A new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll presents more evidence that Americans are deeply divided on issues of race and justice following the trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the death of the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, NBC News reports. The former neighborhood-watch captain's lawyers argued that the shooting was not racially motivated.
In the wake of the George Zimmerman case, U.S. views of race relations have taken a hit, and one-third of Americans say his acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin has shaken their confidence in the legal system, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
The survey found deep divisions on the overall subject of race, along both political and racial lines, as controversy over the verdict has swirled from city street corners to the Oval Office.
Fifty-two percent of adults questioned said race relations in the U.S. are “very good” or “fairly good,” down from more than 70 percent who said that in NBC/WSJ polls between 2009 and 2011.
Fifty-four percent agree with the statement that America is a nation where people are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character — down from 60 percent in 2009 and 2010.
Read more at NBC News.