The trial that found former Neighborhood Watch leader George Zimmerman not guilty in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin came with a steep price tag; the five-week trial cost taxpayers $902,000, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The bulk of the cost, $425,000, came from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office providing security for the highly publicized and controversial trial. In order to prepare for potential demonstrations, and the possibility that they might turn violent, the sheriff's office kept a significant amount of officers on the scene, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The city of Sanford ran up a tab of $183,000 during the trial, mostly to pay for overtime for police officers helping with security. Since Zimmerman had received numerous death threats prior to and during the trial a number of officers were needed to check cars coming into the parking lot and other tasks, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
The six person jury and two alternates were sequestered for 22 days, during which time they ran up hotel and food costs totaling $34,600, which works out to about $200 per juror per day. Other costs include non-salary expenses for Special Prosecutor Angela Corey, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
In other news related to the trial the mother of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton, is collaborating with gospel singer T-D.O.G.G. to release song in honor of her late son. The song is called "Joy in the Morning."
While Fulton doesn't sing on the track she provided a speaking intro and outro to the song, according to the Huffington Post.
"No matter what you do, always know God is in control," Fulton says on the outro of the track. "You must always stay encouraged and hold your head high. I am glad to know that my angel Trayvon is watching over me and a piece of my heart is in heaven."
During an interview with South Florida station Hot 105 T-D.O.G.G. said that the inspiration for the song came from seeing Fulton on television.
"I went back and watcher her segments on TV and said 'I'm going to step outside of myself and see what she would be feeling,'" T-D.O.G.G. told the radio station.
