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The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted on Tuesday for a proposal shifting the burden of proof in stand your ground cases to the prosecution.

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Bill Cotterell, Democrat correspondent 6:36 a.m. EDT October 21, 2015

Lucia McBath, the mother of slain teen-ager Jordan Davis, talks with state Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, about gun legislation Tuesday after the Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved a bill allowing concealed weapon permitholders to carry guns openly. The panel also approved an expansion of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, shifting the burden of proof to the prosecution to show a shooting was not justified under the 2005 Florida law.(Photo: Bill Cotterell/Democrat)

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted on Tuesday for a proposal shifting the burden of proof in stand your ground cases to the prosecution.

Under a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling, defendants have to prove they had a reasonable fear of injury, or were properly defending others, when seeking to avoid trial under the 2005 Florida law that removed the duty to retreat in a dangerous confrontation.

Lucia McBath, the mother of slain teenager Jordan Davis, pleaded with the committee not to enhance the stand your ground defense. Michael Dunn, the man who fired into a car blasting loud music at a filling station, claimed he saw a weapon before shooting. It took two trials to convict Dunn, who is serving lifein prison.

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The stand your ground law encourages Floridians to shoot first and ask questions later, McBath told the committee. This is a dangerous bill that would make it even harder to protect communities from gun violence.

Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said prosecutors should always bear the burden of proof in criminal cases. He said the states highest court made a classic overreach in ruling that a defendant had to prove justification for using a weapon rather than deciding the state attorney had to prove illegal intent.

Bradleys bill (SB 344) also would allow successful defendants to be reimbursed for legal costs if they get a charge dismissed in a pre-trial hearing.

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Committee shifts burden of proof for stand your ground