FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: CJ Frogozo, cj@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 310.570.2622

Tim Rush, tim@fitzgibbonmedia.com, 917,399, 0236

New York, NY –  Last night trial Juror #4 in the Michael Dunn trial came forward in an exclusive interview with Nightline.  In her interview, the juror, known only as Valerie, confirmed that the trial was the issue of self-defense, which led some jurors to defect from wanting to convict Dunn for first-degree murder. The juror said the jury’s first vote was 10-2 in favor of a murder conviction. However, after over nearly 30 hours of deliberations, the vote became 9-3. “I believed he was guilty,” she said in the interview.

In response, Rashad Robinson, executive director of ColorOfChange.org, issued the following statement:

“Juror #4’s words about the jury split over self-defense are indicative of the challenges which underpin the dangerously loose language of ‘Stand Your Ground’, or ‘Shoot First’ laws, confusing any discussion about murder. If ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws are like matches, then racism and bias in the criminal justice system are gasoline. Michael Dunn should have been convicted for the murder of Jordan Davis in addition to the attempted murder charges.

“While Dunn faces 60 years or more in prison on three charges of attempted murder for shooting at the other three teenagers in the SUV and one count of shooting into the vehicle on November 23, 2012, he should also be charged and retried for the murder that the majority of jurors believe he committed.

“During the trial, Dunn’s lawyer, Cory Strolla, invoked Florida’s Stand Your Ground law during his closing arguments. He is quoted saying, ‘His honor will further tell you that if Michael Dunn was in a public place where he had a legal right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force.’

“Much like the George Zimmerman trial, the so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ law was included in the jury instructions and hurt efforts to secure the full justice Jordan’s family deserves.”

To date, more than 150,000 ColorOfChange members have signed a petition and raised their voices to call for an end to ‘Shoot First’ laws, in Florida and more than two dozen other states across the country. It’s time state legislatures took notice and repealed “Shoot First” laws.

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With over 900,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest online civil rights organization.