Spike Lee -- Mea Culpa for Retweeting Innocent Couple's Address in Trayvon Martin Tragedy

Spike Lee is doing the right thing ... finally apologizing for retweeting a home address he thought belonged to George Zimmerman -- and for inadvertently putting an elderly couple in harm's way.

Lee tweeted the address to his roughly 250,000 followers last weekend, but it wasn't Zimmerman's -- the shooter of Florida teen Trayvon Martin -- instead it was David and Elaine McClain's home.

The couple, in their 70s, say they were forced to flee their home because of threats. Lee also received several racially charged responses to the screwed up retweet.

But late Wednesday night Lee tweeted, "I Deeply Apologize To The McClain Family For Retweeting Their Address. It Was a Mistake. Please Leave The McClain's [sic] in Peace."

Lee also seemed to be asking people who are angry about Trayvon's death to leave Zimmerman's fate to the legal system ... closing with, "Justice in Court."