Related: Facing the Music in Florida
"Fla. man gets life term in killing over loud music" Associated Press October 18, 2014
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida man convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting a teenager in an argument over loud music outside a Jacksonville convenience store was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole....
Circuit Judge Russell Healey said, ‘‘Mr. Dunn, your life is effectively over.’’
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Prosecutors say Dunn, who is white, fired 10 times into a sport utility vehicle carrying black teenagers in November 2012 and killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis of Marietta, Ga.
Really unloaded, huh?
Evidence showed that Dunn, of Satellite Beach, fired the shots during a heated argument over the volume of music coming from the SUV carrying Davis and three other teens. Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted second-degree murder in his first trial because he continued to fire into the Dodge Durango as the driver tried to flee....
Dunn, who testified at both trials, said he acted in self-defense. Dunn told jurors that he saw Davis roll down the window and flash what he believed to be a gun after the two exchanged words. He contended that he kept firing at the fleeing SUV to make sure no one shot back at him.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Dunn apologized to Davis’s parents.
‘‘I want the Davis family to know that I truly regret what happened. If I could roll back time and do things differently, I would,’’ he said. ‘‘I am mortified that I took a life whether it was a justified or not.’’
You can dismiss the apology because he still thinks it was justified. He's sorry for himself.
Throughout the second trial, prosecutors portrayed Dunn as a cold-blooded killer. Dunn never called 911 after firing into the SUV, and afterward he went back to his hotel, made a drink, ordered pizza, walked his dog, and went to sleep.
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"Fla. father fatally shoots two kids, himself" Associated Press October 18, 2014
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A stay-at-home dad in a nasty divorce with his wife shot their three children Friday, killing two of them before fatally shooting himself inside the family’s Florida home, authorities said.
The Mohney family’s troubles were apparently well-known in their middle-class neighborhood south of Daytona Beach....
The slayings occurred as David and Cynthia Mohney were entrenched in a bitter divorce after nearly 25 years of marriage. Court filings showed David Mohney wanted to leave his wife and move with their children to South Dakota. He had recently finished chiropractic school while she supported the family as a physician’s assistant.
Nearly a month after he filed for divorce, the husband sought a protective injunction against his wife June 3. He said in court papers his wife had been drinking heavily and slapping him and their children on their chests, backs, and arms.
After the couple’s fight Friday morning, Cynthia Mohney fled to a neighbor’s house to get help....
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"US commission hears experts on ‘stand your ground’" Associated Press October 18, 2014
ORLANDO — ‘‘Stand your ground’’ statutes benefit whites more than blacks, are unnecessary, and cause minority men to live in fear, several experts said Friday to the US Civil Rights Commission as it evaluates racial disparities in the laws.
But an African-American lawmaker from South Carolina said the law benefits black defendants by putting a hurdle in the way of arrest by police who may have hidden racial biases.
‘‘Stand your ground, the way I intended when I voted for it, it’s meant so people don’t have to live in fear,’’ said Democratic state Representative Todd Rutherford.
Rutherford’s voice was in the minority among more than a dozen experts who testified during the commission’s only ‘‘field’’ hearing outside of its base in Washington. Stand-your-ground laws provide that individuals have no duty to retreat from a place where they have a right to be and may use any level of force, including lethal, if they reasonably believe they face an imminent and immediate threat of serious bodily harm or death.
One commissioner was skeptical of the benefits of such laws, saying they pervert traditional self-defense laws.
‘‘The problem with all this is that people are dying,’’ said Commissioner Michael Yaki.
I feel the same way about wars of aggression waged over the same pretenses.
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Anyway we can cool things down?
"Portable fan blows up Florida governor’s race" by Tamara Lush and Brendan Farrington | Associated Press October 17, 2014
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Florida governor’s race was spinning wildly on Thursday, almost as fast as that electric fan that former governor Charlie Crist insists on bringing along to campaign appearances.
The resulting dust-up provoked the rarest of pleasures — an unscripted moment in a campaign season made for TV.
Governor Rick Scott waited seven minutes, an eternity on live television, before appearing onstage for Wednesday night’s debate, all because Crist insisted on having his portable pal plugged in below his lectern.
The finger-pointing and fund-raising then cranked up to full velocity, and before they had left the stage, #Fangate was raging. Many people posted messages on social media lampooning a state still trying to shake off the ‘‘hanging chads’’ debacle from the 2000 presidential race.
Every time I think the politics has reached a new vacuous, shallow, and superficial low they top it.
All the problems that state and this nation have and this is the politicians and ma$$ media and focus?
Crist has been taking a portable fan to campaign events for years, from churches to town squares to a recent interview in the air-conditioned offices of the Associated Press in Miami. Like a rock star’s concert rider, the fan is such a requirement that one GOP operative calls it Crist’s ‘‘teddy bear.’’
Perhaps seeing an opportunity to put Crist at a psychological disadvantage, Scott’s handlers tried to ban the fan from the debate. Organizers sent both campaigns rules saying ‘‘candidates may not bring electronic devices (including fans)’’ on stage. Crist campaign adviser Dan Gelber signed the rules but added a handwritten caveat: ‘‘with understanding that the debate hosts will address any temperature issues with a fan if necessary.’’
Just before the curtain opened, Crist’s handlers insisted on placing the fan behind his lectern near his feet, and Scott’s handlers demanded that the moderators do something. But then they were on live TV, facing an empty stage. Crist soon appeared, and CBS4 anchor Eliott Rodriguez turned to the audience.
‘‘The rules of the debate that I was shown by the Scott campaign say that there should be no fan,’’ Rodriguez said. ‘‘Somehow there is a fan there. And for that reason, ladies and gentlemen, I am being told that Governor Scott will not join us for this debate.’’
Boos erupted. Crist was asked to explain.
‘‘Are we really going to debate about a fan or are we going to talk about education and the environment and the future of our state? I mean, really,’’ Crist responded.
That was apparently enough for Scott, who came out and joined the debate.
I know I have had it.
Scott’s campaign manager, Melissa Sellers, insisted later that the governor ‘‘never refused to take the stage.’’
But as the seven-minute delay gained national attention, the Florida GOP blew it up even more, posting a compilation of pictures showing Crist with his fan on the Buzzfeed Community website, promoted with the hashtag #CristHitsTheFan. Democrats countered with tweets accusing Scott of having a backstage #fantrum. And later Thursday, Democratic activists were showing up at Scott events holding portable fans.
Sometimes Crist travels with one fan, occasionally two. As governor, Crist spent $320 on fans during a trade mission to Europe.
And it is without a doubt the defining issue of the Florida governor's race. Wow.
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Related: Democrats Find Political Savior in Florida
Time to turn off the music and see who wins at musical chairs.
