It is a case that is in many ways different, and yet depressingly similar to the trial that struck a cord in the hearts of so many Americans just last year. And although this one resulted in a conviction, in many ways it seemed like less of a victory and more of a loss.

I'm referring of course to the Michael Dunn trial, which kept the nation on edge as they awaited the verdict of a man convicted of killing an unarmed black teenager. Dunn was arrested following an altercation between Dunn and Jordan Davis in a convenience store parking lot. An argument about loud music quickly escalated when Dunn pulled out his shotgun and fired ten times into a vehicle with four teens. Three of the shots hit Davis, killing him.

Dunn later claimed that Davis had threatened him and that he had thought he had seen the teenager concealing a gun. No evidence of a weapon was found.

The Jury came to its verdict this past Saturday -- guilty on three accounts of attempted murder for firing at Davis's friends. But when it came to the charge of murder, the jury could not come to a decision. They stalemated.

Not that it matters in respect to Michael Dunn's freedom. Each attempted murder charge carries a minimum sentence of 20 years, meaning Dunn will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. So justice is served. Isn't it?

Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams made the point best when he told anchor Jane Valez-Michelle, that "Better than awful is an improvement, I guess, but it's still awful." Many, including Williams, are outraged at the trial's outcome, because it offers little in the way of true justice. In the eyes of the law, Dunn is not a murderer. His crime was not the taking of an innocent life, it was the shooting in the first place. It sends the message that this young man's life is no great loss. And worse, it's a clear signal to all black youth that the law is not there to protect them.

It didn't protect Trayvon Martin last year and it didn't protect countless other black youths whose lives were cut short because they were perceived as a threat. But as Williams goes on to say, "feeling threatened is not same as being threatened." So which group is it that is actually being threatened, and which one merely feels that they are? I'll let you decide.