the FSU Black Student Union, he met with Daryl Parks, then president of the Florida A&M University student body. «[You, the jury] will address the burning issues that define America today. Whether it`s online trolling and the limits of free speech; the constitutional conflict between gay rights and religious freedom; Or if someone`s death was the result of a tragic accident or something much more sinister, you, the jury, will investigate the law and the intense human stories behind it. In a dramatic twist, closing arguments are presented by the plaintiff and defendant as they sit across from each other. CAN THEY BE FIRED FOR DEMONSTRATIONS? In Florida, it is possible.

Learn more. Note: George Zimmerman sued NBCUniversal for defamation, and the company strongly denied his allegations. In May, Crump returned to the spotlight and represented the family of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man who was shot while jogging in southeast Georgia by two white men chasing him in a truck. The shooters said they believed Arbery was responsible for a number of burglaries in the neighborhood. More than two months later, after a video of the deadly confrontation was released, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Arbery`s killer for murder and aggravated assault. «It changed the course of my career,» she said. «Trayvon Martin was my wake-up call. Since then, I have realized that we must unite as a people to fight the leaders of the United States, who mediate in division and division, keep us separate, and disadvantage us economically. Crump was called attorney general of black America for his unwavering work on civil rights cases, especially among blacks killed by police.

In an interview, Crump said he didn`t take that label lightly. Now, Crump has his own firm that handles civil rights cases across the country. He recites an African proverb to illustrate why it is so important to stand up for Black victims of injustice. Crump says that when he heard about Marshall, he wanted to be a lawyer. «From that day until today, my goal has been to give marginalized and disenfranchised people a better chance of achieving the American dream,» he says.