02-12-2014, 09:52 PM
Prosecution Closing Argument:
Assistant State Atty. Erin Wolfson told jurors that Jordan Davis, 17, was unarmed when Dunn, 47, fired 10 shots at an SUV in which Davis was sitting. Wolfson said no witnesses saw any of the four teenagers in the vehicle with a weapon and that police searches turned up none.
"This defendant was disrespected by a 17-year-old teenager, and he lost it. He wasn't happy with Jordan Davis' attitude. What was his response? 'You're not going to talk to me like that,' " prosecutor Wolfson said. "He took these actions because it was premeditated. It was not self-defense."
Defense Closing Argument:
But Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, pressed the self-defense claim and argued that Dunn had a right to shoot if he reasonably thought he was in danger.
“We understand Jordan Davis was human and this was a tragedy,” Strolla said. The attorney added later, “Deadly force is justifiable if Dunn reasonably believed he faced an attempted murder of himself or another.”
In his summation, Strolla said the state had failed to prove its murder case or to disprove Dunn's assertion that he acted in self-defense. He described that as “two mountains” the jurors had to climb before deciding to convict Dunn.
Strolla said Dunn fired his gun only when he saw Davis wielding a weapon from inside the Durango SUV and felt threatened. “He's had that gun for 20 years and never pulled it once,” Strolla said. “He told you that nobody has ever scared him, no one has ever threatened him like that.”
Police didn't find a weapon in the SUV, but Strolla contended that the teens got rid of it during the three minutes they were in an adjacent parking lot after fleeing the gunshots. He said detectives should have immediately gone to the area and searched but failed to do so.
Jury Deliberations:
The sequestered jury began its work by choosing a foreperson before beginning to consider the case.
Dunn faces five charges, including first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, in the November 2012 shooting at a Jacksonville, Fla., convenience store and gas station. The jury can also consider lesser charges. If convicted of the major counts, Dunn could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ref:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/...z2tA88TaOW
Assistant State Atty. Erin Wolfson told jurors that Jordan Davis, 17, was unarmed when Dunn, 47, fired 10 shots at an SUV in which Davis was sitting. Wolfson said no witnesses saw any of the four teenagers in the vehicle with a weapon and that police searches turned up none.
"This defendant was disrespected by a 17-year-old teenager, and he lost it. He wasn't happy with Jordan Davis' attitude. What was his response? 'You're not going to talk to me like that,' " prosecutor Wolfson said. "He took these actions because it was premeditated. It was not self-defense."
Defense Closing Argument:
But Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, pressed the self-defense claim and argued that Dunn had a right to shoot if he reasonably thought he was in danger.
“We understand Jordan Davis was human and this was a tragedy,” Strolla said. The attorney added later, “Deadly force is justifiable if Dunn reasonably believed he faced an attempted murder of himself or another.”
In his summation, Strolla said the state had failed to prove its murder case or to disprove Dunn's assertion that he acted in self-defense. He described that as “two mountains” the jurors had to climb before deciding to convict Dunn.
Strolla said Dunn fired his gun only when he saw Davis wielding a weapon from inside the Durango SUV and felt threatened. “He's had that gun for 20 years and never pulled it once,” Strolla said. “He told you that nobody has ever scared him, no one has ever threatened him like that.”
Police didn't find a weapon in the SUV, but Strolla contended that the teens got rid of it during the three minutes they were in an adjacent parking lot after fleeing the gunshots. He said detectives should have immediately gone to the area and searched but failed to do so.
Jury Deliberations:
The sequestered jury began its work by choosing a foreperson before beginning to consider the case.
Dunn faces five charges, including first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, in the November 2012 shooting at a Jacksonville, Fla., convenience store and gas station. The jury can also consider lesser charges. If convicted of the major counts, Dunn could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ref:
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/...z2tA88TaOW