Two deaths, both in Florida and both highly controversial. And the reactions to the two could not have been more different.

Trayvon Martin, 17, was fatally shot in a Sanford, Fla., gated community on Feb. 26 of this year. Everyone who hasn’t just beamed in from a distant planet knows who killed Martin: George Zimmerman, who has admitted to the slaying but contends Martin attacked him first. Zimmerman said the beating Martin gave him was so severe that he feared for his life, and had to fire his weapon in self-defense.