George Zimmerman’s acquittal of a murder charge in connection with the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, 17, leaves me virtually speechless.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/justice/zimmerman-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

OK, I wasn’t in the jury room. I didn’t hear all the evidence. I even have acknowledged a bit of trial-coverage fatigue, which means I didn’t watch every moment it was shown on cable news networks.

But I had formed an opinion quite some time back on what I thought ought to happen, which is that Zimmerman would be found guilty of at least manslaughter. The six-woman jury saw it differently. I respect the jury’s decision, even if I disagree with it.

That’s how the system works.

Time will enable us to sort out how the jury came to its conclusion. It appears in the immediate aftermath that the defense team cast enough reasonable doubt on the facts of the case to make it impossible to convict Zimmerman “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Sound familiar? It should. It smacks of the same reasoning that resulted in O.J. Simpson’s acquittal of murder in 1995.

OH, my.

I’m just hoping now for calm.