The trial of Michael Dunn, a white Floridian who fatally shot an unarmed black teen after complaining about his “thug music,” came to a contentious end last week when a jury deadlocked over the charge of first-degree murder, but convicted Dunn of three counts of attempted murder for firing at the deceased teenager’s friends. The confrontation occurred at a Jacksonville gas station in 2012, when Dunn, 47, asked 17-year-old Jordan Davis and his three friends to turn down the rap music in their SUV. Dunn testified that he acted in self-defense when he fired 10 shots from a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, saying he’d seen Davis wield an object resembling a shotgun. But investigators found no evidence of a shotgun. “Jordan Davis didn’t have a weapon. He had a big mouth,” said prosecutor John Guy. “That defendant wasn’t going to stand for it, and it cost Jordan Davis his life.”
Dunn’s lawyer said his client was “devastated” by the verdict, which leaves him facing a possible 60-year sentence. Prosecutors also decried the verdict and said they would seek a retrial on the first-degree murder charge.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
The final fate of Flight 370feature Malaysian officials announced that radar data had proven that the missing Flight 370 “ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”
-
The airplane that vanished
feature The mystery deepened surrounding the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared one hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.
-
A drug kingpin’s capture
feature The world’s most wanted drug lord, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was captured by Mexican marines in the resort town of Mazatlán.
-
New Christie allegation
feature Did a top aide to the New Jersey governor tie Hurricane Sandy relief funds to the approval of a development proposal in the city of Hoboken?
-
A deal is struck with Iran
feature The U.S. and five world powers finalized a temporary agreement to halt Iran’s nuclear program.
-
End-of-year quiz
feature Here are 40 questions to test your knowledge of the year’s events.
-
Note to readers
feature Welcome to a special year-end issue of The Week.
-
The U.S. and Iran strike a deal
feature The administration defended an international deal with Iran over its nuclear program, as critics at home and in Israel blasted the pact as an act of appeasement.