Fort Myers family asks Scott to review ‘Stand Your Ground’ ruling – NBC2 News

FORT MYERS, Fla. -

Justified shooting or cold-blooded murder?

A Fort Myers father is asking Gov. Rick Scott to decide after the state said the man who shot and killed his son was acting in self-defense.

The family of Ryan Modell is frustrated that more wasn't done to figure out what happened in his shooting death. They say they don't understand why a grand jury wasn't the one to make the decision if the killing was murder or justified.

James Taylor is a free man after a March ruling that his shooting of Ryan, 33, was justified based on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. Modell was trying to enter Taylor's condo, which looked identical to his.

The case was reviewed by Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg.

"This was a questionable shooting at the very least," said Mark O'Mara, the Modell family attorney.

"The threat that you perceive has got to be immediate, and it's got to be one of great bodily injury."

In March, Sandy Modell confronted Assistant State Attorney Amira Fox about the lack of charges, which until then a decision hadn't been announced. It was the next day the State Attorney's Office said charges would not be filed.

"That looks to me like a call that should have been made by the grand jury, not some prosecutor," O'Mara said.

Modell and his attorney want Scott to assign a different state attorney to take a second look at the case.

Mark O'Mara, who rose to fame after successfully defending George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, says a critical component for "Stand Your Ground" is missing from this case.

"The fear has to be immediate. You're going to do it to me now, and it has to be that you can cause great bodily injury," O'Mara said.

For now, the SAO is sticking with its original decision and says they won't be taking any other actions in the case.

Scott has shown a willingness to get involved in judicial issues.

In April, he took 21 first-degree murder cases away from Orlando State Attorney Aramis Ayala when she said she would no longer seek the death penalty in any cases, including the case of Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing a police officer.

James Taylor, the man who shot Ryan Modell, had no comment.

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Fort Myers family asks Scott to review 'Stand Your Ground' ruling - NBC2 News

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