Agreed. I believe Zimmerman benefited from a diffused sense of responsibility that the law and society at large accepted. Sort of a societal shrug of the shoulders, "Well... I guess it wasn't really Zimmerman's fault entirely. Many of us would have been really scared too."

Scared folks carrying firearms is a surefire formula for disaster, especially untrained scared folks.

Having an untrained neighborhood watch carry firearms is sure to result in future incidents. I sure don't want one in my neighborhood. Zimmerman was armed and scared of the folks walking around his neighborhood. Powder keg all set. Add a spark.

Add some intelligent and unwise kid who's terrified of the armed dude walking around and checking out the neighborhood. Toss in some miss-communicated body language or words and KABLOOEY! Another kid is full of bullet holes.

This whole thing sucks. Now that he cannot be charged it'd be fairer to have Zimmerman be provided a minimum stipend by the state of Florida to truck around the country for the next 10 or 20 years speaking frankly of his mistakes with neighborhood watches, community groups, and law enforcement to educate people and make sure this never happens again.