Shooting in Florida

[vadaga]

Also today in Florida bail was denied for the shooter in the movie theater texting argument.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/07/justice/f ... -shooting/

is this a case where the legislation says one thing but the judges are interpreting it in a very different way?

[grzegorz]

I just heard that Michael Dunn pulled up to the car full of kids when they already had their music up. Why would you do that if you don't want to be around loud music?

Even Mark Omara is saying Dunn should have just drove away.

[Steve James]

I've been watching his fiancee's testimony. She seems honestly traumatized.

Even Mark Omara is saying Dunn should have just drove away.

Lead and liquid courage.

[grzegorz]

Dunn didn't get life but at his age he will be there for life.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/ar ... -79296340/

[Michael]

Dunn didn't get life but at his age he will be there for life.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/ar ... -79296340/

The quotes from Dunn's trial testimony in that article are nearly as outrageous as what cops say after they shoot, beat, or tase to death unarmed people for even less provocation. Oscar Grant, shoot on sight orders on Chris Dorner suspects, take your pick. That the Florida jury failed to convict on the murder 1 accusation is also shocking. Does this prove cops and citizens are equal in their ability to concoct strange tales of being threatened? Dunn said he thought he saw 4 inches of the end of a shotgun and complains that detectives didn't search for it, while Dunn himself failed to even contact police the entire day after the shooting to let the police know where to search. Truly disconnected from reality.

[grzegorz]

Yeah, that was an issue. But all the evidence suggests that they were trying to drive away and then they stopped and turned around when they realized their friend was dead.

If Dunn did believe his life was threatened (as you mentioned) he should have called the police. Interesting how he didn't mention anything about the alleged weapon to his fiancee. Instead he just ate a pizza, watched tv and went to bed. Had it not been for the homeless man who wrote down the license plate number he probably would have got away with this.

[Steve James]

It's interesting how the jurors could all agree that he attempted to murder, they weren't able to agree on the fact that he killed someone. Either you're shooting to kill or you're not. Whether the emotion involved is fear, rage or lust, the intent of pulling the trigger is the same.

[grzegorz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1uW2BQDXjM

[Michael]

c

[Michael]

The video was removed. Any search words so I can find it elsewhere?

[Steve James]

The video was removed. Any search words so I can find it elsewhere?

[Michael]

The video was removed. Any search words so I can find it elsewhere?

Thanks for the link.

I'm not even sure I would want to read the transcript or watch more testimony on video. Is there any chance Dunn's actual story is LESS ridiculous than Jon Stewart's humor version?

Does Dunn have any history of being arrested for assault or similar?

[Steve James]

Does Dunn have any history of being arrested for assault or similar?

I don't know. His neighbor said this: http://www.inquisitr.com/1137598/michae ... hbor-says/
I'm not sure it should affect the facts. He said he thought he saw the teenager get out of the car with a weapon, so he fired in self defense. The jury found that he did not have the right to defend himself from the teenagers in the suv that was fleeing his shots. The jury could not agree that he did not fire in self defense. Iow, some thought it was reasonable for him to shoot, and kill, the one teen.

Afa Stewart's characterization, it's hard to deny that it would have been easier for the man to change parking spaces. Personally, I wouldn't argue with a group of teens playing loud music. In fact, I remember playing loud music myself ... when I was a teen. But, perhaps that makes me biased because I think his story is laughable, though it's not surprising that some would find his actions reasonable.

[grzegorz]

Here's part of it Michael.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7B11CrC44c

[Michael]

Dunn's story is laughable. If you applied it to any other scenario it would be hysterical. To me, it does look like Dunn was just waiting for a provocation. Who knows if the statements from Hendrix are true, but they also fit that mentality.

Thanks for that link, Greg. Still don't know how the jury could fail to find him guilty of murder considering there's no evidence of any aggression from the teens and knowing that Dunn emptied his clip in pursuit of the the teens' SUV.

It's almost like the presumption of who started the trouble is on the teens for playing loud music, and therefore Dunn becomes credible because we've all been irritated by teens playing loud music. WTF?

Based on this case, you can conclude that in Florida if you think you see some part of a weapon in the vehicle of someone who's bothering you, it is acceptable to kill anyone who gets out of that vehicle. Nothing else is required. As I said before, it appears we can now behave the same as the worst of the police and other criminals do and the court or some jury will rationalize it as self defense. This is backwards.