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Floridas controversial stand your ground law continues to make headlines. but what does it mean? We break it down for you.GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM Wochit

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been asked to appoint a special prosecutor in the 2016 case of a man whose family says was shot dead when he mistakenly knockedat the wrong door of a south Fort Myers condo.

The request was made by attorney Mark OMara, best known as the defense attorney forGeorge Zimmerman, who was acquitted on murder charges in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin more than six years ago.

O'Mara represents Sandy Modell,the father of Ryan Modell, who was fatally shot by Steve Taylor in March 2016 at the Emerson Square condominium complex where both lived.

More: Death of 32-year-old justified under Stand Your Ground, no charges for shooter

O'Mara wrote a similarletter to former Gov. Rick Scott in 2017 asking for the case to bereviewed by an independent state attorneyand presented to a grand jury. That effort went nowhere.

This undated photo made available by the Modell family, shows Ryan Modell, right, as he visits Paris with his father Sandy Modell. Sandy Modell is asking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reopen the investigation into his son's 2016 shooting death during an altercation at Ryan's south Lee County condominium complex. Local prosecutors declined to charge the shooter, Steve Taylor, citing the state's "stand your ground" law, a decision Sandy Modell wants reversed.(Photo: Modell family via Associated Press)

Modell remains adamant that his son was murdered andcant understand why Taylor hasnt been arrested.

"Taylor was back in the house. Safe behind a door. He was told to stay in the house," Modell said. "What this guy did, he waited four to five minutes. He stewed."

Modell described that as '"reengagement." He also said Taylor had to go outside and find his son, which he described as pursuit. And when he encountered the younger man, Modell said Taylor pointed the laser-sight and 10mm handgun equipped with a flashlight at his son, which he called felony assault.

"Any of those three elements negates 'stand your ground' as a defense," Modell said.

What is Florida's Stand Your Ground law?: A Miami law professor explains

The original reason for the request lies in a2017 decision by the state attorney's office in deciding not tobringcharges against Taylor.

The state attorneys office said Taylor, a tractor equipment salesman who served on a tank during the first Gulf War, was justified under Floridas Stand Your Ground law to kill Modell because he feared for his life.

The law was made infamous after George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder charges in the 2012 death of 17-year-old Martin in Sanford.

In both the Martin and Modell slayings, prosecutors cited the same law in deciding, at least initially, not to prosecute. The law says people who justifiably believe they face death or great bodily harm can use deadly force without first retreating, but they cannot be the confrontation instigator.

Sandy Modell talks about the March 20, 2016, shooting at the gated Emerson Square community in south Lee County that claimed his son Ryan's life.(Photo: Michael Braun/The News-Press)

Family members of Martin, and now Modell, claim the shooters were the instigators and therefore werent entitled to use the law. Ultimately, OMara didnt use the law as a defense in the Zimmerman case, but it was cited by police who waited 44 days to arrest him.

More: Lee County father looking for answers in son's shooting death

According to the state attorneys office, Modell, 32, was a well-developed, well-nourished man who stood at 6-foot-1 and weighed 224 pounds. Modell and Taylor lived in the complex in identical buildings, each in units numbered 102.

That Taylor shot Ryan Modell on the early morning of March 20, 2016, is undisputed. He claimed in police reports that he was protecting his home and his wife.

The Florida man who fatally shot Markeis McGlockton during a dispute over a handicapped parking spot was found guilty of manslaughter. USA TODAY

Ryan Modell had been at the condo complexpool with friends about 2:30 a.m. celebrating a newly accepted job and a friend's birthdaywhen he headed back to the apartment he was sharing with his girlfriend,Kristin Ann Westlund. He mistook one apartment for another and tried opening the door, his father and girlfriend confirmed. That's when Taylor allegedly confronted him and shot him.

Modellsaid he believes the decision was political, that now-retired State Attorney SteveRussell and his then chief deputyAmira Fox, who successfully ran to replace him in 2018, wanted to give the National Rifle Association a stand your ground victory and didnt want to risk losing a high-profile case before the election.

Foxs office and Taylors current and former attorneys, Matthew Toll and Robert Harris, declined to comment.

This is a six-month review of the most-read crime stories in Lee County on news-press.com from March 2019 to August 2019. Fort Myers News-Press

However, in aprevious statement, Samantha Syoen, communications director for the state attorney's office, said: "We made our decision and found it was an appropriate Stand Your Ground application and will have no further prosecutorial action."

OMara argues that the law does not apply becauseTaylor should not have gone outside with his gun and pursued Modell after the younger man walked away from his door.

You are not allowed to put yourself in a position where you have to shoot, said OMara, who wants Taylor charged with second-degree murder.

DeSantis office said the Republican governor is examining the request to appoint a special prosecutor to reopen the case.

More: What is Florida's 'stand your ground' law? Here are five questions (and answers) to explain

Modell, who saidthe state attorneys should have given the case to a grand jury if they couldn't make up their minds,is hoping the governor will review the facts and see the need for a special prosecutor.

"I believe in the governor's integrity and intellect," he said. "I think he will do the right thing."

But, Modell said that no matter what happens it will be small comfort.

Modellsaid his son drank too much that night and should have been charged with disorderly conduct, but not executed.

My son is dead because some hothead with a gun had to play a big shot for his wife, he said.

Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun:MichaelBraunNP (Facebook),@MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.

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Father of man killed in 'Stand Your Ground' case in south Fort Myers asks Gov. Ron DeSantis to review case - News-Press