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MIAMI - Tyrone Smith knew how to use his fists. Around his Miami Gardens neighborhood, the 19-year-old was known as the "Karate Kid" because he taught local children self-defense and how to stand up to bullies.

But when Smith felt insulted and began shouting at neighbor Jason Kinsey, the confrontation did not end in fisticuffs. Instead, Kinsey, 20, fatally shot the unarmed teenager - claiming he was defending himself against the martial arts expert.

A judge agreed. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Thomas last month ruled that Kinsey did act in self-defense, saying prosecutors are "discounting the enormity of Smith's rage and the level of physical skill that Smith possessed as compared to Kinsey."

The legal fight, however, is far from over. The state attorney's office is now appealing the judge's decision to dismiss the second-degree murder charge.

For prosecutors and Smith's family, the case encapsulates all that is wrong with Florida's Stand Your Ground law: Smith was unarmed, challenging Kinsey to an "old-school" fistfight only after being repeatedly provoked.

"People use that to get away with murder," said Smith's grandmother, Cynthia Hill. "The law needs to be modified."

Travares Daniels, Smith's uncle, said: "I know if a jury had heard this, he'd be going to jail."

But for Kinsey and his defense team, the law worked exactly as lawmakers designed it. Kinsey was the bullied victim and had no duty to retreat. His fear of "great bodily harm" was real, even if Smith had no weapon in his hands, said attorney Richard Gregg.

"This case shows how the Stand Your Ground law is supposed to work and does work," Gregg said. "It's textbook."

Smith is still facing an illegal firearm and evidence-tampering charge. He is under house arrest as prosecutors appeal.

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Another Stand Your Ground case in Florida continues the controversy