The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU and NPR: The Michael Dunn Loud Music Trial And Renewed Debate Over Stand-Your-Ground Laws
Michael Dunn, takes the stand in his own defense during his trial in Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Dunn is charged with fatally shooting 17-year-old Jordan Davis after an argument over loud music outside a Jacksonville, Fla. convenient story in 2012. (The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack, Pool)
On Saturday, a Florida jury convicted Michael Dunn of attempted murder for shooting into a car full of African-American teens playing loud music. But the jury failed to reach a verdict on the most serious charge of first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Critics blame Florida’s expansive self-defense law for the hung jury, which contains the controversial stand-your-ground provision. And the verdict comes just six months after another Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. Diane and her guests discuss renewed debate over the jury’s verdict in the “loud music” trial and stand-your-ground laws across the country.
Guests
President, the Bernard Center for Women, Politics and Public Policy; author of “Moving America Toward Justice, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 1963-2013.”
Director of Communications, The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Associate Professor of Law, Savannah Law School.
Principal, LoRusso Law Firm; Former Law Enforcement Officer; Author of “When Cops Kill: The Aftermath of a Critical Incident.”
Miami Bureau Chief, The New York Times.
LISTEN: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-02-18/loud-music-trial-and-renewed-debate-over-stand-your-ground-laws
Air Date: February 18, 2014