Another trial involving a Florida man who fatally shot an unarmed black teen

[Galraedia]

Source: Raw Story

CNN’s Ryan Smith on Monday highlighted an upcoming trial in Florida that is eerily similar to the Trayvon Martin case. In both cases, an unarmed 17-year-old black male was left dead.

“I’m not an eye for an eye type person where I think he should be killed,” Ron Davis, the father of Jordan Davis, told CNN. “I don’t believe in capitol punishment. I believe every life is precious. You took my son’s life. That doesn’t mean anybody else should take his life. I think he should spend the rest of his life in prison because of the fact that you have to think about what you’ve done not only to Jordan but to his family, his friends, people that cry for him every day.”

Michael David Dunn, 45, told police he shot and killed Davis at a gas station last year because he feared for his life. Dunn had told Davis and his friends to turn down their loud music. He claimed the situation escalated and the teens began threatening him. Dunn started shooting because he thought they had a shotgun.

“It was either a barrel or a stick but, sir, they’re like we’re going to kill you and then they said, ‘you’re dead [expletive removed].’ What I should have done was put the car in reverse, but that shotgun come up or whatever it was – fight or flight – and I don’t think there was time for flight at that moment because I was going to get shot,” he told police.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/15/another-trial-involving-a-florida-man-who-fatally-shot-an-unarmed-black-teen/

[NYC_SKP]

1. I think I'll go out and find some kids with loud music, tell them to turn it doen, then shoot one.

Because I feared for my life, especially because of a shotgun or a stick "or whatever it was."



Sounds about the same: stupid ass sticks his neck out, starts trouble, uses gun when it doesn't go his way.

[chuckstevens]

2. Michael David Dunn

Has he been booked for a softball interview from racist Sean Hannity yet?

[ReRe]

3. We are a nation of wimps and teenage victims. n/t :-(

[deminks]

4. And, guess who the prosecutor is...Angela Corey.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2013-07-15/story/state-attorney-corey-scrutinized-nationally-over-handling-trayvon

[Judi Lynn]

14. Who could have guessed? Good grief.

With these racist gun-hugger` triumphs under her belt, she's ready to run for Florida's governor's office.

[Tumbulu]

5. Sorry this sounds very different to me

Here there is one guy making the wrong reaction to a situation in which he felt scared, vs going against the police's orders and tracking down a young person on a rainy night and attacking him and then killing him with a gun when he was clearly unarmed.

[Squinch]

8. +1. As craven as the guy in the OP is, Zimmerman was more craven still.

[Tumbulu]

17. agreed! nt

[tblue]

16. Then he went to Subway or something.

That's just creepy.

[sheshe2]

6. At least twenty two frigging States have this law on the books!

Twenty two!

Stand your ground my ass!

Across the country, at least 22 states have "stand your ground" laws, with varying degrees of requirements for when citizens may use deadly force to protect themselves. Before these new laws were put in place beginning in 2005, people who felt threatened outside their home were required to flee from an attacker before they were allowed to use force to defend themselves.

The new laws make clear, however, that if someone feels threatened either inside or outside their home, they do not have to run away and are legally justified in using force to protect themselves.

snip

Some states just allow people to defend themselves in their homes or businesses, while others extend the law to cars or any place someone "has a right to be." Florida's law falls into this second category. (See chart)

The Zimmerman case drew national attention to the "stand you ground" laws, which were promoted by the National Rifle Association and the American Legislative Exchange Council through model legislation and advocacy.

In a study of "stand your ground" laws commissioned by the National Bureau of Economic Research, researchers found that in states with "stand your ground" laws, the number of homicides had significantly increased from the years before the law was enacted. They found that the provision that allows self-defense "in any place a person has a legal right to be" is the driver of the increase in homicides. The increase in homicides, they argue, negates the claim that these laws reduce crime.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/15/stateline-zimmerman-stand-your-ground/2517507/

[Bjorn Against]

7. I really like what Ron Davis had to say

Michael David Dunn on the other hand seems even worse than Zimmerman, let's hope we get a better verdict in his trial.

[Amimnoch]

9. How about the woman who just fired a warning shot against an abusive husband??

Story at: http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/324906/19/Fla-mom-gets-20-years-for-firing-warning-shots

snip:

JACKSONVILLE, Florida - A Florida woman who fired warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had said the state's "Stand Your Ground" law should apply to her because she was defending herself against her allegedly abusive husband when she fired warning shots inside her home in August 2010. She told police it was to escape a brutal beating by her husband, against whom she had already taken out a protective order.

More at the link.

So, Zimmerman tracks down, shoots, and kills Trayvon Martin. Marissa is attacked by her husband, with known and documented abuse against her, and a restraining order, and just fires off a warning shot (no deaths), and gets 20 years in prison??? WTF???

[Lurks Often]

10. I was really angry about the Marissa Alexander case

enough to do some research and it turns out not be quite as clear cut as some of the internet links say:

1. She was not living in the house
2. She went to the house, put her car in the garage
3. The husband, who is without a doubt a POS, is the one who called 911
4. They argue, she allegedly says "I have something for you" goes to the garage and gets the gun
5. The warning shot(s) (which are illegal in most states) were at head height
6. She also stated that the garage door that had worked minutes before was no longer working when she tried to leave
7. She was offered a plea bargain that would have resulted in time served and declined

[Amimnoch]

11. Thanks for this. Do you happen to have a link to a place that details it out?

When I first read it, I was hoping there was more to it than that as well, but every link I found when I researched it showed pretty much what the article i linked showed.

(not challenging, but I've posted this in several places, and don't like to post mis-information)

[Lurks Often]

12. Here is one

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57434757-504083/fla-woman-marissa-alexander-gets-20-years-for-warning-shot-did-she-stand-her-ground/

And I don't think she deserves 20 years

You didn't post mis-information intentionally, many links show only the side the source wants shown

[ButterflyBlood]

13. From what I heard, she ran to her car, grabbed the gun, and then returned and later fired the shots

She should've just left when she first went to the car, so I think the conviction was correct. Of course 20 years is FAR too stiff of a sentence.

The image above is incorrect too. Zimmerman was not acquitted because of the Stand Your Ground law, that wasn't brought up in trial and he waived a hearing to dismiss the charges on that. He was acquitted primarily because the prosecution did a lousy job.

[Crepuscular]

15. I predicted Zimmerman would walk

I'll predict that Dunn will be convicted. Very different circumstances, not much reasonable doubt for the jury to consider in Dunn's case.