Michael Dunn was found guilty on
four charges, including three for attempted second-degree murder, which could
land him behind bars for decades. Yet there was no verdict on the first-degree
murder charge tied to the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
As the jury's decisions became
clear about 7 p.m. Saturday, Dunn looked ahead solemnly with a frown but no
tears. His lawyer, Cory Strolla, told reporters later that his client was "in
disbelief."
"Even as he sat next to me, he
asked, how is this happening," Strolla said. "... It has not set in. I don't
think it will set in anytime soon."
The incomplete finale to this
emotional, hot-button trial -- partly because of the fact Dunn is white and the
teenagers who were shot at, including Davis, are black -- echoed George
Zimmerman's trial for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin about 120 miles
down the road in Sanford, Florida. While stand your ground wasn't used by Dunn,
his lawyers did argue that he fired in self-defense.
Given the partially hung jury,
State Attorney Angela Corey said prosecutors would press for a new trial in
Duval County on the murder charge.
"Justice for Jordan Davis is as
important as it is for any victim," said Corey, whose office also handled the
Zimmerman case.
Even without a final decision on
the murder count -- and pending defense appeals -- the 47-year-old Dunn is
looking at a lengthy prison term.
Prosecutor Erin Wolfson explained
Saturday night that each attempted second-degree murder conviction carries a
minimum sentence of at least 20 years. There's also a 15-year sentence possible
on the conviction for shooting in the teenager's vehicle.
"You are looking at basically at
life in prison," Strolla said, even as he vowed to challenge the convictions.
"At 47 years old, that's a life sentence regardless of count one."
The decision to convict on these
counts, and not on murder, didn't come easily for a jury that had deliberated
for about 30 hours since getting the case late Wednesday.
Judge Russell Healey
acknowledged earlier Saturday that the jury of four white women, two black
women, four white men, an Asian woman and a Hispanic man was "struggling,
obviously."
"But it's not for want of trying
to reconcile all of this," he said then. "I think we've got some analytical
people in there who are trying to do just that -- trying to analyze this from
every possible angle."
The lack of a murder conviction
upset some, including protesters who marched outside the Jacksonville courthouse
calling for Corey to lose her job. "The people united will never be defeated,"
they also chanted.
Yet Davis' mother, Lucia McBath,
didn't express any anger when she addressed reporters Saturday night. Her
family, she said, is "so very happy to have just a little bit of closure."
"It's sad for Mr. Dunn that he
will live the rest of his life in that sense of torment, and I will pray for
him," McBath said. "And I've asked my family to pray for him."
Confrontation at a gas
station
It was November 23, 2012, when
Michael Dunn pulled into a gas station in Jacksonville, parking next to a red
Dodge Durango full of teenagers.
The teens had pulled in for gum
and cigarettes; Dunn, meanwhile, had just left his son's wedding with his
fiancee, who'd gone inside the convenience store for wine and chips.
Dunn didn't like the loud music
-- "rap crap," as he called it -- coming from the teens' SUV. So he asked them
to turn it down.
What followed next depends on
whom you believe. Dunn claimed Davis threatened him, and he decided to take
matter into his own hands upon seeing what he thought was the barrel of a gun
sticking out of the Durango.
But prosecutors asserted that it
was Dunn who lost control, firing three volleys of shots -- 10 bullets total --
at the SUV over music he didn't like.
Prosecutors challenged what he
did next: He left the gas station and drove 40 miles away to a bed and breakfast
in St. Augustine. There, Dunn walked his dog, ordered a pizza, then drank rum
and cola -- "stunned and horrified, (shocked how) things escalated the way they
did over a common courtesy."
After learning almost six hours
later that he had killed Davis, Dunn testified that he became "crazy with
grief," experiencing stomach problems for about four hours before taking a
nap.
"My intent was to stop the
attack, not necessarily end a life," he testified. "It just worked out that
way."
Yet his fiancee, Rhonda Rouer,
testified that Dunn had never mentioned any weapon to her -- be it a shotgun, a
stick, a barrel or a lead pipe -- unlike what Dunn had said.
In fact, police found a
basketball, basketball shoes, clothing, a camera tripod and cups inside the
teenagers' Durango, but no gun.
And Dunn himself never called
police. The first contacts he had with them were at his home in Satellite Beach
-- 130 miles south of St. Augustine -- as he was being apprehended.
Arguing that he wasn't in a
rational state of mind, Dunn admitted, "It makes sense that I should have
(contacted authorities). We didn't. I can't tell you why."
Echoes of Trayvon Martin
and George Zimmerman
Some were quick to compare Dunn
to George Zimmerman, who ultimately was acquitted of murder for the shooting of
Martin.
Martin's own parents were among
them, claiming Davis' killing is another reminder that, in Florida, "racial
profiling and stereotypes" may serve as the basis for illegitimate fear "and the
shooting and killing of young teenagers."
But Dunn's defense attorney,
Strolla, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Friday that the Zimmerman and Dunn cases
aren't so similar.
http://pragota.com/the-reality-of-bitcoin/
http://elenanerin.org/do-you-know-what-a-bitcoin-is/
http://pennimg.com/bitcoins-should-you-use-them/
http://jlshengshi.com/new-amazon-coin-and-bitcoins-taking-over-the-world/
http://capssknust.com/so-what-exactly-is-a-bitcoin-anyway-complete-breakdown-of-bitcoin-2/
http://czxsj.com/?p=1285
http://gzai.net/in-bitcoin-we-trust/
http://tsajid.org/how-to-earn-bitcoin-online/
http://copykick.com/the-bitcoin-revolution/
http://ksduino.com/bitcoin-and-what-it-philosophically-means-about-how-we-look-at-and-use-units-of-trade/
http://havalehaba.com/how-can-you-drive-internet-traffic-to-your-website/
http://bwaribs.com/create-your-own-internet-traffic-generating-octopus-the-8-top-attention-getters/
http://megspeaks.com/internet-marketing-directing-internet-traffic-to-your-business/
http://phipsi.org/some-internet-traffic-tips-to-follow/
http://wearvanity.com/merchant-cash-advance-an-alternative-to-small-business-financing/
http://prostowww.com/free-internet-traffic-secrets-revealed/
http://branover.com/how-to-always-get-targeted-internet-traffic/
http://reddify.com/increase-traffic-to-your-website-6-surefire-ways-to-generate-more-internet-traffic/
http://www.potluckster.com/article-marketing-tip-ezine-articles-for-your-internet-traffic-generation/
http://thesourmashblog.com/how-to-make-money-online-through-robust-internet-traffic-generation/
http://elponline.net/how-to-increase-website-traffic-effectively-3-simple-free-traffic-tips-you-can-use-now/
http://cloudpollen.com/how-to-get-free-instant-website-traffic/
http://leeforwv.com/free-traffic-campaign-for-your-website/
http://borrowick.com/make-money-online-with-free-website-traffic/
http://shasawy.com/super-free-internet-traffic-ideas/
There was a physical
confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin, and police gave Zimmerman the
benefit of the doubt about defending himself, Strolla said.
"My client did not wait to
become that victim," he said. "My client did not wait to either get assaulted by
a weapon or have someone potentially pull a trigger," he said.
Though a weapon was never found,
Strolla maintains the youths could have had one and somehow ditched in and
around the gas station. Regardless, the key point was that Dunn believed they
were armed and that his life was in danger.
"Now, does it sound irrational?
Of course it sounds irrational. But have you ever been in that situation?" the
lawyer asked.
After Saturday's night decision,
it seems unlikely -- unless he wins on appeal -- that Dunn will ever be in that
or many other situations again. Instead, spending the rest of his life in prison
seems a more likely outcome.
Strolla said on Saturday the
four convictions leave him with regret, even as he said he couldn't immediately
think of anything he'd do differently in the case.
At the same time, the
prosecution didn't manage a conviction on what was by far the biggest charge:
first-degree murder.
This mixed bag means that no one
can fully celebrate the jury's decision.
"Everybody lost something in
this," the lawyer said.
His client "will live to fight
another day" in court, but he and his loved ones are suffering now. Strolla
acknowledged, too, the pain felt by Davis' family.
Especially on Sunday, which
would have been Davis' 19th birthday.
No comments:
Post a Comment