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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 ...

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A 'Stand Your Ground' Expansion That Expands Inequality - New York Times

State Attorney pans expected Stand Your Ground change, placing burden on prosecutors

Palm Beach County's State Attorney used strong words this week, opposing proposed changes to the state's Stand Your Ground law.

A bill in Tallahassee would shift the burden of proof in these cases to prosecutors. While similar legislation failed last year, the proposal passed the State Senate last week, and appears headed for approval in the House.

The case of Rijkard Jean-Baptiste is a local example of how the law currently plays out.

Jean-Baptiste had two murder charges against him dismissed late last year. He had been charged with murder in the fatal shootings of two teenagers, ages 16 and 17, at a Sweet 16 party at Riviera Beach's old Newcomb Hall.

Jean-Baptiste insisted he fired in self-defense, and took his claim of immunity under the states Stand Your Ground law to a judge. The judge agreed with Jean-Baptiste, and threw out the charges.

At the present time, its up to defendants like Jean-Baptiste, and their lawyers to prove their Stand Your Ground claims.

Under the legislation now in Tallahassee, the burden would shift to prosecutors, and to the typical evidence standard-- beyond a reasonable doubt.

Palm Beach County's top prosecutor, State Attorney David Aronberg, said he fears the change will end up helping those it shouldnt.

"Stand Your Ground was supposed to allow people to protect their family and their loved ones, not give gang members a free pass for murder," said Aronberg.

State Attorney Aronberg said hes dubbed the bill the Gang Members Protection Act.

"Any defendant would be able to say, Hey I shot this guy, because I was scared for my life," said Aronberg.

Then it's up to us to somehow, before trial, prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that in his mind, he wasn't scared, Aronberg continued. And that is so hard to prove."

But backers in the legislature say prosecutors have always had the burden of proof in criminal cases, and this simply clarifies it's prosecutors who should have the burden in a Stand Your Ground hearing.

"These hearings usually took a few hours," said veteran West Palm Beach criminal defense attorney Gregg Lerman. He said the legislation, if approved, would create the need for what amounts to a second trial, prolonging such cases.

"They're going to have basically a full-blown, nonjury trial, where they have to lay out all their cards to a judge, and prove to a judge beyond a reasonable doubt," said Lerman.

However, another West Palm Beach defense attorney, Michael Salnick, said he did not expect a big impact on the system.

See more here:
State Attorney pans expected Stand Your Ground change, placing ... - WPEC

On March 10, a judge ruled that ex-Tampa police officer Curtis Reeves could not claim immunity under Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law for fatally shooting an unarmed man in a movie theater.

Five days later, the Florida Senate approved legislation that could make it much easier for such trigger-happy Floridians to go free after provoking a violent confrontation. Ain't life great in the Gunshine State?

Stand Your Ground, which the Legislature and then-Gov. Jeb Bush forced on Florida in 2005 as a favor to the National Rifle Association, removed any responsibility to retreat for someone who "reasonably believes" that he or she is in danger. Criminal defendants, however, still must persuade a judge that they are entitled to immunity if they claim it under Stand Your Ground.

Senate Bill 128 would shift that burden to the prosecution. Defendants could file a written motion, laying out the supposed facts of their claim. "The court shall (emphasis mine) grant the motion after a pretrial hearing," the legislation reads, "unless the state proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is not immune."

Bernie McCabe has been the state attorney for Pinellas and Pasco counties since 1993. His office charged Reeves with second-degree murder for shooting Chad Oulson in a theater north of Tampa. Reeves got mad at Oulson for texting during the previews. After Reeves kept it up, Oulson swore at him and turned around to push Reeves' popcorn into his face, at which point Reeves drew his .38 and fired.

In an interview, McCabe said SB 128 would make such cases "totally topsy-turvy. We would have to disprove a negative. This is kind of unexplored territory."

Fortunately, McCabe's prosecutors could use video to undercut Reeves' version of events. He claimed that Oulson was coming at him, but Oulson is not even in the frame when Reeves shoots. Judge Susan Barthle found Reeves' testimony to be "significantly at odds with the physical evidence and other witness testimony. . .The logical conclusion is that he was trying to justify his actions after the fact." Reeves will appeal.

If the House passes SB 128 and Gov. Rick Scott signs it, expect many more such attempts. "I don't know why a defense lawyer wouldn't use it in almost every case," McCabe said. "It's a free shot. The defendant only has to file an unsworn, written motion. He has no skin in the game at that point."

Reeves' lawyers and is family portrayed the 27-year police veteran as a frail 71-year-old who feared for his life that January afternoon in 2014. Stand Your Ground, though, has helped people far less sympathetic than Reeves Under the law, the Tampa Bay Times reported, drug dealers and gang members have benefited.

Reeves could have moved. He could have obeyed the ban on guns in the theater. With even less reason to avoid confrontation, more violence will follow if Stand Your Ground gets stronger.

This new attempt to weaken public safety apparently arose from a 2015 Florida Supreme Court ruling that the defendant bears the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground claims. In dissent, Justice Charles Canady wrote that the decision "substantially curtails the benefit of the immunity from trial conferred by the Legislature under the Stand Your Ground law."

The case involved a man named Jared Bretherick in a sadly typical Florida story. A man cut off the Bretherick family's car, blocking their lane, then got out and approached. Bretherick's father brandished a holstered pistol, and the man retreated. Jared Bretherick took the gun, went to the truck, aimed the weapon at the man told him to move the vehicle or get shot.

As the Florida Supreme Court noted, all five state appellate courts had agreed that defendants have the burden to prove Stand Your Claims based on a "preponderance of the evidence." That's the lower standard for trials in civil courts. SB 128, however, would impose the higher "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard on the prosecution.

If this change passes, McCabe said, Stand Your Ground claims could become so common that defense lawyers who don't file one could be accused of ineffective representation. McCabe and the other 19 state attorneys oppose SB 128, but their opposition likely won't matter.

"This is what the NRA wants," McCabe sighed. "Enough said."

Randy Schultz's email address is randy@bocamag.com

See the original post here:
Toughen 'Stand Your Ground'? Expect more violence | Opinion - Sun Sentinel

The Florida Senate has passed a new bill that amends Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground self-defense law.

Senate Bill 128, which was passed 23 to 15 Wednesday, seeks to shift the burden of proof from the defendant to the prosecutor. As it currently stands, the Stand Your Ground law requires defendants to prove during the pretrial that they are immune from criminal prosecution under the self-defense law.

What this bill does, senators, is put the burden of proof where I would, respectively, suggest it should rightfully be, said Republican Sen. Rob Bradley to fellow senators during Wednesdays Senate session. Hes also the author of the bill. From the beginning of a criminal case to the end, [it] is with the state, and that the standard of proof be beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bradley could not be reached for further comments.

Florida was the first state in the country to enact the self-defense law back in 2005. Now, 24 states across the country have some type of Stand Your Ground law in place.

Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley, who authored the original 2005 law, spoke on the Senate floor and said if the state believes someone committed a crime, it should always be the states responsibility to prove a crime was committed.

Im sorry if that burden seems too heavy, but thats what we do in America, Baxley said. Youre innocent until proven guilty.

However, not all Republican senators were in favor of the bill.

Sen. Anitere Flores, the second highest ranking Senate Republican, voted against it, despite previously voting in favor of it in a subcommittee in February. After state attorneys from her home district of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties expressed their concerns of the possible financial burden, Flores changed her mind.

The state would be proving the case twice, Flores said. Theres a strong concern that many more defendants will invoke the Stand Your Ground defense because they know it will shift more work onto the state attorneys on the front end.

Democratic senators also voiced their concerns with the bill, calling it a shoot-to-kill and a how-to-get-away-with-murder bill shortly before the Senate passed the bill.

Democratic Senator Audrey Gibson said that since the bill went into effect in 2005, evidence suggests it has made crime worse.

The data shows usand I believe in datathat many more people are dying as a result of this Stand Your Ground bill, Gibson said.

A recent studypublished in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Floridas Stand Your Ground law was associated with a 24.4 percent increase in homicide and a 31.6 percent increase in firearm-related homicide from 2005 to 2014.

Florida has seen its fair share of high profile Stand Your Ground cases, including the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Jordan Davis in Jacksonville, Florida. The unarmed teen was shot and killed by 47-year-old Michael Dunn after he confronted Davis over loud rap music Davis was playing in his car.

Although Dunndid not use the Stand Your Ground law in court, he always claimed he acted in self-defense.

Davis mother, Lucy McBath, whos now a national spokesperson for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, provided the following statement to WUFT News in response to the senates vote:

The Florida Senate has chosen to ignore senseless killings like that of my dear son, Jordan Davis, and Trayvon Martin to vote in favor of expanding the states already deadly Stand Your Ground law. Make no mistake, this expansion will create a nearly insurmountable backlog of cases for prosecutors,and will make it easier for gun criminals to escape justice. This legislation will be especially traumatic for gun violence survivors and their loved ones.Our lawmakers should remember that the dangerous proposal theyve supported today can and will have irreversible consequences for many Floridianstomorrowand for years to come.

The bill will need to be taken up and passed in the Florida House, which is also a Republican-majority chamber, before it could be signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Originally posted here:
Florida Senate Votes To Strengthen Stand Your Ground Law - WUFT - WUFT