Angela Corey didn't take long to decide what to do when jurors deadlocked on the first-degree murder charge against Michael Dunn. Hours after the verdict was returned, Corey announced she will retry Dunn for the murder of Jordan Davis.
"We don't back off trying to retry," Corey said.
Dunn faced a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, a charge on which the jury deadlocked.
Corey said she relied on eyewitness testimony and physical evidence in an attempt to prove that Davis never got out of the car.
Corey said the State did not "over charge" when it charged Dunn with first-degree murder. Corey said Dunn's attorney Cory Strolla had the option to file a motion to dismiss.
"I'm not really sure why any criminal defense attorney would ever complain, and chronically complain, about an overcharge when they have that tool available," Corey said. "If any criminal defense attorney thinks a criminal has been overcharged, they can file a motion to dismiss."
Corey also confirmed what I suspected--she opted for first degree murder because Dunn was shooting into a car. Therefore, it automatically bumped the charges up to murder under the felony-murder rule.
Dunn was convicted of three counts of attempted second-degree murder. Each count carries a minimum 20 years in prison--which makes it a near-certainty that Dunn will die in prison. And yet, Corey really had no choice but to opt for a second trial. There are certain acts that society simply cannot appear to tolerate--and one of them is shooting at a car.
Hopefully before then we can find out what prompted the deadlock on the murder charge. When you're shooting at a car with multiple people inside, how can you convict of attempted murder and not murder? I'm hoping that it was either a case of a lone holdout.
It should be noted here that Corey is a conservative Republican--and yet, she had the guts to try not only this case, but the George Zimmerman case. She's living proof that you don't have to sell out your sense of decency to be a Republican. Are you listening, Rick Scott? Are you listening, Tea Party Caucus?