15 Shocking Florida Stand Your Ground Cases

[onehandle]

Although George Zimmerman's defense team did not request a Stand Your Ground hearing, one of the jurors told CNN's Anderson Cooper that the self-defense law was considered in their not-guilty verdict.

Florida first adopted the self-defense law that removed the duty to retreat in 2005, and local law enforcement immediately identified the trouble in providing citizens with a shoot-first-ask-questions-later right.

"Whether it's trick-or-treaters or kids playing in the yard of someone who doesn't want them there or some drunk guy stumbling into the wrong house," former Miami police chief John F. Timoney told the New York Times, "you're encouraging people to possibly use deadly physical force where it shouldn't be used."

In the eight years since, the law has been invoked to protect drug dealers and gang members from murder charges, and it's allowed personal disputes over lovers, possessions, and yes, trash bags, to escalate into bloody murder scenes without consequences. "What in the hell is our state government doing passing a law encouraging our citizens to solve disputes with guns?," Arthur Hayhoe, executive director of the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told the Tampa Bay Times. "This is the right-to-commit-murder law."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/stand-your-ground-cases_n_3606405.html

[DirkGently]

1. SYG is horrible. Results are horrible. It needs to go.

It *wasn't* a legal factor in the Zimmerman case, however, although the accompanying attitude may have been.

[IdaBriggs]

2. It wasn't *SUPPOSED* to be; per juror whatever, it was. nt

[NYC_SKP]

3. It's a sham when it can be applied to any ground, not just "your" ground.

It's a bully's wet dream. You can actually go into someone else's ground, their ground, and use this defense.

Ridiculous.

[hack89]

4. Searchable database of Florida SYG cases

Here is a searchable database of Florida SYG cases from the Tampa Bay crime. It can be searched by race and gender. The search allows you look at different combinations of accuser/victim i.e. White/White Black/White, Black/White.

http://www.tampabay.com/stand-your-ground-law/fatal-cases

[rhett o rick]

5. So the jury considered that Zimmy could stand his ground but Martin couldnt. Idiots. nm

[noiretextatique]

8. george just made a mistake and martin was just in the wrong place

according to that idiot juror B37.

[meow2u3]

6. The trouble is the vague wording of the law itself

I read the law online and found out that it's so vague that it leaves it up to interpretation and opens the door for arbitrary and/or discriminatory application of the SYG law.
Problem 1: SYG doesn't clearly define what is meant by "reasonable belief of fear for one's life." A racist can hide behind SYG to claim a "reasonable fear on imminent peril of death..." when the real reason for the fear is groundless and based solely on stereotypes. A gang member and/or drug dealer can do likewise when in fact fear for one's life comes with the territory when one is engaging in criminal activity.

776.013?Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—

(1)?A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:

(a)?The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b)?The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.

(2)?The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not apply if:

(a)?The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or
(b)?The person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used; or
(c)?The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or
(d)?The person against whom the defensive force is used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.

(3)?A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

(4)?A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

(5)?As used in this section, the term:

(a)?“Dwelling” means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night.
(b)?“Residence” means a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited guest.
(c)?“Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or property.

Read this at the link.
http://floridastandyourground.org/

[noiretextatique]

7. i will never set foot in florida or any SYG state