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CNN NEWSROOM
Dunn Found Guilty of Attempted Murder; How is the Country Reacting to Dunn Verdict?; How a Generation React to the Dunn Verdict; Will Dunn Trial Cost State Attorney Her Job; Online Dating a Success
Aired February 16, 2014 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon. Top of the hour. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Today, would have been Jordan Davis's 19th birthday. Instead of a party his family and country reacts to a verdict returned by a jury in the case of the man who killed him. So tonight the ripple effect. How the trial and the verdict will impact the community, the legal system and the country?
But we can't begin to look at the week ahead without taking you back to the Duval County courthouse in Florida and the moment the defendant, Michael Dunn learned his fate. The jury found Dunn guilty on three counts of attempted murder and one count of firing into a vehicle, but deadlocked on the murder charge against him in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
Here's CNN's Alina Machado with how it all unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After about 30 hours of deliberations, the jury in the Michael Dunn murder trial returned a partial verdict.
JUDGE RUSSELL HEALEY, DUVAL COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: Mr. Dunn you having been convicted of counts two, three and four by a jury.
MACHADO: Guilty on four counts, including three of attempted second degree murder in the 2012 shooting outside of Jacksonville gas station that killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis.
But on the murder charge, no verdict.
HEALEY: Based on the jury's inability to reach a verdict on count one, I will declare that mistried.
MACHADO: Davis' family expressed gratitude but vowed to keep fighting.
LUCIA MCBATH, JORDAN DAVIS' MOTHER: We will continue to stand and we will continue to await for justice for Jordan.
RONALD DAVIS, JORDAN DAVIS' FATHER: I feel this Michael Dunn has got a minimum of 20 years on one count, another 20 years on another count, another minimum 20 years on another count. So, he's going to learn that he must be remorseful for the killing of my son that it was not just another day at the office.
MACHADO: During the trial, jurors heard from the three teens who were in the car with Davis the night a confrontation over loud music turned violent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did the driver do with the gun when he grabbed it from the glove compartment?
LELAND BRUNSON, JORDAN DAVIS' FRIEND: He cocked it back.
MACHADO: Dunn, himself, took the stand in his own defense.
MICHAEL DUNN, DEFENDANT: I'm looking out the window and I said, you're not going to kill me you son of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and I shot.
MACHADO: Surveillance video where you can hear the gunfire --
(GUNSHOT)
MACHADO: -- was requested by the jury during deliberations. Jurors also had several questions, including this one.
HEALEY: Is it possible to not reach a verdict on one count and reach a verdict on other counts?
MACHADO: Suggesting they were having difficulty reaching a unanimous verdict on the murder charge as early as Friday. The tension in the courtroom palpable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those 30 hours were probably the most stressful hours of my life. I cannot even imagine what Mr. Dunn was thinking because he was the one that was facing the verdict.
MACHADO: Alina Machado, CNN, Jacksonville, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So, here's question number one. How will the country react to the Dunn verdict?
Joining me now to discuss this, CNN's Martin Savidge. He is in Jacksonville, Florida. And HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell here in New York.
We're going to start with Martin because he's been on the ground covering this.
You have been there as the trial has unfolded. You were there last night as the verdict came down. What's the feeling, what's the feeling -- what has it been like there since that verdict?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really been kind of -- people have been questioning, wondering what would be the reaction of this community. Last night there were demonstrations outside of the courthouse. There were people demanding for the resignation of the prosecutor, Angela Corey, in this particular case.
But since then, today has been very quiet. There have been no formally organized protests. There's been no loud outbursts or anything like that I think for a couple reasons. One, it's really kind of a convoluted ruling here. People are kind of uncertain what it really means. They're digesting things, as it were.
On top of that, there is also the sense -- well, all right, there will be decades of time that Michael Dunn is going to receive. That dissuades some. And then there's the fact, something you pointed out in the beginning of the program, this would have been Michael Dunn's 19th birthday. His family has asked they be left alone. I think out of that respect many people are giving it a day.
There are protests planned both for here and nationally later in the week, we're being told, Don.
LEMON: Jane, for many the news is just sinking in, for many around the country. How do you think the country is going to react to this?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN'S JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL: I hope it's an opportunity for national soul-searching. If that happens, then maybe a Jordan Davis will not have died in vain.
You know, I remember a woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. She said what we did was we said enough. We set an intention.
We said what kind of world do we want? We want a peaceful world. Nobody thought they could achieve it but they did.
We have to as a culture set an intention. What kind of world do we want? Do we want a world filled with violence? Do we want a world where petty arguments escalate into tragic gunfire? Or do we want to all look in the mirror and say how do we create a more peaceful world?
How can we get rid of violence in the media? How can we get rid of violence in the movies? How do we deal with gun violence where there's at least one gun for every person in the United States.
And remember, no matter what happened there that night, had there not been a gun, he wouldn't have had the response he had because he wouldn't have been able to take what was an ugly process and turn it into a single event, boom.
LEMON: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Or 10 shots as it were.
LEMON: Someone said last night to me you made probably one of the best points of the evening when you talked about -- about Dunn, about Michael Dunn and that it was -- you said he had issues in his life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.
LEMON: And it was just when -- just when Jordan Davis rolled into his life. It was a perfect storm.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It's probably because I've done a lot of therapy on myself. One thing shrinks say is nothing happens for one reason. Everybody's saying why, why, why. There's no one reason. It was a perfect storm. OK?
He goes to a wedding of a son. He only had three visits with in many, many years. So, no relationship.
He leaves early. He says to walk his dog. But the same reason he leaves early is the reason he didn't see his son very much.
So, there's a lot of emotional turmoil. Meanwhile, he's revved up on at least three, possibly four rum and cokes. He gets to this gas station. And I believe he does say as his girlfriend testified, I hate that thug music.
This brings up the anger that he had suppressed all evening. The sadness. So what if he was acting happy at the wedding? Who could be happy overseeing a son get married that you have absolutely no relationship with?
LEMON: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course, he was in emotional turmoil. So, the anger comes up, and the trigger for unleashing it is the music that he describes as thug music. Then you add on the teenager who happens to be African-American disrespecting him. That brings up the racial animus --
LEMON: Right.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- which I believe was there, documented in his jailhouse letters.
LEMON: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So it's a perfect storm. Jordan Davis rolled into that convenience store on the worst night to have any kind of interaction with Michael Dunn.
LEMON: With Michael Dunn.
Let's move forward, Martin, because you mentioned earlier there are protests planned for the week ahead. What do you know about these protests?
SAVIDGE: Well, I think right now they're just sort of being loosely organized. Some talked about wearing black bands or wearing black arm bands or black ribbons. This is something that would be organized both here in Jacksonville and they're trying to encourage it across the country.
These are protests always designed to be peaceful. In fact, you know, when I was talking to protesters as people were awaiting verdict, I said -- well, if it doesn't go your way what do you predict is going to happen? No one ever suggested anything along the lines of violence. What they said was there would be protests. There would be a very forceful message said that this would not be tolerated and that laws need to change in the state of Florida.
But always, always it was peaceful and it was always to be within the laws of Florida -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Martin, thank you very much. Martin, stick around.
In about 30 minutes a question on everyone's mind -- will Florida's state prosecutor Angela Corey keep her job and should she? I'm going to talk to a former prosecutor.
Well, you know what? Emotions are high after the verdict in this loud music murder trial that people are calling it. A family is still seeking justice. The defendant is in shock. But if the prosecution has anything to say about it, the case is far from over. I'm going to talk a little bit more with Jane Velez-Mitchell about that. We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We are dissecting the Michael Dunn verdict this hour on CNN, asking five big questions that demand answers going forward. Question number two is will we hear from the jurors who were unable to agree on a first-degree murder verdict? And should prosecutors go back and try to get a conviction. Jane Velez-Mitchell is here. HLN's Jane Velez- Mitchell, I should say.
I want to bring in Steve Greenberg, criminal defense attorney from Chicago.
Jane, how about it? Is it necessary to hear from these jurors?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I would love to hear from them. I think they may be a little surprised because they were sequestered when they went home. They started to see this was a very racially charged case because they didn't get that evidence before then. So it's really interesting that everybody's saying, how could they make this decision or not make a decision when they didn't get the whole picture?
They did not hear or read Michael Dunn, the defendant's, racist letters that he wrote from jail. So, those were explosive. When those were released to the public this past fall, that became a racially charged case right there.
Well, the jury never heard that. They didn't see the complete picture. A complete portrait of this defendant was never painted.
LEMON: Yes. You remember, I'm sure you do as well, Steve, after the George Zimmerman verdict, many of the jurors came out and said we had no idea just what had happened. We had no idea about many things surrounding this case.
Do you think it is important to hear from the jurors? STEVEN GREENBERG, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it's always important to hear from the jurors. That helps us understand their thought process. It's also important they don't hear certain pieces of evidence.
Things are kept out of a trial because they're not relevant to the issues in the trial. What was relevant was what went on that day. Whether he had some animosity towards African-Americans or young kids or any other things in his life or what letters he wrote, the judge determined that wasn't relevant when the judge looked at all the evidence.
There's something very telling from this verdict, however. They found on the three charges they convicted for attempted second-degree murder, which is a lesser mental state. They omitted premeditation.
Now, if you think that if they had heard about those letters they would somehow reach the conclusion that he was out there just simply hunting for trouble, I disagree.
LEMON: Go ahead, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Of course the letters are relevant. The idea that it was dismissed is overly prejudicial. Is the truth overly prejudicial? That you have to paint the defendant like he's a choir boy? Like he's a Boy Scout? Is Mr. Rogers?
GREENBERG: It's the same reason, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No. The point is, what we did was we demonized the victim. It was the victim on trial in this trial. Make no mistake.
LEMON: Go ahead, Steve.
GREENBERG: Because -- because that was the defense. The defense was that the victim did something, and I reacted to what he did. The reason that stuff is excl excluded is the same reason we don't tell a jury someone is previously convicted of a crime.
They're supposed to focus on what happened at that moment in time and judge it like that. Jurors are not supposed to bring in outside prejudices. The judge isn't supposed to allow in outside prejudices. A trial is supposed to be a clean event.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, then, maybe it should have been tried as a hate crime. Maybe it should have been tried as a hate crime.
GREENBERG: Well, maybe they should go back and talk to the forefathers.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The general consensus is his racial animus he revealed in jailhouse letters a f the crime was a factor in him reacting in the way he did. I assure you, if, for example, in the Zimmerman case, if it was Mark Zuckerberg wearing a hoodie, there would not have been the same reaction. OK? So, different people doing the same exact thing provokes different reactions.
(CROSSTALK)
GREENBERG: Or maybe the kids shouldn't have started -- maybe they shouldn't have started swearing at him. Maybe they shouldn't have started swearing at him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know what? Is swearing just the province of frat boys? Only frat boys at prep schools should be able to behave in an inappropriate fashion.
GREENBERG: Maybe they shouldn't have had a gun.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They didn't have a gun.
LEMON: They didn't have a gun. There was no gun found. So, how can you say maybe they shouldn't have a gun? There's no gun found. The only person who saw that gun was Dunn.
GREENBERG: Maybe they threw a gun away. Maybe they threw a gun away. Maybe they shouldn't have taken a tripod that could have been mistaken. Maybe, maybe, maybe, and that's why we have trial.
LEMON: And maybe he should have just minded his own business. But listen. Let's move it forward.
GREENBERG: Let's do.
LEMON: He's going to prison for likely the rest of his own life for these convictions. Should the prosecutors try to get that first- degree murder conviction again? Steve?
GREENBERG: No, they shouldn't, because he's going away for the rest of his life. He didn't mind his own business as you just said. He's going to pay for it for the rest of his life. Whatever his motivation was, I'm sure he wishes he hadn't done it. He's going to end up in jail.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They should absolutely retry it again.
They should absolutely retry it because it's not just about this defendant. It's about America.
GREENBERG: What if they lose?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And it's about the message that this sends to everyone in a country that has more than 300 million guns that you can get paranoid and let that paranoia flourish and react with deadly violence. That you can assume the worst about someone --
GREENBERG: But no trial is going to change that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He's looking at me the wrong way. Boom. No. We can't do that in this society.
(CROSSTALK)
GREENBERG: Trials are not public referendums.
LEMON: They do change attitudes. Come on. Come on, Steve. You're being disingenuous. Think about the O.J. Simpson trial.
GREENBERG: No, no, Don, trials do affect attitudes.
LEMON: Yes.
GREENBERG: They affect attitudes. But what if the prosecutor loses this trial? What if they --
LEMON: The guy is still going to jail -- the guy is still going to jail. So that much will not change.
GREENBERG: But what message is sent?
LEMON: But they've already lost because they couldn't come to an agreement. What's the difference, right?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I really feel if they do retry this, don, they absolutely have to frame the debate. The prosecution needs to take the reins. Not let the defense frame the debate. Whoever frames the debate wins.
What they did was they put the victim on trial. It all became about what did Jordan Davis who is dead, cannot speak for himself, do.
It was not about what Michael Dunn did. That's the problem. Here's a kid who can't speak for himself because he's dead. He's on trial, in essence.
LEMON: All right, Steve. You're never going to win with Jane. You're never going to win here with Jane because Jane is passionate about this. So, there you go.
Thank you, Steve.
Thank you, Jane. I appreciate your passion. Thank you for calling in last night, coming in. It was good to see you. Thank you very much.
In less than a year, two major trials gripped and divided a nation. Two black teens gunned down at the age of 17. They are gone forever. But could their deaths spark change?
Coming up, I'm going to ask a group of college students for their honest answers about this trial and the verdict on the state of race relations in this country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So, question number three now: how will the Michael Dunn verdict affect race relations? We saw massive protests after the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. That verdict sparked a national conversation on race relations. Even President Obama made his views known.
Now to another controversial trial in Florida involving the shooting death of another 17-year-old black teen. Will the Dunn verdict affect race relations?
I want to bring in now our next generation panel, college students from across the nation.
University of Georgia student Shelby Clayton in Atlanta. Emory and Henry College student Colin Christensen in D.C. And University of Wooster student Chadwick Smith via Skype in Ohio.
They joined us after the George Zimmerman verdict. Very nice conversation so we invited them back.
Thank you, guys. Good to see you. How you doing?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for having us, Don.
LEMON: Great.
OK. So, I'm sure you were paying attention to the verdict.
First to Chadwick. You are 18 years old. One year older than Trayvon and Jordan Davis when they died. Does the Dunn verdict affect race relations for your generation?
CHADWICK SMITH, STUDENT, COLLEGE OF WOOSTER: Actually, me and Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis were actually the same age. I turn 19 next month. So, we're in the same age range.
I think it does. I think it talks to young black men and black people, what young black people can and cannot do in our society and how we are stereotyped.
What we have to be careful to wear a hoodie. I like wearing hoodies. Or can we play our music too loud? I like playing music loudly, especially in my room. But it really teaches us the stereotypes that are out there about young black males.
LEMON: Colin, you just got accepted to law school on a full scholarship. You've written about Florida's stand your ground law. Where did the prosecution fail in your estimation in the Dunn case?
COLLIN CHRISTENSEN, STUDENT, EMORY AND HENRY COLLEGE: Well, I think the prosecution is actually getting a very uncharitable response. I mean, first-degree murder is a very hard burden of proof to meet. There's no bright line standard for premeditation. So, I don't think they so much failed to do their job as they are really just kind of prevented for using some resources because of the Florida stand your ground law, because of the way in which it really reverses the burden of proof.
In Florida, under the stand your ground law, instead of -- instead of Mr. Dunn or Mr. Zimmerman having to prove that their actions were just, it's the state's burden of proof to prove that they were fundamentally unjust. And that is -- that is turning our esteem of ordered liberties and our understanding of self-defense under the English common law traditions fundamentally on its head. I think that's the real issue here.
I think if they retry this case, they may want to redirect their energies toward second degree murder, because first degree is a hard standard to prove, especially when legal discourse is obfuscated by the stand your ground --
LEMON: Well, Colin, do you think that the Dunn and Zimmerman case may spark legal changes? You're talking about the burden of proof when it comes to stand your ground. Do you think it will spark some legal changes?
CHRISTENSEN: I certainly hope so. I'm personally very against stand your ground laws and castle doctrine laws. And these are laws that need to be repealed. These are laws that members of our state legislatures across the country need to take seriously and think long and hard about getting them out of their codes in their individual state houses.
I'm hoping these do spark a very meaningful and genuine discourse, because we have an entire generation of adolescents that have been robbed of their innocence because of these cases. And no one feels that theft more acutely than our black brothers and sisters in this country. And this is a problem when we have children, children, 17- year-old children dying because their music is too loud or because they're wearing hoodies. That's the real travesty here. We have to fix these laws to send the message that this behavior is unacceptable.
LEMON: Shelby, you grew up in Orlando, Florida. Just about 120 miles from where Davis was killed in Jacksonville. Growing up, did you feel different types of racial or cultural stereotypes in Florida than -- is it worse than in other places? What do you say to that?
SHELBY CLAYTON, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: Well, actually, I grew up in a very culturally diverse area to where I never felt any sort of racism towards me. But as far as in general of the stand your ground law, I really honestly don't think our generation would have even known about that until the Trayvon Martin case came along.
And as well, whatever happened to calling the police in that sort of situation. As I was growing up in Orlando, my parents always told me to call the police if I was in any sort of -- felt like I was in any sort of danger. But as far as just my area of where I was growing up in, I've never -- there was no tension, racial tensions. I've had friends of all different races and different ethnic backgrounds. And we got along just fine.
LEMON: I appreciate all three of you joining us. You're such bright individuals. And really you're going to change the world one day. And don't forget me when you do it, OK? Thank you.
CLAYTON: I'll try not to.
LEMON: OK, listen, we're not done yet, though. Don't go far. I'm going to keep you for a little bit longer. Your panel is not done yet. We're going to continue our conversation right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Back now. We like them so much we're going to keep talking to them. Our next generation panel of college students.
Question number four for you: you guys are doing -- you guys are young. What does the death of Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin and the verdict in the Dunn trial, what does it mean to your generation?
I want to start with you, Shelby.
CLAYTON: Well, I personally believe that with the -- the mistrial that -- in Florida, that pretty much Mr. Dunn was -- excuse me. That he was mistried and wasn't able to go and -- like, sorry. I'm trying to get my thoughts out.
LEMON: No. That's all right.
CLAYTON: But -- no, I'm just -- just as far as justice, he was charged and convicted of a crime that he almost did. But he couldn't -- he wasn't able to necessarily be convicted of something that he actually did. And that, to me, as a young person, it almost scares me as being the Stand Your Ground state because when you're able to walk out -- I can't even walk out on my street and go to the grocery store or the convenience store when I have someone who could possibly come up to me because they feel threatened by whatever I may have done to them.
And another thing, minding your own business, which I don't think Mr. Dunn necessarily did in this case, but I feel as though that my life is potentially at risk. Just from this trial. And from Trayvon Martin who was just walking home and Jordan Davis who was in the car listening to music. And whether or not, you know, there was a dispute, I don't think my life should be at risk for it so --
LEMON: Yes. Yes. And, Shelby, I do this every day. And sometimes I can't even get my thoughts together on television. So it is not a big deal.
CLAYTON: Sorry.
LEMON: Trust me.
CLAYTON: OK.
LEMON: You know, Chadwick, do you guys just look at us older folks and say, you know, we can do better about race relations. What are you guys -- what are you guys doing? CHADWICK SMITH, STUDENT, COLLEGE OF WOOSTER: I think for our generation what this really says is that racism and white privilege still exists. A lot of people say, oh, well, racism is over. We're in this new age. We're in the pulse of Barack Obama age. We have a black man in the White House. But my generation still feels like we are -- racism still exists. If a black -- if a black male can be shot by a white male without getting first-degree murder, then there's something wrong in this country.
My own pastor tweeted, Sean King, he said what would it look like if Jordan Davis had got upset with Michael Dunn and shot him for having -- for playing loud music? So I think for our generation, this shows that racism still exists. That prejudice still exists. That white privilege still exists. That just because Barack Obama is our president and black people, we're not a majority in this country, but we're 9 percent, or that minorities are going to take over by 2050, that we still have our some battles to fight.
And I think there are a lot of young people including me and the others on this panel that are willing to take up this fight, whether it be law school or in college, really in all spheres of culture.
LEMON: Hey, Colin, I have someone tweeting me and said, the guy you had on with the glasses spoke like a freedom rider. So cool. And then someone else said, I think CNN should hire that young man.
So how does -- my question to you, how does -- how does this resonate for kids and teens, for young adults, who aren't African-American? Does it at all?
COLIN CHRISTENSEN, STUDENT, EMORY AND HENRY COLLEGE: I really think it does. You know, Dr. Martin Luther King talked about a promissory note. And that promissory note was predicated on justice. And that justice was not about putting black people above white people. It was about equality. And our country is predicated on justice. And Clayton is right. There is still white privilege and racism is still a very real part of this country.
And that affects -- that affects our black brothers and sisters most acutely, but it affects the white people in my generation as well. And I think -- I think, you know, the first action that we need to take together, hand in hand, is to repeal these laws that essentially codify racial demarcation in this country. That privilege some people over others. Because I think we can all be equally skeptical of the fact that these are two cases in which self-identifying white men killed self-identifying black boys. And it is a problem.
LEMON: You know, Colin -- you know, Colin, a lot of people get upset when you say white privilege. They say, what are you talking about? There is no such thing as white privilege.
CHRISTENSEN: Well, I mean I think if they want to deny that there's no such thing as white privilege, they need to look at the history of the United States of America because I think that's patently false. And I say that as a 21-year-old white male. I think people in my generation, especially white people in my generation don't think that we've done anything to -- to oppress our kind of African-American counterparts.
And I think that's generally true. But we can't ignore the fact that we have -- we have hundreds of years of Anglo-American history of white oppression over our black counterparts. And we have to correct for those hundreds of years of mistakes.
CLAYTON: Can I add to Colin's point?
LEMON: Yes. Go ahead, Shelby.
CLAYTON: I mean, it's just a quick question. But how many people or how many unarmed teenage boys or teenage anybody for this law, like how many lives have to be taken before this law can be repealed? And that's like my biggest point with this whole case that I had a problem with, is that this keeps happening. Yet I feel as though with the advocacy groups and the protests going on, there needs to be more done for this to go into some sort of repeal.
Because honestly, I don't -- I don't know what else there, like, is to do. But I think that there is more that we need to do as far as getting -- besides taking more lives of unarmed teenagers.
(CROSSTALK)
CHRISTENSEN: Hey, Shelby, I think --
LEMON: Hang on, hang on, Chadwick. I want to do this. I'm up against a break here. So I want to ask you this question.
Do you feel -- are you worried about your safety at all when you go out as a young black male?
SMITH: So the college I go to is in a majority white town. And we have a main street running through it. And sometimes people from the town will ride through and -- where's the black people? Here I do. But back in Atlanta where I live and where I'm from, I don't feel that way. Just because Atlanta is a majority black city. But definitely in Wooster, Ohio, I do sometimes fear somebody is going to throw something at me? Is somebody going to say the wrong word? Is somebody going to walk up to me? So yes, I think as a black male I am sometimes fearful for my life.
LEMON: Hey, listen, all of you, be safe. And thank you so much for coming on CNN. We will definitely see you again. And, again, go out and run the world. Appreciate you.
CLAYTON: Thank you.
CHRISTENSEN: Thank you, Don.
SMITH: Thank you.
CLAYTON: Thank you so much.
LEMON: Thank you.
SMITH: Have a good day.
LEMON: All right. You, too.
The verdict in this murder trial left both sides unhappy. Convicted on four charges, Michael Dunn will spend decades behind bars. Likely the rest of his life. But the jury couldn't decide whether Dunn was guilty of first-degree murder. That's leaving a lot of second guessing today --leading to a lot of second guessing today as well as calls for state attorney to resign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Our number five question for the week ahead, will the Michael Dunn verdict cost Angela Corey her job? Well, her team brought the first-degree murder case against Dunn after the shooting death of 17- year-old Jordan Davis. Dunn was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder. But the jury deadlocked on the murder charge.
Now people are asking could the prosecution have done more?
Joining me to discuss this now is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes and CNN's Martin Savidge in Jacksonville.
Martin, right after the verdict was revealed last night, you reported there were protests and even calls for Angela Corey to resign, right?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there were. I mean, there was maybe about 50, close to 100 people that at times were protesting. There was a march that went over in the direction of the state attorney's office demanding her resignation. It's going to be very interesting to see what the political fallout may be as a result of this judicial outcome.
Remember, it was, of course, Angela Corey that was also the lead prosecutor in the case against George Zimmerman. And there are a lot of people who were very disappointed in the outcome of that trial six months ago. Now she was once again leading the way in a high profile case. And there were those who believed that this case was going to be much easier to prove against Michael Dunn than the Zimmerman case was.
Here's Angela Corey last night responding to those kinds of thoughts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA COREY, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: I think someone said, and I can't remember who or where said this was an easy case for the state attorney to come in and try. No case is easy. There are nuances to every case. And there -- jury instructions are always complicated. And they are especially so in justifiable use of deadly force cases. So we've learned a lot. And I think we'll go through with that.
Now as far as count one, until we know why they were a hung jury, they did not acquit. So until we know why they were a hung jury, we wouldn't know what to adjust.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: The problem could be, though, that if the prosecutor goes forward as she says she will and try this case again, it'll be a totally different jury. So there's no telling how they may react.
I will give credit that her office works very, very hard. And I don't know Angela Corey personally. But professionally I am quite certain she is not going to resign -- Don.
LEMON: Holly, is this likely this trial, the outcome, cost Angela Corey her job?
ANGELA COREY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No. I don't see that happening. I do know some lawyers who actually practice there in Jacksonville who are very familiar. You know, we've talked about this. And they said, no, she is not the kind of person who's going to resign. And she's elected, Don.
She ran unopposed in 2012. And she's there for a four-year term. So she's not up for re-election until 2016. And if the people in the state of Florida don't like the job she's doing, then it's incumbent upon them to put someone up to challenge her and go vote.
LEMON: You're a former prosecutor. Would you have done anything differently if this were your case, Holly?
HUGHES: I would have, Don. I would have tweaked a little bit. And it's very hard. You don't want to Monday morning quarterback someone else's case. But, personally, I would have liked to have seen a much tighter rein on the defendant. He was allowed on cross-examination to go on and on and on and talk about this is such a waking nightmare for me.
Had he said that to me, Don, I would have attacked him and said, and what do you think it is for the parents of Jordan Davis? What do you think it is for the three young men, for Tommy and Tivan and Leland? What do you think it is for them?
I just would not have let him get away with trying to engender sympathy from a jury. That wasn't his opportunity to tell his story on cross. His opportunity was on direct with his own lawyer. So I would have liked to have seemed them gone after that. I would have like to have seen him taken to task for some of his attitudes.
The jury didn't really know about some of the racist language that he wrote in jailhouse letters. And when you're questioning a defendant, if they open the door to that, you know, he's claiming Jordan Davis had a gun. Well, isn't it a fact that you just reacted because you don't like black people?
I mean, take him to task on that. If he lies and says I don't have a problem with black people, all those letters come in as impeaching evidence.
LEMON: Yes. HUGHES: So there were a couple different things. And like I said, they worked very hard. And none of us like to sit back and after the fact say this and this. But personally, those are just a few things that jump out at me. And in closing argument, Don, one of the things that I saw them do was chase the defense's arguments.
As a prosecutor, that's tempting, but you don't want to do that. You have such a strong belief in your own case that you're -- what they said is so insignificant I'm not going to chase after it. I'm going to argue to you, members of the jury, that this case is charged correctly. And here is the evidence proving why.
LEMON: Yes. Yes.
HUGHES: They didn't explain premeditation. Here in Georgia, the jury pattern is premeditation can be formed in an instant and instantly regretted.
LEMON: OK.
HUGHES: I would have liked to have seen a little bit more about that in closing.
LEMON: I have to run. But I have one quick, quick, quick question for Marty.
Is he still there? Martin still there. What's next? I know there's a sentencing or whatever. What's next when it comes to this case?
SAVIDGE: Yes. Well, that is what comes next. I mean, it's scheduled to be loosely next month. The end of next month. But then there's also the possibility the defense is likely to appeal. So that's going to come. And then when's the retrial? We already know that's what the prosecutor wants. It's anticipated that that would get going although the defense says they'll want a change of venue if that moves forward.
LEMON: OK.
SAVIDGE: So this isn't over, Don.
LEMON: Yes. Absolutely. OK. Thank you, Martin Savidge. Thank you, Holly Hughes. Appreciate both of you. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Now to Sochi, Russia. And an update on the Winter Olympics medal count. The Netherlands remains in the lead with 17 medals. Team USA tied for second with Russia with 16 medals. Four gold, four silver and eight bronze. Next is Norway and Canada with 14 medals each. Germany with 12.
American skier Gus Kenworthy is hoping to come home with more than his silver medal from Russia. He is trying to rescue some four-legged friends who live in peril right now.
CNN's Rachel Nichols explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS: You may have heard that Sochi has an issue with stray dogs roaming the streets here and then instead of putting them in shelters, police here have been instructed to shoot the dogs with poison darts. That of course hasn't sat well with a lot of people. And it didn't sit well with American skier, Gus Kenworthy, who won the silver medal here earlier in these games.
Kenworthy found a family of dogs living near the athlete's village. And he's now trying to make arrangements to bring them home. He took me to see them. And yes, they're as cute as you'd expect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUS KENWORTHY, SILVER MEDALIST FREESTYLE SKIING: We were here last year for the test event. And there was just -- there was even more strays than there are now. There was a stray that was living outside our hotel that I tried to bring in and got in trouble with security for it.
NICHOLS: Right.
KENWORTHY: And after that I kind of heard that they were rounding them up and exterminating them and trying to keep them out of the public view. So I felt really bad but I mean I definitely wasn't planning to come here and be some animal activist, like spokesperson for humanity for the dogs or anything. I just, this particular family, just really kind of touched me and I just think they're so cute, and that they need some help. And so, I'm just going to try and bring this family home.
Hi. You're OK. Look. Come here.
NICHOLS: Well, you're going to have to give this one a Russian name.
KENWORTHY: I don't know.
NICHOLS: Right?
KENWORTHY: I mean, I'm thinking like Sochi.
NICHOLS: That's good.
KENWORTHY: Is kind of nice. Like Kitor, Rosa, Silver. I don't know. Something.
NICHOLS: Silver is pretty good. Right?
KENWORTHY: Yes.
NICHOLS: Are you going to show her your medal here? Did she like it? Victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NICHOLS: Now Gus has found family members and friends to adopt most of the dogs but he told me that little guy you saw there at the end, that's the one he's keeping for himself.
There is a Russian billionaire, locally, who's actually set up a shelter nearby to also address the dog problem here and he is helping Gus with the paperwork. So hopefully this whole rescue mission will go smoothly.
For CNN, I'm Rachel Nichols in Sochi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Rachel.
Well, we've known that Bill and Hillary Clinton have made a huge name in politics. And if today is any indication, their daughter Chelsea may soon follow in her parents' footsteps. That's next.
But first, here's CNN's Tom Foreman with tonight's "American Journey."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once upon a time, Brook and Kyle Brandt were living anything but storybook lives. They didn't know each other, each was struggling to find love, when instead they found an idea.
BROOKE BRANDT, MET HUSBAND ONLINE: We do our banking online and our social networking is online. So why not try online match making?
FOREMAN: She signed up with an Internet dating service. He did, too.
B. BRANDT: You called. And I think I saw you the next Friday and we've never been apart since.
FOREMAN: Online dating once widely viewed as sketchy or a haven for the desperate has become a billion dollar business filling the airwaves with ads. A study found one-third of marriages between 2005 and 2012 began online in part because the Internet solves a fundamental problem.
RACHEL DEALTO, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: The biggest question that I get from singles is where do I meet people.
FOREMAN: Rachel Dealto is a relationship consultant who says the massive growth of dating sites that the filter choices by religion, race, age, even beauty allows like-minded users to quickly connect.
DEALTO: If you can go hang out with a bunch of vegetarians and you're passionate about being vegetarian, why not join a vegetarian dating site.
FOREMAN (on camera): Another cause for the explosion, the economy. A popular theory holds that when the recession hit, many people started looking for less costly ways to explore relationships. Giving online dating a big boost.
(Voice-over): It does not work for everyone, of course, but --
KYLE BRANDT, MET WIFE ONLINE: Where we are now is starting our fourth year of an Internet dating marriage. We have an Internet dating baby. We live in an Internet dating house.
FOREMAN: For Kyle and Brooke, it's a trend with a storybook end.
Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The country's biggest gay rights advocacy group picked up some serious political endorsement today in Las Vegas. Keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign conference, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.
She now co-chair the foundation that bears her powerful family name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA CLINTON, VICE CHAIR, CLINTON FOUNDATION: My mother has often said that the issue of women's rights is the unfinished business of the 21st century. That is certainly true. But so, too, are the issues of LGBTQ rights. The unfinished business of the 21st century.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Clinton told the group she is pushing for more progress in fighting the bullying of gay young people. Today's speech is only the latest in a series of recent high-profile events for Chelsea Clinton.
Finally, I want you to take a look at some of the other big stories that are happening this week that have coming up this week.
Here's CNN's Rosa Flores with your "Weekly Five."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's Jimmy. Jimmy Fallon makes his "Tonight Show" debut starting Monday on NBC. Tune in all week as an array of A-list celebs will be guests. From U2, Will Ferrell, to First Lady Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga.
Tuesday is trash day aboard the International Space Station. Crews will launch a spacecraft full of debris into the earth's atmosphere, which will burn up over the Pacific Ocean. The craft was sent full of supplies to the space station last month.
President Obama heads to Toluca, Mexico for the North American Trade Summit dubbed the "Three Amigos Summit." The president will meet with leaders from Mexico and Canada. Among other things, the trio will focus on trade, investment and security.
Do you miss cheering for American skier Lindsay Vonn during this year's Winter Olympics in Sochi? Well, there's a new sensation to root for. Michaela Shiffrin. Catch her on Friday as she competes in the women's slalom event. "Sports Illustrated" just Shiffrin, who is just 18 years old, the next Lindsay Vonn.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Detroit's sports field will be transformed into a giant yoga studio on Saturday. Organizers of Yoga Rocks Ford field are hoping to bring 3,000 yogis to the football stadium on Saturday. They're trying to set a new record for the world largest indoor yoga session.
And now your "Weekly Five."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Rosa, thank you very much.
I am Don Lemon. Have a great rest of your weekend.
