Archive for the ‘Stand Your Ground Law’ Category

Panel to discuss 'racial disparity' in Stand Your Ground law

The mother of a teen slain at a Jacksonville gas station after he and his friends refused to turn down their music will be among the panelists at a seminar in Orlando about the controversial Stand Your Ground law.

Jordan Davis' mother, Lucia McBath, will be among the experts examining whether there is racial disparity in the application or enforcement of Stand Your Ground laws.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is hosting the forum, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 17 in the grand ballroom of the Rosen Centre Hotel on International Drive. The forum is open to the public.

Law school professors, state legislators and public policy organizations also will take part in the discussion.

Florida has been a hot bed for debate on the law following the deaths of Trayvon Martin in Sanford and Davis. Stand Your Ground gained notoriety in the trial as neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman's attorneys said he was defending himself against Trayvon. Zimmerman was acquitted.

In the Davis case, defendant Michael Dunn said he fired his weapon into the car after he saw Davis with a gun. A jury was deadlocked on the murder charge but convicted him on attempted murder. Dunn is scheduled be retried for murder later this month.

The panelists include:

Sen. Christopher L. Smith, Florida Senate

Rep. Alan B. Williams, Florida House of Representatives

Rep. Harold Mitchell, Jr., South Carolina House of Representatives

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Panel to discuss 'racial disparity' in Stand Your Ground law

Road rage shooting case could focus on 'stand your ground'

The shooting death of a Livingston County man could put new focus on Michigans controversial stand your ground law.

The attorney for Martin Edward Zale said Tuesday that her client would claim self-defense during his expected murder trial in the death of Derek Flemming.

Zale, 69, of Marion Township shot Flemming, a 43-year-old Howell resident, Sept. 2 in what has been called a road-rage incident.

But the man who drafted the law said it should apply only in three specific instances.

While any defense would have to pass muster with a jury, state Sen. Rick Jones said the law is clear.

It involves cases of imminent death, great bodily harm or of the horrible crime of rape, said Jones, R-Lansing Township.

Stand your ground, Jones said, is a misnomer.

It is about your right to self-defense, he said.

Related: Road rage victim's wife: 'He was only trying to protect me'

911 audio: Road rage shooting

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Road rage shooting case could focus on 'stand your ground'

WOMAN MURDERED- BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHOT PUNK ATTEMPTS TO USE FLORIDA NEW STAND YOUR GROUND LAW – Video


WOMAN MURDERED- BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHOT PUNK ATTEMPTS TO USE FLORIDA NEW STAND YOUR GROUND LAW
WOMAN MURDERED BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN FLORIDA IS SHOT AND KILLED THEN A ATTEMPTED SET UP (KNIFE PLANTED ON HER).JURY SAYS THAT DIDNT HAPPEN. . . . . . ...

By: Vince Fletcher

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WOMAN MURDERED- BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHOT PUNK ATTEMPTS TO USE FLORIDA NEW STAND YOUR GROUND LAW - Video

Would Texas’ Stand Your Ground Law Protect The Dallas Officers Who Shot Unarmed Suspects? – Video


Would Texas #39; Stand Your Ground Law Protect The Dallas Officers Who Shot Unarmed Suspects?
Would Texas #39; Stand Your Ground Law Protect The Dallas Officers Who Shot Unarmed Suspects?

By: Creteh121

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Would Texas' Stand Your Ground Law Protect The Dallas Officers Who Shot Unarmed Suspects? - Video

'Gray area' clouds state's stand your ground law

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) South Carolina's stand your ground law was enacted in 2006, but it does not address cases of criminal domestic violence. The recent stabbing death of a man involved in an argument with his girlfriend brought to light the gray area in the law.

Last week, A'Kara Edwards was released from jail on a $50,000 bond after police say she stabbed her boyfriend to death. Edwards was charged with murder, but the solicitor assigned to her case said those charges could be reduced or dropped because of South Carolina's stand your ground law.

ABC News 4 took a deeper look at how the state's Protection of Persons and Property Act impacts cases of deadly domestic violence.

The general law of self-defense applies across the board in South Carolina. It doesn't matter the relationship that you are in, said former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon.

Condon says the laws for criminal domestic violence and the stand your ground law can sometimes conflict each other in the courtroom.

The policy is that when you are in a domestic relationship that violence should not have part, whatsoever in that relationship, said Condon. But we do have the law of self-defense. If someone is using violence and they happen to be in a domestic relationship, they still can avail themselves to the law of self-defense. Some might like to think or might have reservations about that being the case.

Condon says the laws become especially gray when one person in the dispute dies and there are no witnesses. If the suspect claims self-defense, the prosecution will have a difficult time proving otherwise.

If there's only one witness and that witness is credible, generally speaking, the prosecution will not be successful, Condon said. That's why this whole notion of plea negotiations comes into play. It may be wise for the state to offer a plea, a reduced charge that is so attractive to the defendant that he or she entertains or does in fact enter the plea.

Still, Condon says he believes investigators and prosecutors take an extreme amount of caution when working claims of self-defense.

I think by and large, most jurors and judges are suspicious and hold people to a higher standard if a life has been taken. They want to see that the elements of self-defense have been made. So, by and large, my current view is that the existing laws are adequate but certainly worth a review, Condon said.

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'Gray area' clouds state's stand your ground law