Hung Jury for Michael Dunns Count of First-Degree Murder | Common...

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Published on Sunday, February 16, 2014 by Colorlines

Hung Jury for Michael Dunns Count of First-Degree Murder

by Aura Bogado A jury of 12 people in Duval County, Fla., could not make a unanimous decision about whether to find Michael Dunn, 47, guilty in connection to the killing of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. The jury did find Dunn guilty of three counts of attempted murder, and of shooting a firearm. Dunn, who is white, shot and killed Davis, who was black, after complaining about what Dunn described as thug music coming from Davis friends SUV in a Jacksonville convenience store parking lot in November 2012. Dunn testified that he saw the barrel of a gun in the vehicleyet an investigation revealed that there was never a weapon in the SUV. He claimed that the vehicles music was blaring ridiculously loud, yet he also says he heard Davis threaten to kill him. Dunn grabbed his semi-automatic pistol from his cars glove compartment, fired nine bullets into the vehicle Davis was occupying, along with Tevin Thompson, Leland Brunson, and Tommie Stornes, and killed Davis. Dunn, along with his fianc, who was purchasing snacks at the convenience store when the killing occurred, returned to the hotel room where the two were staying, ordered pizza and went to sleep. The following morning, they drove home, nearly 200 miles away from Jacksonville. It was then that Dunn finally contacted a friend in law enforcement about turning himself in. While awaiting trial, Dunn wrote numerous letters that indicate his anxiety over the jurys racial makeup and his deepening prejudice against black people. In one letter, Dunn explains: I just got off the phone with you and we were taking about how racist the blacks are up here. The more time I am exposed to these people, the more prejudiced against them I become. In another, Dunn complains that jails are full of blacks, and proposes a troubling solution: This may sound a bit radical, but if more people would arm themselves and kill these fucking idiots when theyre threatening you, eventually they may take the hint and change their behavior. He also wrote about his plans to find a slimy civil-law lawyer to sue Duval County for reversediscrimination. Jurors could not come to one decision about the charge of first degree murder, but did find Dunn guilty for the attempted murders of Tevin Thompson, Leland Brunson, and Tommie Stornes, who were riding in the SUV with Davis the evening of his death. Dunn has maintained that he was acting in self-defense. The case stems out of Floridawhere more than one million people carry concealed weaponsand has consistently drawn parallels to the George

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Hung Jury for Michael Dunns Count of First-Degree Murder | Common...

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/02/16-4?print

Zimmerman case, which ended in a not guilty verdict for Zimmerman in connection to the killing of Trayvon Martin. 2014 Colorlines Aura Bogado is the community journalism coordinator and blogger for Colorlines' Voting Rights Watch 2012. more Aura Bogado

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