Dunn will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell for the murder of another unarmed Black teen
Michael Dunn, the 47 year old Floridian who shot and killed 17 year old Jordan Davis almost two years ago, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole today for first degree murder.
Dunn was also sentenced to an additional 90 years for three attempted murder convictions as well as another 15 years for firing into an occupied vehicle. Earlier this month, a jury found Dunn guilty of the murder of Davis as well as the attempted murders of the 17 year old’s friends who were occupants in the car when Dunn, who is white, let off 10 rounds into an SUV full of teens.
“Our justice system works. This case demonstrates that our justice system does work,” said Judge Russell Healey at the sentencing. Originally, a mistrial was declared in the murder case in January, but today’s conviction is what the Davis family hoped for.
Dunn had a confrontation with the 17 year old and his friends about their loud music at a Jacksonville convenience store back in November 2012. While Davis’ fiancee Rhonda Rouer was inside buying chips and wine, Dunn got into an argument with the teens and allegedly started shooting when the teens refused to turn down their music. One of the shots killed Davis.
With the state of race relations and the deaths of unarmed black teens at the hands of white men, this case serves as assurance of sorts that the justice system in this country still has some degree of accountability. In the state of Florida, where the cases of Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander magnified the controversial Stand Your Ground law, Dunn’s conviction helps some of the Sunshine State to breathe a sigh of relief.
-Sha Be Allah(@KingPenStatus)
