Michael Dunn was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
Dunn shot and killed Davis at a Southside Gate gas station in November 2012 after a dispute over loud music. Dunn fired three shots from his car window into the SUV Davis and three other teenagers were in. As the teenagers drove away, he fired seven more shots from outside his car.
The jury in Dunn's first trial in February found him guilty of attempted murder, but deadlocked on the first degree murder charge.
Dunn claimed he shot in self-defense that night after Davis appeared to threaten him with a weapon.
Criminal defense attorney Mark O’Mara and UNF sociology professor and race expert Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder joined Melissa Ross to discuss the verdict.
“I am a bit surprised at the first-degree murder conviction, and the reason why is when you have an event where it’s fraught with emotions, that is normally a second degree murder charge,” said O’Mara.
“Cases like Michael Dunn and George Zimmerman bring to the forefront an undeniable bias in the criminal justice system that affects blacks more than whites; we know that all the social studies support it.”
O’Mara famously represented George Zimmerman in his successful acquittal of murder charges in the shooting death of another teen, Trayvon Martin.
He will join Dr. Wilder Thursday night on the UNF campus as part of the school's Distinguished Voices lecture series. The forum will cover the new verdict and longer-term implications for discussing race.
The lecture starts at 7:00pm at the Herbert University Center. For more information, visit www.unf.edu.
You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax.
