Retweets Martin’s dead body image
Zimmerman retweets a photo of Martin’s dead body alongside a message from a follower saying: ‘Z-Man is a one man army.’ He later removes the tweet.
Arrest report: mental health issues
Apperson’s arrest record says he has been dealing with mental health issues, with a police officer saying:
During the investigation, I learned that Apperson has exhibited unusual behavior in which he had recently been admitted to a mental institution. It appears that Apperson has a fixation on Zimmerman and has displayed some signs of paranoia, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Zimmerman’s attorney:
There wasn’t much explanation of Mr. Apperson’s conduct that made sense, the way that Mr. Zimmerman described. If he [Apperson] does have some mental issues I think that might very well go a long way in explaining what was otherwise very bizarre yet very violent behavior.
No federal charges
The Justice Department says its independent investigation finds “insufficient evidence” to charge Zimmerman with federal civil rights violations in the shooting death of Martin. Attorney General Holder says the evidence did not meet the high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution. The decision closes the federal investigation.
This young man’s premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface. We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
The Martin family says they are “disappointed” by the decision.