"they should support George Zimmerman?"
From this morning's Times
Jim Carroll

SCHOOLBOY'S DEATH SPARKS CIVIL RIGHTS ROW
FBI to investigate after killer cites self-defence law
United States Nico Hines Washington

The shooting of an unarmed black school¬boy in Florida has forced the US Justice Department and the FBI to launch a federal investigation after his killer escaped arrest by citing controversial self-defence laws.
Trayvon Martin, 17, was walking home from a shop carrying a bag of sweets for his little brother when he was shot dead by a neighbourhood watch leader who thought the boy might be "up to no good".
Almost a month after his death civil rights leaders, an international petition and a campaign by prominent African-Americans has forced the federal Government to intervene in the case.
Police in Sanford, central Florida, had claimed that there was no reason to doubt the words of George Zimmerman, 28, who said that he had shot the teenager in self-defence. Under the state's "stand your ground" law, introduced by Governor Jeb Bush in 2005, Floridians are allowed to use lethal force to defend themselves in public places if they feel threatened.
Mr Zimmerman's story began to fall apart under the glare of the national media when officials released a phone call that he made early on the evening of February 26. The neighbourhood watch "captain" asked the emergency services for assistance in dealing with a suspicious looking man.
"This guy looks like he's up to no good," Mr Zimmerman said to the police operator. "These ass****s. They always get away."
Hearing what sounded like heavy breathing, the police handler asked: "Are you following him?"
When Mr Zimmerman confirmed that he was in pursuit, the operator asked him to stop. The boy, who had started to run away, called his girlfriend to say that a strange man was following him.
Neighbours from the gated Twin Lakes community, near Orlando, heard a com¬motion and called the police. One of those calls appears to have inadvertently cap¬tured Trayvon's cries as Mr Zimmerman caught up with him. "I recognised that as my baby screaming for help," Sybrina Fulton, his mother, said. A few minutes later her child was dead.
When police officers arrived at about 7.20pm Mr Zimmerman told them that he had been forced to defend himself from an attack. Previous provisions in self-defence laws had demanded that citizens retreat before using force but those limitations were removed under Mr Bush and local police said that they had no choice but to let the man go free. Similar gun laws have since been adopted by 20 states.
After more than three weeks of protest a central Florida prosecutor said last night that a grand jury would be convened to reconsider the evidence. That announce¬ment came after the rare intervention of federal law enforcement agencies.   
A spokesman for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said that there would be an independent review of the investigation while the Congressional Black Caucus accused the Sanford police department of displaying a "blatant disregard for justice".
Tracey Martin, Trayvon's father, has given a series of television interviews in which he has claimed that his son was racially profiled "He knew he was being followed and tried to get away", he said.