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First of all, let’s get a bit of background: the law was originally called the “castle doctrine” and held that a person had the right to defend their “castle”; meaning, they didn’t have to retreat but could, in fact, use deadly force against an intruder in their home. During the 1980s, several states adapted the law, changing the name to “Make My Day” (Dirty Harry, anyone?) and in 2005, Florida took the law even further with “Stand Your Ground”:

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Florida’s law states “a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felon.

Laws in at least 21 states allow that there is no duty to retreat an attacker in any place in which one is lawfully present. (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.) At least nine of those states include language stating one may “stand his or her ground.” (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.) http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/justice/self-defense-and-stand-you
r-ground.aspx]

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That’s the foundation of the law; clearly interpretation can be found in between the lines and often is. The question is, has the law helped make people safer? Kept their homes safer? Kept them alive in situations in which they felt threatened? And has there been or is there a racial component in how the law is implemented, as many believe is the case with Trayvon Martin’s death and the acquittal of the man who killed him?

A Frontline piece titled Is There Racial Bias in “Stand Your Ground” Laws? discussed a study done last year by PBS Frontline on those very questions, focused particularly on how murder convictions and the racial make-up of victims have been impacted by the SYG. What they found was, to put it bluntly, that “Stand Your Ground” makes it easier for blacks to be murdered without anyone being convicted of the crime. From Frontline:

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Since Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, invoked the stand-your-ground defense, these laws have been defended by gun rights groups for empowering civilians. They’ve also been criticized by civil rights groups for encouraging violence and being racially biased.

A recent study suggests that laws may lead to more deaths. According to a June study [pdf] by researchers at Texas A&M University, the rates of murder and non-negligent manslaughter increased by 8 percent in states with Stand Your Ground laws. That’s an additional 600 homicides per year in the states that have enacted such laws.

The study, which analyzed FBI crime data nationwide from 2000-2009, says it could mean either that more people are using lethal force in self-defense, or that situations are more likely to escalate to the use of violence in states with the laws. “Regardless, the study said, “the results indicate that a primary consequence of strengthening self-defense law is increased homicide.”

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Sound like a recent case on trial? And given the clear backlash to the law since Martin’s murder and, certainly, since the verdict came in, isn’t it time to discuss the fact that the law contributes to an increase in murder and manslaughter as opposed to a decrease? That cannot be the intent of anyone involved with SYG and yet… the law persists on the books of 28 states. And, let’s be clear, the racial component is something to note:

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[John] Roman [senior fellow at the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center] also found that Stand Your Ground laws tend to track the existing racial disparities in homicide convictions across the U.S. — with one significant exception: Whites who kill blacks in Stand Your Ground states are far more likely to be found justified in their killings.In non-Stand Your Ground states, whites are 250 percent more likely to be found justified in killing a black person than a white person who kills another white person; in Stand Your Ground states, that number jumps to 354 percent.

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Those percentages are staggering in both cases, but 354 PERCENT?

Roman’s analysis of the FBI crime data breaks it down even further:

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If there are types of homicide where shootings are often justified, SYG laws are reasonable. However, if there are few circumstances where shootings are justified, those laws will impede justice.

We turned to the Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR) maintained by the FBI, which includes all reported homicides in the US, including justifiable homicides, to determine what types of cases—and how often—civilian use of deadly force was justified.

We combed the data to identify homicides which resemble the known facts from the Trayvon Martin case—cases in which there was a single victim and a single shooter (both of whom were civilians and strangers) and in which the victim was killed by a handgun. We identified 4,650 of these cases in the SHR. Of these, just 10.9 percent (506) were ruled to be justifiable homicides.

However, we note that these numbers vary by whether a state is a SYG state. In SYG states, 13.6% of homicides under these circumstances are found to be justified. In non-SYG states, only 7.2 percent are justified.

We then looked for a scenario where homicides are justified more than half the time. It turns out that the scenario with the highest probability of being a justified homicide is much like the Martin case—a single, White civilian handgun shooter who is a stranger to (and older than) the Black victim. But even then, the shooting is found to be justified less than half the time. http://blog.metrotrends.org/2012/03/stand-ground-laws-miscarriages-jus
tice/]

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But let’s look specifically at the very notorious state of Florida. Known for its sharply conservative climate and its controversial decisions about a great many things, from religion, porn, pot, politics, and, of course, race, the issue of SYG has taken center stage since the Martin killing. Roman extrapolates:

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Finally, we searched the SHR data for cases that matched all the facts of the Martin case (including ages and races). Out of 70,000 cases, we find that the homicides similar to the Martin case occurred just 23 times in five years. Of those 23 cases, only 9 (39 percent) were ruled to be justifiable homicides. Since the overwhelming majority of shootings are not justified, it seems clear that SYG laws reduce the chance for justice by moving the burden of proof from the shooter to law enforcement.

In the Martin case, since Florida is a SYG state, the law strongly favors Zimmerman. It appears as though local law enforcement [with SYG] will not find probable cause that Zimmerman’s shooting was unjustified. By contrast, without the SYG law, it seems reasonable to predict that Zimmerman would not be able to demonstrate to a jury that the shooting was justified. Thus, history suggests Florida’s Stand Your Ground law will lead to a miscarriage of justice. http://blog.metrotrends.org/2012/03/stand-ground-laws-miscarriages-jus
tice/

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As it did for Trayvon Martin. John Roman wrote that piece over a year ago; little did he know how prescient his words would be. Or, then again, maybe he did.

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Since Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, invoked the stand-your-ground defense...

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Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Except he didn't evoke stand your ground. It never came up during the trial. He plead self-defense, justifiable in all 50 states.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
Except he didn't evoke stand your ground. It never came up during the trial. He plead self-defense, justifiable in all 50 states.

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Just because he did not invoke his right to a pre-trial hearing does not mean he was not covered by the law. In many other states Zimmerman would have had to prove his self defence claim beyond a resonable doubt and would have had to prove he absolutly needed to use lethal force or he would have been guilty of imperfect self defence.

I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.

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Originally posted by fivver:
Wow. Speaking of ignorance. In every felony trial whether state or federal it is the government that brings the charges and must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant has to prove nothing. Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?

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Originally posted by Niki2:
Peacekeeper, you nailed it. In spades, unfortunately. I am ashamed for my country.

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Originally posted by BRENDA:
They need a study to notice this is biased? In a state like Montana, Martin would have been Indian and Zimmerman would have walked.

Maybe I just look at these kinds of laws with a jaundice eye because I view it through a minority lense.

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I'm still not sure who started what. But then I am also not sure that Zimmerman is completely innocent either.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:

a nervous white dude unable to adequately explain just WHY he was stalking the youth.

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Originally posted by Brenda:

Agreed that Zimmerman should be held accountable for the boy's death.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
I grew up in neighbourhoods like that, I can tell you that Martin threw the first punch- in response to a nervous white dude unable to adequately explain just WHY he was stalking the youth. Yeah, Martin might have been guilty of a pre-emptive defence strike, but Zimmerman initiated it, and should be responsible for its outcome.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:
I don't think you get to punch someone for coming up to you and asking you what you are doing.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
Martin probably came on with the tough guy "Why you followin' me mutha***er?" prompting Zim to reflexively reach towards his gun making it look like a move of some kind to Martin who didn't wait for a punch or wrestling move to come his way- he attacked.

So, you can simplify it all you want, but if you really DO want to simplify it for real, Zimmerman at home drinking his beer & not out looking to be everyone's hero would have been better for all concerned.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Trayvon didn't " deserve " to die that night, but George didn't deserve a broken nose and having his head bounced off the cement either. But that's exactly what happened.

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Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Why Hero, you're such a .......hero

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