The police said there was no evidence to refute his claim of self-defense, and Florida's stand-your-ground law prohibited them from arresting or charging him.

After national media focused on the incident, Zimmerman was eventually charged and tried, but a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013.

Also in March, the media coverage surrounding Martin's death became the first story of 2012 to be featured more than the presidential race, which was underway at the time.

Martin's older maternal half-brother, Jahavaris Fulton, was a college student at the time (who would later testify in the Zimmerman trial).

Stanley told CNN's Anderson Cooper that before she and Tracy Martin separated, Trayvon was with her 90% of the time, and that she went to all his football games and took care of him when he was sick.

[13][20][21][Note 1] When Martin was nine years old, he pulled his father, who had been immobilized by burns to the legs, out of a fire in their apartment, saving his life.

[22] While in high school, Martin volunteered at Forzano Park, working in the concession stand and sometimes staying until 8:00 or 9:00 PM before going home.

According to Irving, Martin was a polite youth "[who] reminded me of myself because I had a strong interest in football until I fell in love with aviation."

[23] When Martin started high school, his goal of playing professional football was put aside in favor of a career working with airplanes.

Some students at Carol City compared Martin's death to that of Emmett Till, one of the nation's most infamous civil rights cases.

[13][22][23] Martin's mother had him transferred to Dr. Michael M. Krop High School, which has approximately 2,700 students, for his junior year.

[25][26] Martin, known on Twitter by the nickname "Slimm", posted thousands of tweets over a period of months, according to the Miami Herald.

[Note 2] According to the Herald, Martin's digital footprint portrayed him as having a sense of humor and a preoccupation with girls and sometimes using profanity or obscene language when discussing sex in his tweets.

Martin's postings sometimes reflected a personal nature with references to Krispy Kreme doughnuts, ice cream, movies, and all-night study sessions.

[33][34][Note 4] The judge eventually ruled that Martin's social media posts would not be mentioned during the trial, although his marijuana use could be.

University of Florida criminal law professor Kenneth Nunn said when he was concerned about a person's character, he would look at anything, including what Martin's behavioral traits have been or may have been over time.

[6] At a banquet for Associated Press Broadcasters in Florida, Benjamin Crump, and Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's defense attorney, both said the role that social media played immediately following Martin's death set a precedent.

On June 10, 2013, Zimmerman's trial began in Sanford, and on July 13, a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and of manslaughter charges.

Over the next few days and weeks, the national media started reporting on the shooting, including: Reuters, CBS This Morning, ABC World News, and CNN.

[7] On March 8, Kevin Cunningham, a social media coordinator who had read about Martin's death, created a petition on Change.org, which became the largest in the website's history a few weeks later with 2.2 million signatures.

[8] After the death of Martin, the media focus on the case was instrumental in developing a national debate about racial profiling and self-defense laws, with marches and rallies held across the United States.

According to Salon, close to five thousand people attended the March, while other media outlets estimated the supporters to be in the hundreds.

[3][55] At a White House press conference in March, President Obama was asked about the Martin shooting and said, "If I had a son he would look like Trayvon and I think they [his parents] are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves."

Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate at the time, said that a full inquiry was needed so that "justice could be carried out with impartiality and integrity".

[5] In June, Martin's parents and members of the Second Chance on Shoot First campaign delivered a petition with 340,000 signatures to the Citizen Safety and Protection task force asking for changes to the stand-your-ground law in Florida.

Governor Rick Scott had established the task force after Martin's death to review and make recommendations about the law.

[4][57] Joëlle Anne Moreno, a former federal prosecutor, who was part of the task force said it was "clear that there was lots of confusion around the statute".

[65][66][67][68] In an interview with New York Times columnist Charles Blow in June, Martin's mother was asked about the texts recovered from her son's cell phone, which "appeared to show a boy who used marijuana, was involved in fights and had a handgun".

[69] Politicians, celebrities, musicians, civil rights leaders, and citizens all expressed their opinions on every form of media following the acquittal of Zimmerman.

[75] On May 13, 2017, Martin posthumously received a bachelor's degree in aeronautical science from Florida Memorial University "in honor of the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot".