Abe Goodman
Shocking news from Florida. A man who shot an unarmed black teenager to death for blackly playing his music too loud failed to get away with murder.
A Florida judge is actually ruling that Michael Dunn, a middle-aged white man, must spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting ten rounds at an SUV full of four teens. The teens were at a gas station in a Jacksonville parking lot, allegedly playing their music at frighteningly loud levels.
Disheveled and terrified with all of the probable rap lyrics about harming the police and bloodshots, it would only make sense that a fine upstanding Florida man would pull out his gun and fire it to protect himself. It was dark. It was wet. He was alone and afraid, maybe the potential thugs in that SUV wanted his money? How could we know the fear going through that man’s mind in that situation. None of us were there but now he is going to jail.
In Florida, first-degree murder can be punished with a ruling of life in prison without the chance of parole. Thankfully prosecutors waived the death penalty before the trial even started. In addition to the charges for the death of the teen, Dunn was sentenced an additional ten years for attempted murder of the other teens.
The teen who as killed, Jordan Davis, was technically a child at age 17.
Florida law needs to be reevaluated. One week, it is perfectly fine to shoot at a teenage kid eating skittles and drinking an Arizona iced tea, walking back to his dad’s house in the rain. Then all of a sudden, it is not okay to shoot at black teens who are playing their rap music too loud?
The plight of the white man in this country is just so tough.
