The 'stand your ground law' is a controversial law in which removes a persons duty to retreat before using deadly force against another in any place that he has the legal right to be---so long as he reasonably believes he or someone else faces imminent death or great bodily harm. In other words, if you are on your property and someone threatens you or anything/anyone, you may use deadly force to protect yourself and your property without facing prosicution. The stand your ground law was first passed in Florida in 2005 and was backed by the NRA (National Rifle Association). It is also known as "castle doctrine" which comes from the saying "one's home is one's castle". Some states also have the 'no duty to retreat law', which carries the stand your ground law out to the street. Among those are FL, OR, WA and NH.
The first time that I heard of the stand your ground law was after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old FL boy who was shot and killed by a member of the neighborhood watch in his fathers gated Stanford FL community. George Zimmerman called police to report a 'suspicious' man walking through the neighborhood. Police told Zimmerman to wait for an officer and to not proceed in following the man. Zimmerman, however, decided to follow anyway. By the time police arrived, Trayvon was shot and killed. The events of what took place are still unclear but jury selection of Zimmermans trial begins in June. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty due to the stand your ground law. What happened between them will come out during Zimmerman's trial this summer. Since the shooting, Zimmerman has been in hiding due to the amount of threats that were made against his life. It is thought by many that this was a hate crime. Trayvon being a young black male and Zimmerman a Hispanic/white man. At first no charges were pressed against Zimmerman. However, after the uproar in the community, as well as around the country, prosecutors decided to charge Zimmerman with second degree murder. I'll discuss this case later, as more details emerge.
I decided to look up some stand your ground cases and was shocked at what I found. Below are five cases in which the defendant was acquitted of any charges against him using the stand your ground law as a defense.
~October 2012~
Florida vs Bryant
A women was attacked by her boyfriend, who had a history of violence. Police had been called seven times that year, reporting domestic violence. The man chased her around their apartment, finally catching her and attempting to pin her down. Bryant grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed him multiple times in the chest.
In my opinion, this is one of the very few instances where the stand your ground law worked properly.
~November 2007~
Texas vs Horn
A man shot and killed two men that he suspected of burglarizing a neighbors home. Like Zimmerman, Horn called police and was told to back down. Horn reminded the 911 operator that as of September of that same year, the stand your ground law was put into effect, therefore making it legal for Horn to shoot and kill the men. Horn was acquitted of any wrong doing.
~January 2012~
Louisiana vs Thomas
A grand jury cleared Thomas after he fired into an SUV, killing a 15 year old boy. The boy was with six other teens when they drove up to Thomas' vehicle. Thomas opened fire at the SUV, shooting two of the boys, killing one and injuring the other. The boys were suspected gang members and Thomas claimed that the boy had threatened him, making him fear for his life.
~April 2012~
Arizona vs Jude
A mentally disabled pedestrian walked in front of a vehicle at a Taco Bell drive-thru. The man swung what appeared to be a metal pipe. Jude shot and killed him. He was actually holding a dog leash.
~January 2012~
Florida vs Garcia
A judge tossed out a second degree murder charge against Garcia after he chased down a suspected burglar for more then a block and stabbing him to death. Garcia claimed that the suspect had swung a bag of stolen car radios at him. The judge said that Garcia "was well within his rights to pursue the victim and demand the return of his property.
While I understand the right to protect yourself and your family in your home, I am having a hard time understanding how it is legal to chase someone down for an entire block and stab them to death. Do we give a thief the death penalty? Would any jury in our country sentence someone to death for petty theft? The answer is absolutely NO. So, what would give someone the right to chase down an unarmed person and kill them? Why are some states allowed to let regular citizens kill someone that they suspect of commiting a crime? What happened to the the constitution? It does not make sense to allow one person to be the judge and jury of another person. A majority of these cases, in my opinion, should have been prosecuted. Our country prosecutes people on far lesser charges on a daily basis.
This is not about gun control. This is about protecting our constitutional rights as well as the safety of our children. We have, obviously, not heard many details of the Zimmerman case. All we know is that a 17 year old boy, armed with candy and a cell phone, was killed for walking through his dads neighborhood at the wrong time. While I realize that evidence may come out that shows that Trayvon confronted Zimmerman, I am still at odds. Zimmerman was told by police to stop following the boy, more then once. Zimmerman decided to continue to pursue Trayvon under the assumption that he was up to no good. But who gives a stranger the right to follow our children around and make themselves the judge and jury of a suspected situation? I can guarantee that, had Zimmerman and Trayvon never met on that fateful night last February, Trayvon Martin would still be alive today.
Again, I am aware that I do not know all of the evidence in this case. However, the simple fact is that a 28 year old man followed a 17 year old boy, against the order of police. This resulted in the death of a child.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin on June 10, 2013. More info on this case to follow.
Thank you for reading <3
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