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MACON, Ga. 38 states have some variation of a 'Stand Your Ground law,' but Georgias law could go through some changes.

Newly-introduced legislation in Georgias General Assembly could roll back the law here.

It would allow someone to decide whether they can first remove themselves from a situation without using deadly force before they shoot.

"It just changes the grounds pretty significantly if this becomes law," Attorney Frank Hogue said.

The latest legal hot point -- House Bill 842, also known as the "Georgia Shoot First Act."

"Essentially, it's trying to amend our law to say, instead of no duty to retreat, you better look for a reasonable escape from the perceived threat, because if you don't and you then kill or seriously injure somebody and then claim, 'They were threatening me,' I suppose under this bill, if it passes, a prosecution could look at it and ask, 'Could you have escaped?'" Hogue said.

Under current 'Stand Your Ground' law, gun owners can protect themselves or their properties with deadly force if they feel threatened by an aggressor. Our Atlanta station 11Alive spoke to state representative Marvin Lim, who introduced the bill.

"People are still allowed to defend themselves but are also required -- as everyone still is, whatever the stand your ground regime is or not to decide whether or not this is force that is necessary," Lim said.

Attorney Frank Hogue says defense lawyer organizations will likely oppose the bill because it would restrict the rights of potential defendants. He also believes it could cause complications in the courtrooms.

"We like to see nobody being out in this position in the first place. The question is if you are, should you now have the burden placed on you as a citizen to stop and wonder, 'Do I have a way out of this?' Hogue asked.

Lim also told 11Alive that many people have been killed by property owners who mistakenly thought they were being threatened.

Democrats introduced the bill in the final days of this years legislative session in March. We reached out to both Houston and Bibb County's district attorneys, but neither were available to speak on the issue.

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'Changes the grounds pretty significantly': What 'Stand Your Ground' law rollback means for Georgia - 13WMAZ.com

In fact, Jamison said, defendants are often too quick to consider the statute.

The stand your ground law is raised as a possible defense, even when it has no possible relevance to the situation," Jamison said. "And the case we're currently hearing about in Clay County here: It has no relevance.

Since no one tracks the use of the statute and some cases dont make it to court, its hard to know how often Stand Your Ground is considered for a legal strategy and for what types of cases those are.

Stand Your Ground did have relevance in the case of a woman who fatally shot an off-duty Kansas City firefighter in October 2022. Charged with second degree murder, she claimed she shot Anthony Santi, 41, in defense of another person. After declining to prosecute the woman, the Jackson County Prosecutor's office said in a statement to the news media:

We grieve with the family and community over this tragic loss of life of Mr. Santi. Missouri law governs this case, specifically self-defense and defense of others, leading us to decline charges after a careful review.

The Missouri law allows the use of physical force to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person.

Lester turned himself in at the Clay County Detention Center on Tuesday. It is not yet apparent what his legal strategy will be in defending himself against the two felony charges. Jamison, who writes and lectures about self-defense law, doubts Stand Your Ground will be part of it.

Self-defense is an affirmative defense, he said. So you have to prove that the other person was threatening you before you act in self-defense.

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Missouri has a 'Stand Your Ground' law, but it may not help Andrew ... - Nebraska Public Media | News

After the killing of an unarmed Black teenager named Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012, the shooter, George Zimmerman, invoked Floridas Stand Your Ground Law (SYG) defense. A few months later, PBS reported on a study by Texas A&M University that strongly suggested that these types of laws would lead to more deaths.

In the 11 years since that study, thats been proven true. According to a Rand Corp. analysis released in January of this year, there is evidence to support that such laws increase firearm homicide rates.

Another analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found similar conclusions.

State-level increases in homicide and firearm homicide rates reached 10% or higher for many Southern states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana," it said.

Additionally, the Southern Poverty Law Center has said Stand Your Ground (SYG) laws exacerbate problems in a legal system that is already rife with racial inequity, saying nonwhite people are stopped, racially profiled, searched and arrested by police at higher rates than white people and more likely to be sentenced to greater terms than white people.

Nevertheless, SYG laws have found fertile ground in especially conservative states, according to Dr. Robert Spitzer, a distinguished service professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland.

The spread of stand your ground laws reflects the political muscle of the NRA and the gun rights issue in the Republican Party in conservative states, Spitzer told Capital Tonight. This political force has logged successes in spite of the fact that numerous studies demonstrate that SYG laws do nothing to increase safety but in fact increase homicides and make violent confrontations more likely.

Case in point: Last Thursday night in Kansas City, Missouri, another unarmed Black teenager named Ralph Yarl knocked on the wrong door to collect his two younger brothers who were on a playdate. Reportedly, an 84-year-old white man answered the door, and shot Yarl in the forehead and in the right arm. According to The New York Times, when the prosecutor announced that the man had been charged, he said what many already believed: There was a racial component to the case.

Its not yet clear if the alleged shooter will be using a SYG defense, but he may. Missouri has such a law, as do 37 other states an increase of nearly 60% since Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida in 2012.

One of the reasons why these laws are proliferating is because they have expanded the areas in which traditional self-defense laws would have other requirements, said Paula Johnson, professor of law at Syracuse University and the director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative.

Johnson explained that in the Trayvon Martin case, the stand your ground law was used by George Zimmerman in a way that expanded on the areas in which self defense has historically been used as a defense.

The law, according to some reporting, is also not applied uniformly.

For example, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting, women in abusive relationships and people of color have tried and failed to invoke SYG laws in many cases, showing that these laws perpetuate inequities that are baked into the legal system."

Professor Johnson also makes a direct connection between barriers to voting and public policy that hurts minorities and people of color.

When there are restrictions on voting, that means people are locked out of the system to have their voices reflected in the laws that are passed, Johnson said. District attorneys for example are elected. Its also important regarding the people who serve on juries. Frequently, juries are selected from the voter registration rolls. People of color need to be on those rolls in order to participate in the criminal justice system.

These kinds of shootings are not exclusive to SYG states.

On Saturday, a 20-year-old made a wrong turn while driving through rural upstate New York with friends. As she turned into a driveway, the homes owner emerged from the house and shot twice.

Kaylin Gillis died as emergency crews attempted CPR.

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'Stand Your Ground' laws have increased by 60% across U.S. since ... - Spectrum News

PRATTVILLE - An Autauga County jury deliberated about an hour and a half Wednesday afternoon before convicting a Montgomery man of manslaughter and assault in connection with a 2020 deadly shooting in Prattville.

Sir James Edward Raby, 25, was originally indicted on murder and assault charges in the case, court records show. The verdicts came down after a day-and-a-half long trial. Circuit Judge Bill Lewis revoked Rabys bond and put him in the Autauga Metro Jail until sentencing.

Raby was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Jerode Baskin and assault in the shooting or Jerreus Rudolph. The two are brothers, and Rudolph was shot in the ankle.

The defense originally argued self defense under Alabama's Stand Your Ground law, and a hearing was held before the trial. Lewis ruled the Stand Your Ground law did not apply to Rabys actions. If it had applied, the charges against him would have been dropped.

At trial, testimony came out that Raby and another man went to a Halloween night party held at Brantwood Apartments. Raby came to the party with an AR-15 style pistol tucked into the front of his pants, according to testimony.

It was a big ol gun, 24 inches long, stuck down the front of his pants, Chief Assistant District Attorney Josh Cochran told the jury in his opening statement.

Rudolph and another man were also at the party, and Cochran told the jury that a friend of Rabys bumped into Rudolphs friend in the apartment and words were exchanged. Rudolph and the man left the party and went to Baskins apartment, which was in the same apartment complex, to get his older brother.

The group returned to the party and met with Raby and the other man on the balcony to clear things up, Cochran said.

They had settled the matter, but Raby had that big ol gun drawn from the front of his pants and he started shooting, Cochran said.

Tom Azar, Rabys attorney, told the jury in his opening statemen that his client acted in self-defense.

James told police that someone stuck a gun in his belly and he heard several clicks, so he pulled his gun and fired, Azar said. They left and came back to the party with the victim. But for that we wouldnt be here.

Officers found a Glock 9 mm pistol under Baskins body when they rolled him over, Cpl. Mark Lively, one of the first officers to get to the apartment testified. It appeared the pistol had not been fired, because empty shell casings werenot found on the balcony, testimony brought out.

Baskin was shot five times.

When contacted by Prattville Police Department investigators, Raby turned himself in, turned over the AR-15 pistol used in the shooting and made a statement to detectives, testimony brought out.

If James had intentionally killed someone and shot someone, he wouldnt have shown up at the Prattville Police Department so quickly when asked, and he wouldnt have brought his gun, Azar said.

District Attorney CJ Robinson accepts the jurys verdict.

They weighed the evidence, and made their decisions, he said. We are satisfied with the verdict of manslaughter, a lesser charge, and assault. There is some justice for the families of Jerode Baskin and Jereus Rudolph.

Raby has four prior felony breaking and entering vehicle convictions from Lee County, court records show.

With his prior felonies, we will be asking the judge for the maximum sentence, Robinson said.

Raby could be sentenced to life in prison due to his prior felony convictions. The state offered him a 15-year sentence if he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, records show, but Raby wanted to take the case to trial.

We stand behind our assertation of self defense and expect to appeal, Azar said Thursday.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.

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Montgomery man guilty of manslaughter in Prattville slaying - Montgomery Advertiser

Governor Greg Abbott (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The benefit of control of the state is less the power to persecute the innocent; more the power to protect the guilty. Texas Governor Abbott is about to demonstrate what I had in mind. David Frum

Happy Thursday.

Well get to the Texas pardon story in a moment, but lets catch up a bit first:

The Wapo has the scoop: Leaker of U.S. secret documents worked on military base.

Grift watch: Special counsel focuses on Trump fundraising off false election claims.

Under oath again. What could go wrong? Trump to be deposed in New York AG's business fraud lawsuit.

Fox News has another epically sh*tty day in court: Judge Imposes Sanction on Fox for Withholding Evidence in Defamation Case.

My Kevins hostage crisis is about to get worse. Puck News: The Taliban 20s McCarthy To-Do List.

Theres no reason for the 20 to negotiate against what was already agreed to, [Matt] Gaetz told me, regarding the grab bag of promises they extracted in exchange for supporting Kevin McCarthys speakership in January. We shouldn't have to pay twice for the same hostage.

The fight over abortion pills remains a clusterf**k. Appeals court partially blocks federal judge's abortion pill ruling.

However, the three-judge panel determined that other parts of Kacsmaryk's ruling, which suspends changes the FDA later made to mifepristone's approved use and halts distribution of the drug by mail, could still go into effect at the end of the day Friday.

Witness intimidation in broad daylight. Trump sues ex-lawyer Michael Cohen after grand jury testimony.

The lawsuit comes as Cohen, who once said he would "do anything" to protect Trump, appears poised to become a star witness against him at a possible criminal trial in New York on the charges unsealed last week.

The DiFi drama deepens.

[Less] than an hour after POLITICO broke news of growing concerns about Feinsteins slow recovery from the shingles Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.) tweeted something that many Democrats were saying privately:

Its time for @SenFeinstein to resign. We need to put the country ahead of personal loyalty. While she has had a lifetime of public service, it is obvious she can no longer fulfill her duties. Not speaking out undermines our credibility as elected representatives of the people.

Republican election denier expelled from Arizona House.

Liz Harris, an election-denying Republican lawmaker in the Arizona house of representatives, was expelled by her colleagues on Wednesday after she invited to a committee hearing a conspiracy theorist who accused elected officials of unproven corruption and bribery.

Republican and Democratic representatives joined together to expel Harris with a 46-13 vote

Meanwhile How Tennessee Became the Poster State for Political Meltdown.

Today, Tennessee represents the grim culmination of the forces corroding state politics: the nationalization of elections and governance, the tribalism between the two parties, the collapse of local media and internet-accelerated siloing of news and the incentive structure wrought by extreme gerrymandering. Also, if were being honest, the transition from pragmatists anchored in their communities to partisans more fixated on whats said online than at their local Rotary Club.

It was nearly seven years ago (in October 2015) that veteran journalist John Harwood asked Donald Trump: "Lets be honest: Is this the comic book version of a presidential campaign?"

And yet here we still are. We discussed that (and much more) on yesterdays Bulwark podcast.

You can listen to the whole thing here.

I am a bit late to this story because, I have to admit, part of me thought: Surely this cannot be as mind-bendingly awful as it sounds.

But it is.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott appears determined to pardon Daniel Perry, who was just convicted of murdering BLM protester Garrett Foster.

And so begins another chapter in our political devolution.

**

The jurys verdict was both reasonable and consistent with Texas law, writes Radley Balko, but the entire horrific incident is now firmly enmeshed in the culture war. As usual, Fox News has seized on the case with a torrent of misinformation, and Abbott has seized on the murder as an opportunity for tossing more bloody red meat to the base.

I suppose we could think of it as the Kyle Rittenhouse Effect, but this case is much worse.

The day the jury unanimously convicted Perry, Abbott declared on Twitter: Texas has one of the strongest Stand Your Ground laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney.

Nick Catoggio notes that Abbott makes no specific allegation of misconduct. The closest Abbott gets is accusing the jury and local district attorney of having nullified the states stand your ground law, which smells suspiciously like code for reached a verdict that offends my political prejudices.

Either Abbott is suggesting that Perrys account of what happened is so compelling that it should override the considered judgment of the D.A., a grand jury, and a trial jurywhich is unlikelyor he means to signal that anyone who kills a left-wing activist in Texas should and will be excused provided theres a fig leaf of self-defense.

And, indeed, that seems to be exactly what Abbott is signaling.

**

Radley Balko breaks down what we know about the case:

According to multiple witnesses, Perry ran a red light, then accelerated directly toward a group of protesters. He could easily have driven around the protest. He did not.

According to multiple witnesses, Perrys car nearly struck Fosters fiance Whitney Mitchell and the man who was pushing her wheelchair. (Mitchell is a quadruple amputee. Not related, but also awful year later, an Austin police officer would dump her from her wheelchair during a protest.)

According to multiple witnesses, protesters then surrounded Perrys car, some of them kicking or slapping at the outside of it. Foster stood next to the car, holding his rifle. Multiple witnesses say Foster never pointed his rifle at Perry, though its worth noting that these witnesses were protesters, and thus hostile to Perry. The only photo of the incident is ambiguous.

Perry himself initially said Foster never pointed the rifle at him. During his police interrogation, Perry said, I believe he was going to aim at me. I didnt want to give him a chance to aim at me. If someone is holding a rifle in your general vicinity, but not pointing it at you, you do not have legal cover to kill them.

According to multiple witnesses, Foster also gestured for Perry to move on. He also instructed Perry to stay in his car to avoid any further confrontation. Neither is consistent with someone who presented an immediate threat to kill or harm Perry.

Despite claims from right wing personalities, Foster never fired his gun.

Even if Foster had pointed his gun at Perry, he would not have been in violation of Texas law. Based on Perrys actions running a red light toward a group of protesters Foster had good reason to believe that Perry was attempting to harm Foster and those around him. He had the right to use lethal force to defend himself and others.

At Perrys trial, a defense expert testified that Foster could have raised his rifle and shot Perry in well less than a second. This is irrelevant. Texas is an open carry state. Anyone openly carrying a rifle could, in theory, point, aim, and kill someone in a fraction of a second. If what Foster did justifies lethal self-defense, you could plausibly argue the same about anyone carrying a rifle in public, particularly at a protest, or at any tense situation where theres the possibility of conflict.

The court record is filled with details about Perrys possible motivation. There is ample evidence, writes Balko, that Perry intended to harm the protesters.

In one Facebook comment responding to a post about protesters in another state, Perry wrote, send them to Texas. We will show them why we say dont mess with Texas.

A friend of Perrys also testified that a month before the incident, Perry had texted him to ask about other incidents in which someone had shot at protesters, and inquired if those shootings were legal.

In the weeks leading up to the incident, Perry had conducted internet searches on the phrases protest tonight, protesters in Seattle gets shot, riot shootouts, and protests in Dallas live.

After that latter search, Perry texted to a friend, I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.

Among the other messages and comments he had recently sent or left online: I might have to kill a few people on my way to work they are rioting outside my apartment complex, and No protesters go near me or my car.

**

But in the right-wing media ecosystem, it is Foster who is being demonized, while his murderer is lionized. Writes Balko: You only valorize Garrett Fosters killer if youve convinced yourself that Foster deserved to die.

If Abbott and the Texas pardon board want to free Perry and clear his record, they have the power to do it. But we ought to be clear about why theyre doing it. This isnt about the rule of law. Its the rule of ideology, enforced with violence.

Balkos analysis here is scorching:

For all the degeneracy on the political right in the Trump era, this is what I find most alarmingthe dehumanizing of political opponents to the point where violence isnt merely justifiable, its almost a moral imperative.

Their opponents arent just wrong, theyre criminal.

People accused of crimes arent just presumed guilty, they deserve to be abused by police. Immigrants arent just crossing the border illegally, theyre mostly rapists and criminals.

Protesters arent merely misguided, they should be flattened by big-ass trucks.

Exit take: This is how a cold civil war becomes a hot one.

Amanda Carpenter writes in todays Bulwark:

Scott declared his ambition to seek the highest office in the land on Wednesday, April 12, with an ad filmed at Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War rang out 161 years earlier to the day. He wanted people to pay attention to that fateful anniversary.

Because the way Scott sees it, America is on the verge of another civil war. And if you think Scott is talking about the threat posed by Donald Trumps insurrectionist mob, well, HAHAHAHAHAHA. Wrongo!

Scott, that winsome, uplifting, inspiring, rising star of the GOP, is launching his presidential exploratory bid on the notion that its Joe Biden who is leading a new confederacy that threatens to tear the country apart.

Tim Miller in the Bulwark:

RON DESANTISS REMARKABLE 2023 legislative session is replete with compassionless quasi-conservative bills that he hopes will power an upcoming presidential campaign. The session is set to reach its apex this month with the signing of a Stephen Miller-style immigration law that targets immigrant communities in his not-really-a-border-state state.

HB 1617: An Act Related To Unlawful Immigration, has yet to garner a catchy Dont Say Gay-type moniker to describe its barbarism. My proposal, the Miep Gies Criminalization Act of 2023, probably wont be the one that sticks.

But the name of DeSantiss legislation matters less than the particulars. Among them: requiring hospitals to collect the immigration status of patients and report it to the government and preventing legal DACA recipients from obtaining law licenses.

But the most troubling provisions are related to the transport and harboring of immigrants.

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The stupid. It burns.

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Greg Abbott's Jury Nullification - by Charlie Sykes - The Bulwark