On July 13, 2013, after 16 hours of deliberation, the jury in the murder trial against George Zimmerman rendered their verdict: not guilty. That means Zimmerman will not go to prison for the February 26, 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla. But his legal troubles are not yet over.<\/p>\n
As you may already know, an individual may be prosecuted in both criminal and civil proceedings when they are alleged to be responsible for the death of another. The civil side is called a wrongful death lawsuit. Perhaps the best-known example in the U.S. is that of O. J. Simpson. In 1995, Simpson was found not guilty of the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. But in a subsequent wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of Nicole Simpson and Goldman, O. J. Simpson was ordered to pay a combined $46.1 million to the victims’ families.<\/p>\n