On Sunday February 16, a Jacksonville Fla. jury found Michael Dunn, a white man, guilty of three counts second-degree attempted murder. Dunn remained uncharged for first-degree premeditated murder, which resulted in the death of black teenager Jordan Davis. The verdict produced uproar across the internet demanding a change in ‘stand your ground’ legislation.
In November 2012, Dunn heard Davis and his friends in a store parking lot playing their music loudly. According to his fiancée Rhonda Rouer’s testimony, he said, “I hate that thug music” as he pulled into the lot. Dunn then proceeded to shoot at the car, killing Davis and nearly killing his friends who are also black.
The trial began on February 15.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek writer Paul M. Barret wrote, “While the jury was deliberating, I laid out an argument for why this case ought to cause Florida and other states to reconsider their stand-your-ground laws, which encourage gun owners like Dunn to shoot first and ask questions later.”
This argument first stemmed from the infamous 2012 Trayvon Martin trials, in which a white man, George Zimmerman, 30, shot and killed Martin, a 17-year-old boy. Martin was walking home late at night wearing a hoodie and holding a bottle of sweet tea and a bag of Skittles. Zimmerman saw the teenager and attacked him because Zimmerman believed he looked “suspicious.” The verdict of the prolonged trial declared Zimmerman “not guilty.”
Many Americans were shocked by not only the verdict but the occurrence of such an event. It began and also continued the nation’s discussion on whether the country is in a “post-racial” state. Only months after the Trayvon Martin racial controversies began did Dunn shoot and kill Davis.
Barret also wrote, “The racial subtext of the Davis killing only makes that need for rethinking stand-your-ground laws more urgent.” This subtext Barret is referring to is Dunn’s reason for murder—the race and music selection of the victims.
“The young men in the car next to him, boys who had just come from a day at a nearby mall, were immediately deemed ‘gangsters’ and up to no good. For Dunn, the fact they were black and the hard, thumping hip-hop streaming from the oversized speakers was all the proof he needed,” wrote blogger Goldie Taylor of NBC’s TheGrio.
The proof of Dunn’s committing of homicide has stirred people all over the nation including Mitzi Miller, Editor-in-Chief of the acclaimed African-American-focused magazine, Jet.
Miller released an official statement on the magazine’s website. Here’s an excerpt: “…we are extremely disappointed that the jury was unable to convict Michael Dunn on all five of the charges. It is our hope that the retrial will occur, Michael Dunn will be found guilty of first-degree murder and a message will be sent to this country about the consequences of reckless, indifference towards the lives of African Americans.”
Dunn’s verdict adds fuel to fire of the controversies of race, legislation and law enforcement.