The jury in the case of
Michael Dunn found him guilty Saturday night on four charges, including
three of attempted second-degree murder, but they couldn't reach a
verdict on the most significant charge -- first-degree murder in the
death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. The decision came on the
eve of what
would have been Davis' 19th birthday.
"It was too long before
victims' voices were heard," Florida State Attorney Angela Corey, who
also prosecuted the Zimmerman case, said after the verdict.
"Justice for Jordan Davis
is as important as it is for any of our other victims," she added,
saying that the Zimmerman verdict had nothing to do with her pursuit of
the Dunn case.
Dunn's attorney: There were no winners
Jury finds Dunn guilty on four counts
Like the Dunn trial, the
earlier case had racial overtones and claims of self-defense, but
Zimmerman was found not guilty in Martin's death on July 13, 2013. The
verdict inflamed passions throughout the nation.
Davis' shooting also
angered many people. It happened on November 23, 2012, when Dunn, who is
white, pulled into a gas station in Jacksonville, parking next to a red
SUV full of black teenagers. Loud music blared from the car. Dunn
expressed his displeasure. Words were exchanged. Dunn opened fire,
killing Davis. Dunn said he saw a gun. The teens were unarmed,
prosecutors said.
Moments before the Dunn
verdict, Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin,
appeared on CNN. He urged viewers to "respect" the jury's decision. "Do
not do like the killers of our children, who have taken the law into
their own hands," he said.
After the verdict, Crump
said: "As black males and black people in America, and other minorities
and Hispanics as well, it is somehow, if you kill us, the justice system
isn't equal. It is almost as if your life is less valuable ... The
rules are different. If it were equal, I believe Michael Dunn would have
been convicted of first-degree murder."
Still, Davis' mother, Lucia McBath, expressed her gratitude to the jury. "We are so grateful for the truth," she said.
"It's a long, long road," she said, "and we're so very happy to have just a little bit of closure."
She added, "It's sad for
Mr. Dunn that he will live the rest of his life with that sense of
torment, and I will pray for him, and I've asked my family to pray for
him."
Ron Davis, the teen's father, said he had waited 450 days for this moment.
"The whole world is looking at all of us here in Jacksonville," he said.
Dunn's lawyer, Cory
Strolla, talked about an appeal but acknowledged the likelihood that his
client, at age 47, was looking at "basically a life sentence."
The jury convicted Dunn
on three counts of attempted second-degree murder, one for each of the
other teens in the SUV. Dunn was also found "guilty of shooting ... as
charged in the indictment," according to the jury's decision read out in
court.
