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Trayvon Martin’s mother urges law’s repeal

Sybrina Fulton restated herAngel Valentin/Getty Images

MIAMI BEACH — The mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin joined a prominent African-American lawyers organization in vowing Monday to keep the pressure on legislators to repeal or overhaul ‘‘stand your ground’’ self-defense laws.

Sybrina Fulton repeated her assertion that neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman ‘‘got away with murder’’ in the 2012 killing of her son largely because of Florida’s self-defense law, which generally removed a person’s duty to retreat if possible in the face of danger.

It was the first of its kind in the nation when passed in 2005. Now, about two dozen states have similar laws, but the focus of repeal efforts is squarely on Florida.

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‘‘We have to change the law so that this doesn’t happen to someone else’s child,’’ Fulton told reporters at the National Bar Association’s annual meeting. ‘‘My son wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was simply walking home.’’

Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, a Republican, has rejected calls for a special legislative session on ‘‘stand your ground’’ from protesters who have been occupying part of the Capitol in Tallahassee since Zimmerman was acquitted earlier this month by a jury in Sanford.

Associated Press