Michael Dunn: Mistrial Count 1 - Guilty Counts 2-5

[SoCalMusicLover]

Murder is legal in Florida

[flvegan]

1. Murder isn't legal in Florida. n/t

[uponit7771]

12. Getting away with it is easier now imho

[Warren Stupidity]

18. well yes it is. SYG laws make it demonstrably difficult to get a murder conviction

particularly if the victim is black.

[arthritisR_US]

2. They will retry I bet and I hope that Da has learned something...she is such a freak. nt

[avebury]

3. It is a good start.

Now let us see if they retry him for the murder trial.

[Keefer]

4. ???

It just proves the jury didn't find premeditation.

[SoCalMusicLover]

6. Nor 2nd Degree, Nor Manslaughter

Hung jury based on the self defense argument.

Self defense against an imaginary weapon.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. you don't know what it was based on

I still think it was premeditation aspect that was a problem, and I can see jurors unwilling to be swayed concerning the premeditation and refusing to agree to lesser included charges just to come to a verdict. unless one or more jurors say what the issue was we aren't going to know.

I'm disappointed they couldn't come to agreement on the murder charge and there will be a retrial on that charge, but I still don't think it was because anyone believed it was self-defence... there is just too much overwhelming evidence that it wasn't, and the jury questions concerning self-defense didn't seem to be about the murdered teenager but the surviving ones.

Once again, I think Corey overcharged especially when the prosecution didn't hammer on premeditation.

I'd like to hear from jury members what the issue was, but in a way I don't because I don't want anything they say to have a negative effect on the retrial.

[kcr]

16. Premeditation wouldn't have prevented 2nd or manslaughter

which is why the speculation that the holdout was hung up on self defense is pretty likely to be correct.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. not so easy to do

I might have gone for Murder 2 but I would have held out on manslaughter. Since I believe there was never any gun or gun-like thing and that Dunn was never afraid for his life at any time I'd be damn hard-pressed to go with Murder 2 in the first place. If I was the only holdout then maybe I would, I don't know. But if there was even one other holdout that felt the same way I'd dig my heels in with them. I'd rather hang a jury for the right reason than agree to a lesser charge for the wrong one especially in a case where he was found guilty on several other charges and would be going back to jail rather than out the door. People have to be able to live with themselves forever with how they vote, and I don't think it's so easy to see these people live and in person especially the family members. Manslaughter - no way. Even if I was the only holdout I'd never agree to that just to render a verdict... I want the RIGHT verdict, not ANY verdict, and he'd be retried again giving the prosecution a chance to try the case better.

I already thought it was a mistake having THREE prosecutors involved and fairly equally.... it's too many personalities in the mix putting focus on different things. I think it's a lot easier to take the jury down the path you want them to go when there is one lead prosecutor that has tight control on maybe one other one that does little questioning, no closing or opening arguments and acts more as a paralegal than a second chair.

I think these jurors all worked extremely hard on this case and that it was emotionally upsetting for them. I don't know how one can be a juror in a murder case and NOT feel personally responsible for your vote and that you'll always have to live with it.

It's easy to say you'd go with any lesser charge in order to just render some sort of guilty verdict when it isn't you that's been sitting in the courtroom and personally involved and that you are the one that has to do the deciding and have to live with what you decided the rest of your life. It's not PERSONAL for anyone who isn't on that jury.

[kcr]

20. I would never want to be on a jury like that

I was on a jury for a civil case and that was stressful enough. You're right, it's possible this was because of a hold out for murder 1 or 2. We might never know. I hear the DA is going to retry. Hopefully they'll get a conviction on the second try.

[Diamonique]

8. It proves more than that

If they didn't find premeditation, they could have gone for 2nd degree or manslaughter.

I firmly believe at least one juror wanted a not guilty verdict on count 1 and wouldn't budge.

[bravenak]

5. He wiil be retried for murdering that boy.

He did not get away with it.

[SoCalMusicLover]

7. Tell That To The Family & Friends

Maybe they'll see justice for their dead child in another 1-2 years.

[bravenak]

9. I'm sure they know this.

He will never walk out of jail.

[dsc]

10. We won't know until we know the division on the counts

I could see some jurors who won't vote for manslaughter due to thinking it was murder and others refusing to vote for murder. If that is the case and the split was say 11 to 1 or 10 to 2 then the next time might well lead to success. I would have never voted for manslaughter under this set of facts.

[TorchTheWitch]

14. I would have dug my heels in as well

I can also see jurors digging their heels in on premeditation not believing there was ever any gun or threat. Since I'm convinced there was no gun and no threat that's Murder 1, and I'd be damn hard to be pushed off it to a lesser charge just to convict him of something.

[dsc]

15. I could have accepted 2nd degree though I think it is first

but manslaughter is a complete non starter for me.

[erpowers]

11. Happy

I realize it was a mistrial on count one, but at least he found guilty on counts 2-5 and is going to jail.

[Lurks Often]

17. Very much a surprise

I can see the jury maybe having a problem reaching a unanimous decision on 1st degree murder, but I did expect 2nd degree murder or manslaughter. What the hell went on in that jury room?