Daughter shoots Mother in the neck will "Stand your Ground Law" be use?
Daughter shoots Mother and trying to use "Stand your Ground Law". The Stand Your Ground allows people to defend themselves - with deadly force if necessary -...
By: Willie Williams
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Daughter shoots Mother in the neck will "Stand your Ground Law" be use? - Video
Published: Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 2:47 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 2:47 p.m.
Whether Florida's stand your ground law is malevolent, misguided or merely misunderstood, it needs repair.
Legislation that would clarify the law is gaining ground in the state Senate. House leaders, too, should get on board this needed update.
The new bill (CS/SB 130) last week gained unanimous support from the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee. The measure would not repeal the controversial stand your ground law. Instead, it would address some of the unintended consequences that have emerged since the law's passage a decade ago.
The widely misinterpreted law is complex. It expanded the circumstances under which the use of lethal force is justified in self-defense. Before stand your ground, people in a public place had a duty to retreat, if feasible, rather than use deadly force in the face of a threat. Now, they can use lethal force if they reasonably perceive themselves or others to be in great danger or to prevent a forcible felony.
It also gives defendants in self-defense cases the option of invoking a stand your ground hearing a pretrial procedure at which they seek immunity from prosecution and civil liability. Evidence is presented and a judge decides.
Since the law's adoption, the controversy surrounding it has grown. A Tampa Bay Times investigation found that while the law has helped exonerate people engaged in legitimate self-defense, it also has been used to defend gang shootouts, drug deals and other criminal acts. It has been claimed in cases where the victim was unarmed, or shot in the back while fleeing, and it has been inconsistently applied, the investigation found. In nearly a third of the cases the Times analyzed, defendants initiated the fight, shot an unarmed person or pursued their victim and still went free, the newspaper reported.
The controversy grew following the 2012 case of Trayvon Martin, who was unarmed when fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said Martin had attacked him. Zimmerman did not invoke a stand your ground hearing, but the self-defense criteria were included in the jury instructions. Zimmerman was acquitted.
Afterward, Gov. Rick Scott convened a task force, which recommended changes to clarify the law's administration. Among them: Increase training and education on self-defense laws; limit neighborhood-watch patrols to observing, rather than engaging in law enforcement; remove ambiguity about detaining and investigating suspects in stand your ground cases.
The Legislature at first dismissed the recommendations. But more deaths and more doubts about stand your ground emerged. Last fall, legislators began working on potential revisions similar to those approved by the Senate panel last week.
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CLEVELAND - Is Floridas Stand your ground law coming to Ohio? One northeast Ohio lawman thinks so.
I would make that prediction that if we pass this bill [into law], there will be some folks who misuse this bill and get away with it, said Cleveland Ward 10 Democrat Bill Patmon.
The Ohio General Assembly bill coming out of the House is similar to Floridas Stand your ground law, which made headlines after the death of Trayvon Martin. It would make it much easier to get a concealed carry permit by reducing the hours from 12 hours to only 4.
House Bill 203 would also eliminate the requirement to retreat before firing a gun in self-defense.
It will allow people, said Patmon, Not just to defend themselves, but if they see something happening as somebody trying to act violently, theyre allowed under this bill to use deadly force.
Michael Cooper, owner of GG Gun Supply, LLC in Elyria, thinks the bill is good and protects law abiding gun owners. Ive seen a lot of people that were anti-gun, suddenly become pro-gun because of a crime that was committed against their person.
The Bill passed last winter and is still in committee in the senate.
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TALLAHASSEE After fierce debate over a proposal to repeal Floridas controversial stand your ground law, the House on Thursday passed a law aimed at loosening the states mandatory-minimum sentencing laws.
The legislation, HB 89, didnt include stand your ground repeal language until Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, filed an amendment less than eight hours before the bill hit the House floor.
The stand your ground language had no chance of passage in the GOP-dominated House, but did spark debate on the issue Stand your ground has essentially failed my community, said state Rep. Reggie Fullwood, D-Jacksonville. It may work for your community, but it is not working for ours.
Supporters of the law said that there is a false narrative surrounding the law after a handful of deaths involving black teenagers, but the gunmen werent convicted of the killings. The law gained national prominence after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, whose gunman was acquitted of second-degree murder charges.
George Zimmerman, the shooter, didnt use stand your ground as part of his defense, but it was included in the jury instructions.
Supporters said its about the right to self-defense.
The question you need to ask yourself is should we have the fundamental right to protect ourselves from those who seek to harm us, said state Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral.
As expected, the GOP-led House was easily able to swat the stand your ground amendment on an 83-31 vote, with 12 Democrats joining Republicans.
The underlying bill, which passed on a 93-24 vote, changes state self-defense laws to include justifiable use of force, or actions like a warning shot. Currently, self-defense laws only apply to someone who actually uses force.
House sponsor Neil Combee, R-Auburndale, has said the bill was inspired by Marissa Alexander, a Jacksonville woman who was sentenced to 20 years for firing in the direction of her estranged husband during a fight.
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TALLAHASSEE After fierce debate over a proposal to repeal Floridas controversial stand your ground law, the House on Thursday passed a law aimed at loosening the states mandatory-minimum sentencing laws.
The legislation, HB 89, didnt include stand your ground repeal language until Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, filed an amendment less than eight hours before the bill hit the House floor.
The stand your ground language had no chance of passage in the GOP-dominated House, but did spark debate on the issue
Stand your ground has essentially failed my community, said state Rep. Reggie Fullwood, D-Jacksonville. It may work for your community, but it is not working for ours.
Supporters of the law said that there is a false narrative surrounding the law after a handful of deaths involving black teenagers, but the gunmen werent convicted of the killings. The law gained national prominence after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, whose gunman was acquitted of second-degree murder charges.
George Zimmerman, the shooter, didnt use stand your ground as part of his defense, but it was included in the jury instructions.
Supporters said its about the right to self-defense.
The question you need to ask yourself is should we have the fundamental right to protect ourselves from those who seek to harm us, said state Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral.
As expected, the GOP-led House was easily able to swat the stand your ground amendment on an 83-31 vote, with 12 Democrats joining Republicans.
The underlying bill, which passed on a 93-24 vote, changes state self-defense laws to include justifiable use of force, or actions like a warning shot. Currently, self-defense laws only apply to someone who actually uses force.
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Florida House passes changes to gun laws, tuition, license tag fees