Friday, February 21, 2014

G-UMOVE!

Media mogul 50 Cent departs from Interscope.

50 Cent announced that he's departed from Interscope Records.

Meaning that he's no longer associated with Eminem and Dr. Dre. The rapper was mentored through the years and managed to bring in lots of money. But now it's time for Curtis Jackson to make moves in order to eat.

50 Cent released a statement about the departure where he showed gratitude to his former bosses Dr. Dre, Eminem and Interscope head Jimmy Iovine.

"I have had great success to date with Shady/Aftermath/Interscope and I'd like to thank Eminem and Dr. Dre for giving me an incredible opportunity," he said in the statement. "I've learned so much from them through the years. I am excited to enter this new era where I can carry out my creative vision."

Eminem also released a statement about 50's departure and mentioned that the friendship he has with the Queens rapper will continue.
Them days are over.
"Both myself and Shady Records are grateful to have had the chance to play a part in 50′s career. Shady simply would not be what it is without 50 Cent," Eminem said. "I've developed a great friendship with 50 over the years, and that's not going to change. We know 50 will have success in his new situation, and we remain supporters of both him and G-Unit."

50 Cent decided to tell his relationship with Eminem and Dr. Dre through FORBES Magazine.

"I'm a special case and situation," 50 Cent said.

"It’s also because of the leverage of having the strong relationships with Eminem and Dr. Dre. They don’t want to me to be uncomfortable. They value our friendship to the point that they would never want [to jeopardize] it over that little bit of money."

He's left the label after numerous delays to his album Street King Immortal which was to be released on the Shady/Aftermath Records. A major move that came on the Friday news dump.

I guess Fiddy couldn't take it no more. Been over six years since he's released an album. Been on the label for over a decade and helped push Aftermath and Shady into the mainstream.

That comes a big surprise but not so much as a big deal.

The G-Unit capo has to make money moves. After all, he lost his core members (Lloyd Banks, Game and Young Buck). There's no talk about a G-Unit Reunion or make up sessions.

He overcame the death of Chris Lighty and Mazaradi Fox.

He feuded with Ja Rule, Rick Ross (aka Rozay), Jadakiss, Oprah, Bill O'Reilly, Lil' Wayne, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Game, Young Buck, and his own son.

He's tried miserably to kiss peeping tom victim Erin Andrews, smacked up his girlfriend and had a child with a model, and still promoted his audio sound equipment.
Could 50 Cent survive the independent circuit? I mean he did survive nine slugs in him.
His movies weren't up to par. He's doing reality television. Which is pretty much at the bottom of the barrel of being a "washed up celebrity".

I mean his biggest rival, Rick Ross a "somewhat" phony gangsta managed to win the battle of who's got the biggest balls. I mean his sixth album Mastermind is coming out in March (if it's not delayed) on Def Jam through his Maybach Music Group.

There's no more G-G-G-UNIT shout outs. No more mentions of SHADY/AFTERMATH from Fiddy.

He decided to take the independent route by signing to Caroline Records which is an affiliate to Capitol EMI records.

Game also did a similar move after being dropped from Aftermath and G-Unit. He apparently signed on to the Cash Money/Young Money label.

Well are you still rocking your G-Unit spinning chain?

Are you still eating those G-Unit protein bars?

What's your take on the decision of 50 Cent leaving Interscope Records?

Toni Braxton And Babyface: Love Marriage & Divorce!

File:Love,marriage&divorce.png
Toni Braxton and Babyface reunite for a duet album.

The veteran R & B producer and crooner reunites with the pop singer to record a duet album.

The Island Def Jam Music Group now has control over the Motown Records label.

Love, Marriage & Divorce includes eleven tracks including their Adult R&B #1 single, "Hurt You" as well as the second single "Where Did We Go Wrong". The album was originally due for release on November 25, 2013, although its release was delayed until the week before Valentine's Day.

The album is Babyface’s first new studio album in nearly seven years and Toni’s first new album since 2010’s Pulse.

Toni announced that she was returning to music with a Summer Tour and that she was in the studio working on her eighth studio album. She also stated that the album will not be a traditional album but rather a collaboration album featuring long-time collaborator Babyface. The album will entirely consist of duets between Braxton and Babyface.
Longtime collaborator Babyface worked with Toni Braxton on their duet album.
Babyface said that "The whole perspective is guy and girl, Mars vs. Venus. Even if you're in love, you're in love for different reasons", while Braxton added: “I think because Babyface and I have both gone through divorces, we can relate and we can collaborate together on this topic and make it so others who have gone through this situation can relate". The album Love, Marriage & Divorce will be released on February 4, 2014, under Motown Records.

The 2013 Summer Tour kicked off in Las Vegas on August 9, 2013 and ended in Atlanta on August 31, 2013. The lead single from Love, Marriage & Divorce "Hurt You" premiered on August 17, 2013.

The song attained success, claiming the No. 1 spot on two charts: the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart for four weeks, and the Urban Adult Contemporary (Urban AC) for the week ending Dec. 14, 2013. This marked Braxton's first No. 1 hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart since her 2000 release "Just Be a Man About It."

The song also hit number 16 on Billboard Hot R&B/ Hip Hop Airplay chart.

The second single from the album, "Where Did We Go Wrong?" debuted at No. 20 on the Adult R&B Songs chart.

If Fixing Stupid Was Possible! [NSFW]

An unwanted topping caused a West Virginia district manager to lose his job.

You've ever complained about the wrong toppings on a pizza?

I bet you have, cause I've done it before. I ordered a pizza with extra mushrooms and they've gave me olives. Not saying that black olives are bad and all, but man you've can't have a decent deluxe pizza without the mushrooms.

Anyway out of the Charleston, WV area comes another You Can't Fix Stupid story.

Besides the coal company destroying the water sources, many in the media haven't really focused on it. After all, the poorest state in the United States has often been ignored because of its social inept residents.

This You Can't Fix Stupid story is going to be a recurring theme here at Journal de la Reyna.

Whenever I devote my time to these stories, I often talk about the service industry and the negative publicity it gets from those who are employed doing extremely stupid things. Not only putting their safety at risk, but their jobs and the reputation of the company at risk. Not to mention the possibility of lawsuits and time in the iron college for these antics.

WOWK has reported that a Pizza Hut manager in Kermit, WV was watering the snake in a washing sink.
 Not the restroom.
The shocking surveillance video from inside a Mingo County, WV Pizza Hut. The video, recorded several weeks ago, shows a district manager caught urinating into the restaurant's kitchen sink.

Pizza Hut responded to the video with the following statement:

"First of all, we are embarrassed by the actions of this individual. Pizza Hut has zero tolerance for violations of our operating standards, and the local owner of the restaurant took immediate action and terminated the employee involved. While the isolated incident occurred during non-business hours and did not involve any food tampering, we follow strict safety and handling procedures and the restaurant has since been closed. We apologize to our customers of Kermit, West Virginia and those in our system who have been let down by this situation."

Concerns over the video have continued to circulate around the community of Kermit, where the restaurant is located.
The state health board shut the place down temporarily. They have to sanitize and retrain workers and built back its reputation as a quality food service.
"I just don't trust anybody after it happened once, plain and simple," said Ricky Brewer who lives nearby the now temporarily closed restaurant.

"I would never go there and eat," said Blanche Ferris. "Even if I did, the thought would run through my mind."

Mingo County's Sanitarian Brett Vance closed the restaurant Tuesday morning after watching the video. He said it will be temporarily closed until further notice.

Pizza Hut Incorporated has confirmed the man in the video was the District Manager and has since been fired. In an email to 13 News, a representative from Pizza Hut Incorporated said the Kermit location "did not have previous problems reported. Meaning, it was a store in good standing."

A cleaning crew is flying in from Texas to clean and sanitize the Kermit location as well as the other restaurants the District Manger was in charge of, including Pizza Huts in Ceredo, Danville, Chapmanville and Logan.

All of those locations are franchised by Rage Inc. 13 News reached out to Rage Inc. for the second day in a row. On Tuesday they did not return our call. On Wednesday they referred us to Pizza Hut Corporate.

"If it was cleaned, washed, fixed up I wouldn't care a bit to eat there," said Charles Jude, who said he was a "regular" at the restaurant.
Muppets have no taste buds. I'm surprised Miss Piggy would be eating pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut. Does pepperoni come from a pig?
Officials with the Mingo County Health Department sat down with a representative from Pizza Hut Corporation Wednesday to discuss future plans of action.

Yum! Brands, Inc. or Yum! is a United States-based Fortune 500 corporation. Yum! operates or licenses Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and WingStreet restaurants worldwide. Prior to 2011, Yum! also owned Long John Silver's and A&W Restaurants.

Based in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's largest fast food restaurant company in terms of system units—more than 39,000 restaurants around the world in over 125 countries.

In 2011, Yum!'s global sales totaled more than US$14 billion.

WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

Frank Taaffe: Oprah And Obama Are Two Stupid A** N****rs!

White extremist is a defender of George Zimmerman. He appeared on HLN multiple times saying some pretty racist and borderline ignorant things about the Black community.

Looks like George Zimmerman's best friends are making the news once again. For the umpteenth time, this right wing bigot named Frank Taaffe emerges again to make his case against the Black community.

The unofficial spokesperson of George Zimmerman has his own radio program on some White extremist network. I guess he's got an opinion about everything.

So I am guessing he'll have White nationalist radio host James Edwards, Asshat Colin Flaherty and Jesse Lee Peterson (The Other Jesse) on his program sooner or later.

The Raw Story reports that Political Research Associates, posted audio on Tuesday from an October 2013 segment of Taaffe’s show, “Standing Our Ground,” which aired on the White Voice Network. The network reportedly devotes itself to “media, news, and information for White people against White genocide.”

In the segment, Taaffe and co-host Joe Adams debate whether media mogul Oprah Winfrey can be considered a “n**ger.”



“To me she wouldn’t,” said Adams, who wrote a book called the “Save White People Handbook.”

“I think she is,” Taaffe responded, explaining that he thought the slur applied to Winfrey because “she keeps spewing out all that bullsh*t. She goes over to Switzerland and she says that the lady didn’t want to share a handbag because she thought that she couldn’t afford it, and she keeps just doing what she’s doing.”

Taaffe then criticized her for promoting “her boy,” President Barack Obama.

“You know, it’s birds of a feather, they flock together and stick together, and to me, she’s a n**ger,” Taaffe insisted. “Oprah Winfrey’s a n**ger. She’s a n**ger.”
One thing about Oprah and the Obamas, they're rich and famous. Frank Taaffe is not.
Adams then expressed slight disagreement, saying that while Winfrey “has worked hard, [and is] doing the right thing by her community,” society at large should still use the slur when referring to her. He also claimed that when white people raise issues related to race, “they get called racist, and that is the white equivalent of the n**ger word for me.”

Taaffe, who was Zimmerman’s neighbor around the time Zimmerman was accused of second-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, became an outspoken defender of Zimmerman’s in appearances on CNN and other networks. He suggested Martin fit the “ID” of prior burglars in their neighborhood and dismissed Zimmerman’s penchant for collecting firearms by saying, “Boys will have their toys.”

Mother Jones reported that Taaffe also used his platform to defend Michael Dunn, the 47-year-old man who was found not guilty of murder charges for killing another Black teen, Jordan Davis. But following criticism directed toward CNN and sister network HLN, Taaffe announced future appearances on HLN had been canceled.

This is how George Zimmerman, Frank Taaffe, Michael Dunn thinks of Black people.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Viscera Passes Away!

File:Nelson Frazier, Jr. in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.jpg

Back in the days I was a huge wrestling fan.  There was a wrestler known as Viscera, a huge Black wrestler who came from the depths of Hell.

He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) in the 1990s and mid-2000s under the ring names Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V, where he held the WWF Hardcore Championship and WWF World Tag Team Championship, and was the 1995 King of the Ring.

Born as Nelson Frazier, Jr, Viscera would return to the WWF – by then renamed World Wrestling Entertainment – in September 2004, surprise attacking former Ministry of Darkness leader, The Undertaker, with fellow former Ministry member Gangrel, at the command of former Ministry Acolyte, John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

After two weeks on SmackDown!, he was moved to the Raw brand.

In his first three months on the Raw brand, Viscera mainly wrestled on Raw's sister show Heat, only making sporadic appearances on Raw.

His first major storyline there started in April 2005, when he aligned with Trish Stratus as part of her feud with Lita and her husband, Kane. While working together, Viscera and Stratus appeared in a segment in which he attempted to seduce her, only to be rebuffed. Stratus implied he would first need to "take care" of Kane.

That segment began a gimmick change for Viscera, who transformed into "The World's Largest Love Machine". After losing to Kane at Backlash 2005, he injured Stratus with his Big Splash finishing move, angry about her constant belittling of him, turning face in the process.

Viscera began wrestling in pajamas and making overtly sexual gestures in the ring. He became smitten with Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia and tried different tactics to seduce her every week. At Vengeance in June, Garcia finally reciprocated, proposing to him in the center of the ring, only to be turned down and left crying in the ring when The Godfather arrived with many of his prostitutes to show Viscera what he would be leaving behind if he got married.

Viscera then teamed with the like-minded "ladies man", Val Venis, to form V–Squared. They teamed together for nearly nine months, mainly on Heat. They challenged for the World Tag Team Championship on a few occasions, but never held the title.

When Venis was sidelined with a legitimate injury in April 2006, Viscera returned to singles wrestling. He attempted to reconcile with Garcia, but was interrupted and attacked by Umaga during his proposal.

Two weeks later, when Garcia was legitimately and accidentally knocked from the ring apron by Charlie Haas and sprained her wrist, the incident was worked into a storyline of Haas and Viscera fighting over Garcia.

After Lillian declared she wanted to be just friends, Haas seemingly raked Viscera in the eye, with Viscera feigning to accidentally Samoan slam Lillian. After, both men laughed about the incident, in the process of turning Viscera heel once again. The team split up when Haas reunited with Shelton Benjamin to reform The World's Greatest Tag Team.

On June 17, 2007, Viscera was sent from the Raw brand to ECW in the supplemental section of WWE's draft. Three weeks later, he debuted on ECW on SyFy, repackaged as Big Daddy V, a "hired muscle" character in the employ of Matt Striker, arriving just in time to help Striker in his rivalry with The Boogeyman.

After disposing of The Boogeyman, Big Daddy V defeated Tommy Dreamer in the ECW brand's Elimination Chase to become the number one contender for the ECW Championship at No Mercy.

There, he lost to CM Punk by disqualification, when Striker interfered in the match. He then feuded with SmackDown's Kane. He participated in the No Way Out Elimination Chamber match, but was eliminated early.

He wrestled his last WWE match on March 11, 2008, for an episode of ECW on SyFy, losing to CM Punk in a Money in the Bank qualifier. In the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, he was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Frazier was released from his WWE contract on August 8, 2008, before ever wrestling for SmackDown.

On February 18, 2014, it was reported that Frazier had died following a heart attack, just four days after turning 43.

We here at Journal de la Reyna send our condolences to the family of Nelson Fraizer, Jr.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Police Nab Ex-Lawmaker In Zimbabwe! Did He Forgot To Tell 'Em He's A Sexual Offender?

Mel Reynolds official Congress photo
Ex-lawmaker busted in Zimbabwe with hand jacking videos.

Hey, who says I don't bash the Democratic Party?


Okay readers, I've happened to click on The Raw Story and got a hold of an article about a former Illinois Democratic congressman busted in the African country of Zimbabwe for having run up a check and having possession of the hand jacking videos.

In Zimbabwe, having the hand jacking videos or pictures could be classified as a crime.

Reuters report that Mel Reynolds was arrested over the weekend after it was discovered he was staying in the county on an invalid visa. And to make it worse, he's a convicted sexual offender. Police and immigration officials were investigating Reynolds for living in the southern African country without a valid visa, Francis Mabika, an assistant regional immigration officer, told Reuters.

Mabika said Reynolds has been in Zimbabwe since November, but declined to give further details.

Reuters was unable to reach Reynolds for comment. A spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Harare declined to comment.

The state-owned Herald newspaper said the former Illinois congressman had been arrested at a hotel in the capital Harare on Monday

In August 1994, Reynolds was indicted for sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old campaign volunteer that began during the 1992 campaign. Despite the charges, he continued his campaign and was re-elected that November; he had no opposition.

Reynolds initially denied the charges, which he claimed were racially motivated. On August 22, 1995, he was convicted on 12 counts of sexual assault, obstruction of justice and solicitation of child pornography. He resigned his seat on October 1 of that year.

Reynolds was sentenced to five years in prison, thus he expected to be released in 1998. However, in April 1997 he was convicted on 15 unrelated counts of bank fraud and lying to SEC investigators. These charges resulted in an additional sentence of 78 months in federal prison. Reynolds served all of his first sentence, and served 42 months in prison for the later charges. At that point, President Bill Clinton commuted the sentence for bank fraud. As a result, Reynolds was released from prison and served the remaining time in a halfway house.

The congressional seat would eventually go to disgraced lawmaker Jesse Jackson, Jr., the son of Cut His Nuts Off Jackson.

Egg Prank Leads To Man Shooting And Killing A Teen!

Adrian Broadway was just doing a harmless prank and this foolish man would put a slug in her head. Now this young life is lost and the man who shot and kill her may get the gas house for reckless homicide (on the grounds of first-degree murder).

U.S. Senate race in Arkansas has it as LEAN REPUBLICAN. It was once LEAN DEMOCRAT.

Senator Mark Pryor, the vulnerable Democrat from Arkansas and his opponent Tea Party endorsed Republican congressman Tom Cotton look the other way while their future voters are being slaughtered.

For you see, these two politicos are gun owners and endorsers of the "castle doctrine". The castle doctrine is a dutiful right to attack a threat with a firearm even though they're not inside the home or property.

Both are conservative minded assholes who oppose reasonable gun control measures that massacres in schools (such as Jonesboro) or the recent event in which a 15 year old teenager who's egging of a man's car lead to the asshole shooting and killing her.

I endorse gun rights but also value reasonable gun control. I understand that once you pull the trigger, you're pretty much putting your life or the other's in jeopardy. A bullet has no eyes and it will always hit a target.

The outpouring of sympathy to young victim Adrian Broadway rings echos of young Black children once again being unarmed but suffer an untimely fate by the hands of a firearm owner.

Haydia Pendleton, Caleb Grodley, Jordan Davis, Renisha McBride and Trayvon Martin are prime examples of futures lost.

Futures that could have been something, snuffed away by a reckless gun owner.

And the racist right would smear their names because they're "just Black" and probably "Obama supporters" anyway. That's why the "If I would have a son, he'll look Trayvon" would be a frequent reference.

President Barack Obama understands that young Black teens makes White people nervous. You hear about that asshat Colin Flaherty spreading this so-called "Knockout Game" phenomenon. He's created this fiction that young Black children are becoming feral beast who randomly attack White people.

Whenever these issues come forth, expect King Hippo (Rush Limbaugh), That Guy Who Throw Shit To The Wall (Matt Drudge) and That Guy Who Helped Obama Win  (Sean Hannity) to be the primary agitators of White people being uneased by the sight of Black teens.

The racist right would refer to the "Obama's son" remark every time a Black criminal is caught in a race related (or just a random non-race) crime.

But the White criminal is caught in a race-related (or just a random non-race) crime, [the racist right would just say] it's just another attempt by the "radical leftists" who proudly lay their "race cards". The racist right would fault their chief agitator President Barack Obama for every race based crime.

It's an ongoing situation in America. We're the only country in the world with one of the highest domestic attacks by firearms. We're the only country that's too slow to react to gun control measures that ensure that criminals, the mentality insane and the reckless gun sellers who give firearms to a potential threat

Adrian Broadway was just doing a harmless prank. Certainly a mild criminal act upon a person's property.
Willie Noble held on $1 million get outta jail free card.
But it's not like she would be stealing the radio out or hotwiring the vehicle and taking off.

Willie Noble is a certified idiot. He could have just called the police and reported inappropriate behavior.

No, he just decided to get the firearm out and buck 'em out.

CNN reports that the 15-year-old girl in Little Rock, Arkansas, is dead, police say, because of a prank that went horribly and tragically wrong.

Adrian Broadway was shot in the head and died early Saturday morning.

She was with a group of teenagers who had gone to a house to do a "retaliation" prank on another teen who'd done a prank on them on Halloween, according to the Little Rock Police Department.

The teenagers told police they had thrown toilet paper, eggs and mayonnaise on a car parked there.
Piss poor politicos Democrat Mark Pryor, U.S. Senator and Republican Tom Cotton, U.S. Representative have looked the other way when a massacre occurs in America. They have voted against reasonable gun control measures for political expediency. They haven't gotten the message since Gabby Giffords got a bullet to the head. These two face off in the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Arkansas.
As they were leaving, a man came out of the house and opened fire.

Broadway was struck in the head and died.

Another teenager, the driver, suffered injuries to his right arm. He was transported to a hospital, where he was treated and released.

Noble was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of a terroristic act and five counts of aggravated assault, they said.

Bond was set at $1 million.

"I got the news from my mom who said that Adrian had got a gun wound to the head, and I just dropped the phone immediately and started crying," Broadway's friend, Laguyia Bland, told CNN affiliate KARK.

"They was trying to be teenagers," Bland said. "As you know teenagers make mistakes, and this was one of those mistakes."

Zimmerman: No Regrets For Killing Trayvon Martin!

The umpteenth time he appears. He claims he's broke. 

Would you please go the f away, George Zimmerman!

The acquitted shooter goes to CNN's Early Start to pissy poor his problems to Chris Coumo.

One of the most hated men in the country emerges out of the shadows to reflect on the tragic night he killed an unarmed teenager in a gated community. He also acknowledges his frustration with the media, President Barack Obama and civil rights leaders for "scapegoating" him as the reason for civil unrest.

He also elaborates on the Michael Dunn trial.

Dunn was found guilty on attempted murder, reckless endangerment and leaving a scene of an event. Dunn shot and killed Jordan Davis, a 17-year old teen over loud music.

Still having no regrets over his actions! No regrets for killing Trayvon Martin.

"God," Zimmerman told CNN on Monday. "I know that ultimately, He's the only judge that I have to answer to... He knows what happened. I know what happened. So I'd leave it up to him."

Nearly two years after Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in a gated Florida community -- and about half a year since a jury acquitted him of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges -- the 30-year-old says he still gets death threats.

"I have a lot of people saying that, you know, they guarantee that they're going to kill me and I'll never be a free man," he said. "I realize that they don't know me. They know who I was portrayed to be."

Speaking with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Zimmerman shared thoughts on his cancelled celebrity boxing match, his artistic outlet, and what he would say to Martin's family.

"Do you regret that you killed Trayvon Martin," Cuomo is quoted in the interview as saying, according to Mediaite.

“Unfortunately, the Department of Justice is conducting a civil rights investigation,” Zimmerman said. “Certainly, I think about that night and I think my life would be tremendously easier if I stayed home.”

The CNN interview aired one day after Zimmerman told the Spanish-language network Univision that he is homeless, jobless, and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

The interviews mark Zimmerman's first public statements since being acquitted of murder in the Feb. 26, 2012 death of Martin.

Since the acquittal, Zimmerman has been accused of domestic violence by his girlfriend, pulled over for multiple traffic violations, and made headlines through his pending divorce.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam

Dunn Deal: Loud Music Shooter Found Guilty!

Shooter of unarmed teen over loud music is going to get time in the iron college. 

Although murder would have put this asshole in the iron college for the rest of his life, the three other charges that followed carried enough time for Michael Dunn.

Dunn will now have to think about his reckless decision to kill Jordan Davis over hip-hop music.

The Florida jury found Dunn guilty on three of the five charges. He managed to skirt murder.

The state law enforcement were prepared to react in the case of "civil unrest".

Like the last one who got off with murder managed to generate a riot.

He will have 60 years in the iron college for his reckless and heartless decisions.
Florida prosecutor could charge Dunn for murder.
CNN reports the jury's decisions became clear about 7 p.m. Saturday, Dunn looked ahead solemnly with a frown but no tears. His lawyer, Cory Strolla, told reporters later that his client was "in disbelief."

"Even as he sat next to me, he asked, how is this happening," Strolla said. "... It has not set in. I don't think it will set in anytime soon."

The incomplete finale to this emotional, hot-button trial -- partly because of the fact Dunn is white and the teenagers who were shot at, including Davis, are black -- echoed George Zimmerman's trial for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin about 120 miles down the road in Sanford, Florida. While stand your ground wasn't used by Dunn, his lawyers did argue that he fired in self-defense.

Given the partially hung jury, State Attorney Angela Corey said prosecutors would press for a new trial in Duval County on the murder charge.

"Justice for Jordan Davis is as important as it is for any victim," said Corey, whose office also handled the Zimmerman case.

Even without a final decision on the murder count -- and pending defense appeals -- the 47-year-old Dunn is looking at a lengthy prison term.
Jordan Davis
Prosecutor Erin Wolfson explained Saturday night that each attempted second-degree murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of at least 20 years. There's also a 15-year sentence possible on the conviction for shooting in the teenager's vehicle.

"You are looking at basically at life in prison," Strolla said, even as he vowed to challenge the convictions.

"At 47 years old, that's a life sentence regardless of count one."

The decision to convict on these counts, and not on murder, didn't come easily for a jury that had deliberated for about 30 hours since getting the case late Wednesday.

Judge Russell Healey acknowledged earlier Saturday that the jury of four white women, two black women, four white men, an Asian woman and a Hispanic man was "struggling, obviously."

"But it's not for want of trying to reconcile all of this," he said then. "I think we've got some analytical people in there who are trying to do just that -- trying to analyze this from every possible angle."

The lack of a murder conviction upset some, including protesters who marched outside the Jacksonville courthouse calling for Corey to lose her job. "The people united will never be defeated," they also chanted.

Yet Davis' mother, Lucia McBath, didn't express any anger when she addressed reporters Saturday night. Her family, she said, is "so very happy to have just a little bit of closure."

"It's sad for Mr. Dunn that he will live the rest of his life in that sense of torment, and I will pray for him," McBath said. "And I've asked my family to pray for him."

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails