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On March 15, the Senate voted to pass SB 128, expanding our states dangerous stand your ground law. Its safe to say that I was deeply disappointed by this unfortunate development.

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Tallahassee Democrat 11:04 a.m. ET March 25, 2017

Letter to the Editor(Photo: Democrat files)Buy Photo

On March 15, the Senate voted to pass SB 128, expanding our states dangerous stand your ground law. Its safe to say that I was deeply disappointed by this unfortunate development.

By approving this reckless legislation, the bills supporters doubled down on the (already debunked) idea that stand your ground makes us safer. This law has led to more use of deadly force, endangering our communities and placing an undue burden of more homicide cases on our law enforcement officers.

Currently, about 70 percent of defendants who claim immunity under this law go free without a trial, despite about one-third of defendants initiating the confrontation, per the Tampa Bay Times. Expanding this law would only exacerbate the issue.

Despite all this evidence, some in the GOP have chosen to support this bill at the urging of the NRA. For fear of losing the gun lobbys financial backing, they have prioritized the NRA over their own communities.

When this bill comes before the House Judiciary Committee, the other committee members and I will face a simple decision: to represent the people or to represent the special interests.

I choose to represent my constituents and I urge other members to do the same.

Rep. Ramon Alexander, Tallahassee, ramonalexander06@yahoo.com

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Read more here:
Letter: 'Stand Your Ground' a bad law - Tallahassee.com

Marissa Alexander walks with her dad Raoul Jenkins after her sentencing in Jacksonville on Jan. 27, 2015. Bob Mack / Florida Times-Union via AP, file

They're pushing through a bill that would make prosecutors have to prove that the protections shouldn't apply.

Related:

The measure, backed by defense lawyers and opposed by prosecutors, passed the state Senate last week. It will be discussed by a state House of Representatives committee Thursday morning.

Florida's stand-your-ground law, passed in 2005, was the nation's first. Twenty-one states have since followed. The proposed changes would make Florida's law the toughest for prosecutors and could be a harbinger of similar changes nationwide.

One opponent, Democratic state Sen. Audrey Gibson, has called the measure a "get-away-with-murder bill."

Alexander said in an interview this week that she understands that critics believe that stand your ground laws are used to discriminate against minorities, fuel vigilantism and allow criminals to escape prosecution.

But those critics, Alexander says, haven't experienced what she has.

"I didn't get a fair shake," she said.

Alexander, who as the daughter of an Army sergeant grew up around guns, said she knew little about Florida's stand-your-ground law when she was first charged with aggravated assault after she fired at her husband during a confrontation in her Jacksonville home.

She said it was a warning shot, but a judge denied her the chance to use the stand-your-ground defense, saying she didn't do enough to prove she feared for her safety.

She went to trial, where she was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to a mandatory minimum 20 years behind bars.

Related:

Alexander believes the current burden of proof, formalized in a 2015 state Supreme Court decision, gives the government too much power and criminalizes domestic violence victims black women in particular.

"My experience was that if a defendant goes into a stand-your-ground case, they have to testify in their own defense," she said. "The burden is on you. You're already behind the eight-ball. You have to prove that you're innocent you're already guilty."

Just last week, a judge

After Alexander's conviction, stand-your-ground advocates rallied behind her, saying the law was being applied unfairly, particularly in comparison with the 2012 shooting of Martin.

Her case also drew attention of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, which lobbied to remove aggravated assaults from crimes that carry mandatory minimum prison terms.

Marissa Alexander looks back to the gallery at the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 2, 2014. Bob Mack / Florida Times-Union via AP, file

Alexander spent nearly three years in prison before her conviction was overturned. Rather than risk a new trial, she agreed to a plea deal that allowed her to be released to home detention. On Jan. 27, she was allowed to remove her monitoring bracelet, and was free to move around as she wished.

That meant taking her 6-year-old daughter and her 16-year-old twins whom she rarely saw while in prison out into public. She shares custody of the youngest child with her now-ex husband, the man she shot at. The twins are from a prior relationship.

Alexander has started a consulting business, and has accepted invitations to tell her story to audiences around the country. She's working on a memoir.

She has embraced her role as a hero in the justice reform movement, arguing for the repeal of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and speaking on behalf of domestic violence victims. She created a non-profit called the Marissa Alexander Justice Project.

And she has spoken to lawmakers in support of toughening Florida's stand your ground law.

"I think we could at least try to be as fair as possible," she said. "And when we see a situation where the scales are tipped to one side and we can make it more balanced, I think we should give it a try."

Read more:
Woman Who Lost Stand Your Ground Case Wants Law ... - NBC News - NBCNews.com

March 24, 2017 9:18 PM

(Source: Thinkstock)

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) An appeals court Friday ruled that a woman should not face charges in the shooting of her husband because she was acting in self-defense under Floridas stand your ground law.

A panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal overturned a Brevard County circuit judges ruling that Victoria Reid should stand trial for shooting her husband, James Wesley Reid, in the leg during a domestic dispute.

Victoria Reid was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm while inflicting great bodily harm but argued she should be shielded from prosecution because of the stand your ground law.

The ruling by the three-judge panel said Victoria Reid contended she was in reasonable fear that (James Wesley) Reid was reaching for a firearm when she shot him.

After an evidentiary hearing, a circuit judge denied Victoria Reids request for immunity under the stand your ground law.

But the appeals court pointed to testimony from the couple, a 911 call and the husbands history of drinking in siding with Victoria Reid.

Both parties testified that petitioner (Victoria Reid) was afraid that (James Wesley) Reid was reaching for a firearm when she shot him, the ruling by appeals-court judges Thomas Sawaya and F. Rand Wallis and Chief Judge Jay Cohen said. They also testified that Reid had committed acts of domestic violence against petitioner while he was under the influence of alcohol and that he had resumed drinking shortly before the shooting. The statements made by petitioner during the 911 call were consistent with the testimony presented at the hearing and indicated that she believed Reid was about to shoot her.

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Here is the original post:
Court Grants 'Stand Your Ground' In Domestic Case - CBS Miami

Dont make stand your ground law more accessible

Throughout my time as a corrections officer and as a member of the Community Crime Watch, I have seen the devastating effect that violent crime has on our communities. In Florida, our stand your ground law often increases the toll on families. Instead of decreasing crime like its supporters claimed it would this law creates a convenient loophole for those with the intent to harm their fellow Floridians, incentivizing deadly force and making police officers jobs much harder.

In fact, 70 percent of defendants who claim stand your ground are successful, putting them back on the street without even facing trial.

So why, despite all the evidence, is legislation that makes it easier to claim stand your ground advancing in Tallahassee?

The National Rifle Association.

Even after a study by the Tampa Bay Times revealed that one-third of defendants initiated the confrontation and pursued and/or shot the victim, some legislators are choosing to side with special interests over their constituents.

Join me in putting the publics interests over the NRAs.

State Rep. John CortesKissimmee

I read with interest the Sentinel article Community theaters see surge across Orlando area on Wednesday, but I was surprised that there was no mention of Theatre Winter Haven.

This theater has been in operation for 47 years. It won seven awards including best play in the Florida Theatre Conference and eight awards including best play in the Southeast region. The theater will go on to the nationals this summer.

Two past cast members have lead parts in the Chicago cast of Hamilton.

I can only conclude that the only news from Polk County the Sentinel reports is from the sheriff's office. To quote our president, "Sad."

Sue Hertz Davenport

Why should Judge Neil Gorsuch be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court so quickly as David Moffett proposes in his Wednesday letter? After all, Sen. Mitch McConnell and his buddies have kept the vacancy open for a year or so, even denying President Obamas choice for the seat a hearing. If that is not a blockage in the operation of sound government, I dont know what is.

Furthermore, it is despicable and un-American.

Republicans twist the rules, lie and become crybabies if they dont get their way. I have already waited a year, thanks to the Republicans, so whats the rush?

Walter Taylor Winter Park

Wow, in my view, the Sentinel has a liberal slant, but the political cartoon on Wednesday (Beauty and the Beast by Phil Hands) hit a new low. Have you no shame?

Bob Tremblay Poinciana

Aramis Ayala accepts the governor's decision last week to remove her from the Markeith Loyd case and cooperate. On Monday she shows up in court and says the governor overstepped his authority.

What happened between Thursday and Monday? Why did she change her mind? George Soros? If the media would do some honest investigative reporting, I am sure ayou would find out. If not I will start a remove Aramis Ayala petition drive.

The media failed all of the voters by not vetting her position on the death penalty.

Jim Millar Windermere

The rest is here:
Don't make 'stand your ground' law easier to claim: Letters - Orlando Sentinel

New York Times

A 'Stand Your Ground' Expansion That Expands Inequality New York Times The Florida Senate recently passed a bill intended to make its already robust Stand Your Ground law even more friendly to people who say they killed in self-defense. Under the current law, someone in this situation can avoid a trial if he proves at a ...

See more here:
A 'Stand Your Ground' Expansion That Expands Inequality - New York Times