February 17, 201412 yr I think there's a difference between doubt and reasonable doubt. I think the onus is on the state to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and maybe this prosecutor just isn't very good, but from the outside looking in there just doesn't seem to be anything to support Dunn other than his own assertion that the kids had a gun. Even his fiancee testified that he never mentioned them having a gun, he left the scene and went back to his hotel instead of calling authorities and reporting an assault, police never found a gun, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence that three average high schoolers were riding around with a gun (other than them being black, of course). So, again, from the outside looking in it seems reasonable doubt was reached by at least one juror on the assertion of Dunn. If that's enough for reasonable doubt then I'd say just about every defendant could get off clean.
February 17, 201412 yr I think there's a difference between doubt and reasonable doubt. I think the onus is on the state to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and maybe this prosecutor just isn't very good, but from the outside looking in there just doesn't seem to be anything to support Dunn other than his own assertion that the kids had a gun. Even his fiancee testified that he never mentioned them having a gun, he left the scene and went back to his hotel instead of calling authorities and reporting an assault, police never found a gun, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence that three average high schoolers were riding around with a gun (other than them being black, of course). So, again, from the outside looking in it seems reasonable doubt was reached by at least one juror on the assertion of Dunn. If that's enough for reasonable doubt then I'd say just about every defendant could get off clean. Fortunately or unfortunately one juror having reasonable doubt is all the defendant needs...I guess that is the Price to Pay for Freedom. Wasn't this the same prosecutor as the Zimmerman trial?
February 18, 201412 yr I'm thinking the First Degree charge means "premeditation". Maybe that was the jury's problem.
February 22, 201412 yr The grand jury came back with nothing which means this case will go before another grand jury some time in the future unless the DA decides to drop it. The grand jury coming back with nothing is not the same as coming back with "not enough evidence." They simply didn't rule one way or the other.
February 22, 201412 yr Fortunately or unfortunately one juror having reasonable doubt is all the defendant needs...I guess that is the Price to Pay for Freedom. Wasn't this the same prosecutor as the Zimmerman trial? Yes.
February 25, 201412 yr 'I Am Still Called by the God I Serve to Walk This Out' - Ta-Nehisi Coates - The Atlantic
October 1, 201412 yr He was found guilty today. Sounds right to me based on what little I knew about the case. One thing CCDW classes teach is that using the firearm should be one's absolute last resort. If there is a way to escape the danger...take it.
October 1, 201412 yr Dude seemed to lose it for no reason, I guess the jury never bought into his defense that the guys in the SUV had a shotgun. Based on what we know, he should have been convicted.
October 18, 201411 yr A Florida judge Friday sentenced Michael Dunn to life in prison without parole for the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. The sentence, imposed nearly two years after Dunn shot and killed Davis during an argument over loud music, also carries an additional 90 years for three convictions of attempted murder and firing a weapon into a vehicle. “This case demonstrates that our justice system does work,” Duval County Judge Russell Healey said moments before sentencing Dunn. Dunn, 47, who is white, was convicted of first-degree murder this month for shooting into an SUV full of African-American teenagers at a Jacksonville, Florida, gas station after an argument over loud music from the teens’ vehicle. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the racially-charged case, which drew comparisons to the shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who maintained that he acted in self-defense, was acquitted last year by a Florida jury. Dunn claimed he acted in self-defense because he believed Davis was reaching for a gun. No weapon was found. “Mr. Dunn, your life is effectively over,” Healey said. “What is sad… is that this case exemplifies that our society seems to have lost its way.” Dunn, wearing an orange jumpsuit, showed no emotion. Healey said Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law was widely misunderstood. “We should remember there is nothing wrong with retreating and deescalating the situation,” the judge said. Outside court, Davis’ father, Ron Davis, said the judge sent a strong message. “We may have in this state ‘stand your ground’ laws but that doesn’t allow you as a citizen, when you have a chance to diffuse a situation, for you to be so aggressive,” he told CNN by phone on Friday. “It’s basically saying to people, stop with the shoot first.” In a brief statement before sentencing, Dunn for the first time apologized to Davis’ family. “I want the Davis family to know I truly regret what happened,” he said. “I’m sorry for their loss. If I could roll back time and do things differently, I would.” He feared for his life, he said. “I did what I thought I had to do,” Dunn said. “Still, I am mortified I took a life, whether it was justified or not.” Davis’ parents, Davis and Lucia McBath, made emotional statements at the hearing, which was attended by some of the jurors who convicted Dunn. Juror: ‘Race was never a factor’ In tears, McBath remembered her son. She said she forgave Dunn. “I miss his big, wide, toothy smile,” she said. “For me, there will be no college graduation. There will be no daughter-in-law. For me, there will be no future generation.” She added, “I too must be willing to forgive. And so I choose to forgive you Mr. Dunn for taking my son’s life. I pray that God has mercy on your soul.” Davis said he life was changed forever. “My life as I had known it was shattered on November 23, 2012,” he told the court. “I now call it Black Friday for a completely different reason. After the longest hour of my life, the hospital confirmed that Jordan Russell Davis was deceased in the emergency room. … The old Ron Davis died that night with Jordan.” Davis called Dunn’s apology “paper thin.” “You can tell the defense attorney wrote that for him,” he told CNN. “It was not heartfelt. There wasn’t a tear in his eyes, no tremble in his voice. He had no remorse whatsoever.” Unlike McBath, Davis hasn’t forgiven his son’s killer. “For me to forgive you, you have to have remorse,” he said. “I leave it to God to forgive him. I pray that God does forgive him.” Juror: ‘I believed he was guilty’ Dunn’s family did not address the court. Dunn has said he shot at the vehicle because he thought Davis had a weapon and feared for his life, but the prosecution said Dunn was the aggressor and pointed out that he kept firing even after the teens fled. Three of the 10 shots that Dunn fired struck Davis, one of them cutting through his liver, a lung and his aorta. Investigators say Davis never had a weapon, nor was one found in the teens’ SUV or in the area. A jury found Dunn guilty of four charges in February, commanding at least 60 years in prison, but the jury was hung on the murder charge related to Davis’ November 2012 death. Dunn was convicted in February on one count of shooting into a vehicle and three counts of attempted second-degree murder — one each for Davis’ friends, Leland Brunson, Tommie Stornes and Tevin Thompson, who were in the Dodge Durango with Davis. After shooting Davis, prosecutors said, Dunn did not call police. He returned to his hotel, ordered pizza, walked his dog and went to sleep. Man gets life without parole for murdering Florida teen over loud music | WREG.com
October 20, 201411 yr Would he have shot if they were bumping Kenny Chesney? This idiot is the reason everyone doesn't deserve to own a gun? I laugh with hopes that he's passed around in prison like a cheap deck of cards.
November 24, 201510 yr If you have HBO check out the documentary "3 1/2 Minutes 10 Bullets" on this case.
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