In their first television appearances since George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the shooting death of their teenaged son, Trayvon Martin’s parents said Thursday morning that they were stunned at the trial’s outcome.

“We felt in our hearts that we were going to get a conviction,” Tracy Martin, the teen’s father, told NBC’s “Today.” “We thought that the killer of our unarmed child was going to be convicted of the crime that he committed.”

“I was in a bit of shock,” Sybrina Fulton, Martin’s mother, said on “CBS This Morning.” “I thought surely that he would be found guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter at the least. But I just knew that they would see that this was a teenager just trying to get home. This was no burglar. This was somebody’s son that was trying to get home.”

Asked by “Today” anchor Matt Lauer whether they wanted to say something to the jurors, Martin responded: “How can you let the killer of an unarmed child go free?”

You can watch both interviews below:

WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG