As Americans dissect George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict last night, Harry Reid was among lawmakers speaking out about the decision and its impact on the country — officially addressing calls for the Justice Department to review the decision.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) was one of several lawmakers to address the Zimmerman verdict, and what Trayvon Martin’s shooting death means for Americans in a racially divided country.
Speaking on Meet The Press , Reid said Martin’s death and the verdict rendered last night were likely not the end of the road, and he explained:
“I’ll accept the verdict and take a look at the law that they have in Florida that was so unusual… I think that’s up to the state, I think they should revisit that.”
Reid added that the DOJ is likely to re-examine the verdict, saying :
I think the Justice Department is going to take a look at this. This isn’t over with and I think that’s good. That’s our system, it’s gotten better, not worse.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) also weighed in on the Zimmerman verdict, but did not acknowledge a possible DOJ review of the Trayvon Martin case.
Cole said :
“This is a tragedy that should have never happened… Clearly Zimmerman should have never gotten in that car, shouldn’t have had a gun, shouldn’t have been out. The police advised him to stay home. But what we don’t know is what happened in the actual encounter, and I think that’s what the jury struggled with.”
#Breaking : The Department of Justice says it will review the Travyon Martin-George Zimmerman case
— POLITICO (@politico) July 14, 2013
After Harry Reid’s statement on NBC’s Meet The Press about DOJ review of the Trayvon Martin case, Politico reported that the department will indeed examine the verdict — but did not yet provide details on where the information was coming from, in what regard the case would be reviewed, or why the Justice Department might become involved.
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