Florida Courier - July 19, 2013

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PRESORTED STANDARD MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BEACH, FL PERMIT #189

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JULY 19 - JULY 25, 2013

VOLUME 21 NO. 29

SPECIAL ISSUE: THE DEATH OF TRAYVON MARTIN inside A3 State never proved its case, analysts say A6 All-female jury extremely uncommon

‘Not Guilty’

B1 In Florida, hope must remain B2 Juror: Race played no role in death of Black teen B3 Federal trial would be difficult

POOL/JOE BURBANK/ ORLANDO SENTINEL/ MCT

B4 Impact of social media, technology on case

Sanford residents concerned What’s next for the city?

George Zimmerman walked out of the Seminole County Courthouse a free man on Saturday night. Since the state cannot appeal the verdict, the gun Zimmerman used to kill Trayvon Martin will be returned to him.

STANDING HIS GROUND

BY JAMES HARPER FLORIDA COURIER

SANFORD – Now that George Zimmerman has been found not guilty and the news media is packing up to leave Sanford, residents are concerned about the future of their city and the lives of other Black teens who may be walking their streets and are killed on their way home. While being interviewed at the Goldsboro Community Center in Sanford awaiting the Zimmerman verdict July 12, Don Brown asked the Florida Courier, “Where do we go after this is over? When the news media blows over? Two, three, five years down the road, are we going to go back to business as usual?”

See SANFORD, Page A2

After George Zimmerman walked away a free man, Stevie Wonder said ‘never again’ to Florida. OLIVIER DOULIERY/ ABACA PRESS/MCT

ALSO INSIDE

The case of a Titusville Beacharea man who shot an unarmed Black teenager dead in a Jacksonville-area gas station in a dispute over loud music is proceeding slowly after two judges excused themselves from hearing the case. According to police reports, Michael Dunn, 45, and his girlfriend were in Jacksonville for Dunn’s son’s wedding. On Nov. 23, 2012, the couple stopped at a convenience store where Jordan Russell Davis, 17, and several other teenagers were sitting in a sport utility vehicle in the parking lot.

Pulled a gun Dunn pulled up next to them, complained to his girlfriend about hating “that thug music,” and asked Davis and his friends to reduce the volume. Jordan and Dunn allegedly exchanged words. Dunn then pulled a gun and fired multiple shots, striking Davis twice and killing him. No one else was hurt. Dunn and his girlfriend, who was in the store and didn’t witness the shooting, immediately took off. Witnesses wrote down Dunn’s tag number. The couple stayed in Jacksonville overnight, then returned to Brevard County. Dunn, a gun collector, was arrested Nov. 24, 2012 at his home in Satellite Beach on charges of murder and attempted murder. A grand jury subsequently upgraded the charges to first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. Dunn’s original attorney, Robin Lemonidis, said that Dunn acted in self-defense when he shot and killed Davis. “He didn’t think he had harmed anybody and he just thought he had scared them off and he wanted to report it, but he didn’t want to…throw himself to the wolves in a strange city without representation,” Lemonidis told Jacksonvillearea media in 2012. Lemonidis later claimed that Dunn saw a shotgun in Davis’s vehicle. Jacksonville cops found no weapons in the SUV. Davis was a passenger in the back seat when he was shot dead.

Lawsuit filed

Entertainer/activist Stevie Wonder says he will never perform in Florida while ‘Stand Your Ground’ remains law. A national Black organization calls for sanctions, and a boycott movement against Florida’s $70 billion tourist industry picks up speed online. FROM STAFF REPORTS

In May, George Zimmerman’s defense team released photographs from Trayvon Martin’s cell phone, including one of Martin (right) and his older brother Jahvaris Fulton.

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

Standing his ground?

No winners Sanford resident Brown was on “verdict watch” with many other community members at the local center, and said there was no winner after the verdict. “I would have been scared too because of the system that exists,” Brown said, adding that now is the time to discuss the racial issues that exist in this community of approximately 50,000 – with a 30 percent Black population. Brown said there are divisions between Blacks and Whites, and it upsets him when he hears Whites don’t want to talk about the mis-

Another ‘shoot first’ death case moves slowly

On Sunday night, Quebec City, Quebec was the site of a typical Stevie Wonder concert in Canada before thousands of energetic fans. The difference: The night before the concert, George Zimmerman had been acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin. As he often does, Wonder paused between a set of songs to speak directly to the audience. “Until the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again. Wherever I find that law exists, I will never perform in that state or in that part of the world…You can’t just talk about it; you’ve got to be

Trayvon Martin

Florida and 20 other states, mostly in the southern (Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky) and southwestern (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Utah) parts of the U.S. If grassroots action eventually succeeds in repealing or even modifying “Stand Your Ground’’ in Florida, Stevie Wonder’s concert in Canada shall be identified as the starting point.

about it…not in destruction, but in the perpetuation of life itself,” Picking up speed he said. After video of Wonder’s boycott And with that, he and the audiwent viral on Monday, groups ence partied on. According to the Brady Cam- and individuals began to climb paign to Prevent Gun Violence, onboard. Stand Your Ground laws exist in See BOYCOTT, Page A2

Davis’s parents have filed a wrongful death claim against Dunn. Jacksonville-area State Attorney Angela Corey – whose prosecution team lost the George Zimmerman trial – is personally prosecuting Dunn. A trial date is set for Sept. 23 though Dunn’s attorney, Cory Strolla, has asked for a delay. So far, all the judges who have presided over the case have refused to set bail for Dunn, release him pending the trial, or declare him indigent – which would force taxpayers to partially or fully pay the costs of his defense.

Jordan Russell Davis

COMMENTARY: MARC CAPUTO: CONSENSUS UNLIKELY ON ‘STAND YOUR GROUND’ | A4 COMMENTARY: WALTER SMITH: VERDICT SHOWS SOUTHERN JUSTICE PREVAILS AGAIN | A5

Michael Dunn


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