Because my life has been chaotic over the last couple of months, I haven’t really followed the trial of Michael Dunn. I don’t feel qualified to have much of an informed opinion about the case, but I did feel that Mr. Dunn did not have an adequate defense for opening fire on a car of black teenagers and killing 17 year-old Jordan Davis. I see that the jury was unable to agree to a verdict on the murder charge, but was willing to convict Dunn on four counts, including three for attempted second-degree murder. Based on those convictions, Dunn will spend the rest of his life in prison, so I don’t think it is even necessary to have another trial on the murder charge. I suppose if Jordan Davis’s family insisted upon a new trial, the prosecutors would be obligated to pursue one, but it would be a waste of money.
This jury didn’t deliver a perfect verdict, but they delivered an adequate one. Sometimes, that’s how our system of justice works. The important thing is that the jury made clear that you can’t shoot at black kids just because they make you nervous. That was really the principle at stake in this trial, and it’s why people compared it to the George Zimmerman case.
