News 4 JAX reported that:
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
Michael Dunn is back inside the Duval County jail after he was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Jordan Davis on Nov. 23, 2012, in a dispute over loud music outside a Gate gas station.
A sentencing hearing was set next Tuesday to discuss sentencing, but he likely will not learn his punishment until later this year.
Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, so Dunn, 47, faces life in prison without parole when he's sentenced. He also awaits sentencing on at least 60 years in prison on February convictions on three counts of attempted murder and firing into an occupied vehicle. The first jury deadlocked on the murder charge.
The jury in the retrial, comprising eight men and four women, deliberated for about five and a half hours. The retrial lasted six days.
Dunn did not appear to have an immediate reaction to the verdict. Later, he turned around and somberly shook his head toward his parents, who then left the courthouse without making any comment.
At least for this brief moment in time, the verdict in the Michael Dunn case restores hope, hope in the America's promise and potential. The predominately white jury rejected white privilege. They refused to allow white skin to serve as a license to kill black people. They rejected the stereotypical presumption that black men are inherently dangerous and prone to criminality and thuggery. They rejected the concept that black people are expendable and worthless. Through their verdict, the jury proclaimed that all human life is sacred and precious. For that, I commend them.
Finally, there is justice for Jordan Davis. Now, we need justice for Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and the countless other victims of senseless violence.
