Being famously known in the state of Florida, the Stand Your Ground Laws has caused major uproar in the past years. The Stand Your Ground Laws has let many guilty people get out of going to jail. If people are innocent of the crime they are charged with they should be able to defend themselves and prove their innocence. The Stand Your Ground Laws states that A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if: The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and the person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred. The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not apply if: The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or the person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used; or the person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful act... ... middle of paper ... ...tation parking lot. In the parking lot both cars pull up, Dunn before the SUV, and the guys in the SUV had their music on full blast. Dunn asked them to turn it down and got in an argument with the boys. Dunn reaches for his gun and fires ten times at the SUV. Only one person, Jordan Davis (17) was shot and he was shot twice. Dunn drove away and hours afterwards found out that Davis was dead. Dunn was convicted of 4 out of 5 attempted murder charges and a mistrial declared on the first degree murder charge. Now both cases are very similar the main difference is the verdict. The defendants in both trials could have avoided the confrontation but chose not to. In both cases an underage African American was shot and killed. In both cases the defendants lives were not in danger and the victims were unarmed. So why would they let one be found guilty and the other go free?
Stand your ground law is a self-defense law that authorize a person to protect and defend one’s own life. Only few states in the U.S including Florida (2005) pass this law. On April 30, 2013 George Zimmerman waives his rights to a “stand your ground” pretrial immunity hearing as CNN states. His attorneys decides to try this as a “self-defends’ case. Judge will have to decide if his actions were protected under the
Zimmerman was asked by a dispatcher to stop pursuing Treyvon Martin. The “Stand Your Ground”
This is not an upcoming issue; this has been around for years since these laws have taken effect in the 24 states. Throughout the nation there are documented cases where stand-your-ground laws have caused controversy and suspects were acquitted of criminal charges. There are a few significant cases that represent the threat and repercussions posed by these SYG laws. One of these cases took place in Houston, Texas in November 2007. A 61- year old man named Joe Horn made a 911 call stating that there were two burglars in the home next door. Despite Horn being instructed to stay in his home by the 911 dispatcher, he still remained absorbed in taking matters into his own hands. On the 911 call Horn stated “The laws have been changed…since September the first and I have a right to protect myself,” Horn said. “I ain’t gonna let them get away with this shit. I’m sorry, this ain’t right, buddy … They got a bag of loot … Here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I’m going.” (Lee, 2012) While the dispatcher was still on the phone, Horn fired three gun shots and the two Colombian men were both hit in the back. After, he returned to the line justifying to the dispatcher why he killed the two men. When officers arrived at the scene Horn was not arrested and nor was he indicted by the grand jury. This particular case portrays how the
(Roman, 2013) In the case ofTrayvon Martin many believed the Stand Your Ground laws gave George Zimmerman a free pass to kill anAfrican-American boy. However, not every case is the same and a law cannot be repealed due to one failed case. Stand Your Ground laws value the life of the victim over the life of the criminal, which means that even if a criminal enters your home without the intent to kill or cause physical harm, they are still entering with a criminal intent. Proof that the victims life was in danger is no longer necessary because the presumption that the criminal intended to commit a crime speaks for itself. Many don’t agree with taking the life of a criminal if they didn’t intend to do physical harm to a victim, but it is impossible to know what an aggressor is planning on doing. It’s better to be safe than to have a dead victim with their back against a wall. Another issue that many find with Stand Your Ground laws is the propensity of racial bias within the court room. In a recent study done by the Tampa Bay Times newspaper, it was found that the courts seemed to value the lives of white victims more than those of black victims. (Ackerman, Goodman, Gilbert, Arroyo-Johnson, and Pagano, 2015) However, this study did not discuss the amount of black on white crimes compared to
One possible solution to improving Florida’s stand-your-ground law would be to clarify what acts can define the aggressor vs. the victim. More support of my argument can be found in the article, “Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground Law’ Needs Work” by Florida’s member of House of Reps. Perry E. Thurston Jr. In Thurston’s article, Thurston expresses how he believes that having self-defense laws are important to society and how he feels that Florida’s stand-your-ground law needs to be improved.
Trayvon Martin was shot and killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator. The laws regarding Stand your ground was only applying to Mr. Zimmerman and he was acquitted on July 13, 2013. Why did this law only apply to George Zimmerman and not Trayvon Martin?
The stand your ground law states that it is a form of self-defense that gives people the ability to use deadly force to defend themselves. This is not the main issue with people who disregard the stand your ground law. Peoples distaste for the law stems from how the stand your ground law is used. What I mean by this is that some states have different meanings and interpretations of how the stand your ground law can/is used. The rulings that have rooted the stand your ground law in the United States currently allows forty six states in America to use this as a reasonable defense. (Shapiro,2013) So, where did this all start from? Over a hundred years ago in Indiana Runyon vs State took place. It stated that the way that the American people think does not allow for them to follow a rule which tells them to retreat, but the person being assaulted or threatened cannot be at fault if they are in the right spot at the right time. Thus, allowing him to defend himself using force which in turn lets him exercise his right to self-defense. The reason that the laws of retreat were enacted dates back to the old British law when the deadly weapons used were swords, this was because swords would allow the defense to retreat lessening the amount of blood spilled during the altercation. British law reflects a “deference to the constabulary,” by which the King owed a duty of protection to his subjects. That’s obviously not part of our tradition.(Shapiro, 2013) Despite what gun prohibitionists claim, the no-retreat rule has deep roots in American law. At the Supreme Court, SYG dates to the unanimous 1895 case of Beard v. United States, in which Justice John Harlan affirmed the right to armed self-defense. (Weaver,2008) It is hard to talk about...
The “Stand Your Ground” law was first adopted in the state of florida in 2005. This law did not gain national attention until the shooting death of unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin, in Sanford, florida, where the shooter, George Zimmerman used the “Stand Your Ground” law as his basis for defending himself against Trayvon Martin to the Sanford Police Department. However, George Zimmerman’s legal defense team did not utilize the law to argue his innocence during his trial. But the damage had been done because soon after other cases in florida began to sprout up with “Stand Your Ground” as the driving force.
Both cases have similar charges. Both of the men are young and black and are accused of murder while attempting to rob the victims. Both crimes were committed in a public place with a witness point to the jury they both should be pleaded guilty. An example from the novel, Monster the crime took place at a drugstore. In the documentary, “Murder on A Sunday Morning,” the crime took place at a motel on an early Sunday morning. They both consist of racism by either the jury or the police. From the novel Monster the jury was just looking at Steve Harmon and already assuming him guilty not even listening to the story that goes behind the crime. In the documentary “Murder on A Sunday Morning” the police men were taking Brenton Butler as a suspect for the crime because he was walking on the sidewalk when the crime happened. Both men were pleaded not guilty and then the actual killer came forward and confessed to the
Firstly, in the article titled, “Ten Reasons to Repeal Stand Your Ground Laws”, Steve Klingaman made some interesting points. There are over a dozen states that have some form of Stand Your Ground Laws which in Steve Klingaman's opinion, is too many. Stand Your Ground Laws should be abolished for several different reasons. For example, Stand Your Ground Laws force law enforcement to confirm that a suspect did not kill an individual in order to protect themselves from harm. Steve Klingaman discusses how "self defense" evidence is far too hard to prove especially when the victim is dead. If the victim is dead then the law enforcement is only left with the suspects side of the story. Also, in this article the author mentions that the Stand Your Ground Laws need repealed because they give the suspect protection from civil suits. In other words, if the state does not hand out a...
The stand your ground law is a law that allows people to defend themselves in a suspicious situation somewhere they are legally allowed before having to retreat the area. This law was derived from the Castle Doctrine, which states the person legally residing in that dwelling has a right to protect themselves if someone on or in their residence threatens their livelihood. Florida was the first state of the United States to implement the sand your ground law into their state laws in 2005. Former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, passed the Florida statute to help the citizens protect themselves in the midst of a dangerous situation. This law became a controversial topic when the Trayvon Martin case was the central subject matter of every media outlet
... the defendants had to deal with a higher human authority, the judge and jury of their area. In To Kill A Mockingbird Tom Robinson had to deal with an alleged rape, and no matter what the evidence said, or how hard his lawyer worked, he was convicted and later died. Tom was falsely accused, and his death was untimely and could have been avoided. But he accepted his fate calmly, as if he knew no matter what he would be convicted. The defendant in A Time To Kill, Carl Lee was accused of murder of the two men who raped his daughter. Carl was found not guilty, even though he did kill those men, and later on in life will have to deal with his actions. Both men had to deal with what the court brought against them, and they both did. Carl and Tom dealt with multiple issues, but the prejudices of their race, and the time they were tried ultimately determined their fates.
Current Texas law states that citizens are not legally liable to using deadly force against an intruder in a place they have a reasonable right to be (i.e. home, vehicle, place of employment). (Texas Penal Code 9.31, 2007) This law only applies if the citizen is not committing a crime themselves, they did not provoke the attacker and they had reason to believe they were in danger of becoming a crime victim. (Texas Penal Code 9.31, 2007)
Last of all, you have mandatory arrest, which as it says, an arrest is mandatory if there is probable cause that an offense has been committed. Referring back to our scenario, Officer Mydell walked in and saw the wife beating her husband, if the state had mandatory arrest, he would have no choice, but to arrest the wife. This is why I’m for mandatory arrest because it defusing the situation, right there and by arresting the wife, the husband knows he is safe and can now work on staying away from those types of
When BWS cases are compared to stand your ground cases the differences are alarming. Both defenses claim to have an element of self-defense. Stand your ground is used as a defense when someone feels threatened and BWS is also used as a defense for killing someone who caused them harm even though violence may not be present at that moment in time. One study compared a case of stand your ground and a domestic violence case where the abuser killed her sleeping husband. In the stand your ground case a man shot and killed four young black men on a train when they asked the man (Goetz) to give them a dollar (Franks, 2014). The men were not armed and Goetz, who killed the men with an unregistered gun, ran away after making the kills (Franks, 2014). Goetz showed no remorse in court for the killings and claimed he did what he needed to do and claimed he got the gun after an incident of being robbed years back (Franks, 2014). Goetz claimed that he felt threatened by the young men even though he claimed to know they were unarmed and due to a past incident of being robbed he was in his rights to use force. Goetz was only found guilty for carrying an unregistered handgun and was found innocent for manslaughter stating that he was in his rights to shoot these men (Franks,