Convicted of Being a Bad Shot

Here we go again. A white guy in Florida starts hassling a black kid, then pulls a gun and shoots him dead. And the jury somehow can't convict the guy of murder.

Michael Dunn pulled into a gas station in 2012, where some kids were parked playing loud music. He told them to turn it down, and apparently they complied, but Dunn shot the victim, Jordan Davis, anyway. Davis died almost immediately. As the kids' car pulled away Dunn pumped several more shots into it.

Dunn was convicted of attempted murder of the other kids in the car, but the jury deadlocked on the murder charge.

Apparently the only real crime in Florida is being a bad shot.

One of the jurors said that the final vote was 9-3 to convict on the murder charge, but three jurors were convinced that Dunn felt he was in danger.

The juror explained that jurors got a glimpse into Dunn’s ego when he said he asked people to turn down their music several times before in his hometown. Valerie told "Nightline" that Dunn’s insistence during his testimony that he was in danger was an important moment in the trial.

So, this jerk goes around town hassling people playing music, secure in the knowledge that if anyone gives him any lip he can just shoot them, then say that he thought he saw a gun and was afraid for his life.

Florida's stand your ground law is custom made for letting people get away with murder. All the "evidence" you need is the ability to give weepy fear-laden testimony to a gullible jury.


Personal responsibility is supposed to be the hallmark of conservative jurisprudence. Stand your ground laws let liars and bullies get away with murder. Maybe Florida should just bite the bullet and institute the death penalty for texting in movie theaters, playing loud music and walking down the street in hoodies.

It looks like Dunn will go to prison for decades, which is a life sentence for the middle-aged man. But you gotta ask: if he had killed all four kids and the car never moved, would those three jurors would have thought him not guilty of any crime at all?

How can not killing three kids be a greater crime than killing one?