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Stand Your Ground Law Case Study

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When black women, who are defending themselves, are charged with assault or murder, it demonstrates how these individuals are marginalized and victimized all over again. There is no other female demographic group that is more likely to be assaulted, domestically abused or murdered, than black women (Jones-DeWeever). However, instead of these women receiving justice through the American legal system, they are charged and incarcerated at disproportional rates. Therefore, one must ask why the justice system contains such disparity and what can be done to rectify these injustices? Marissa Alexandra’s case demonstrates how the Stand Your Ground law was applied so randomly in one state. A Florida jury found George Zimmerman, who gunned down an unarmed black man, innocent of murder, on the basis of Stand Your Ground law. However, when …show more content…
Unfortunately, at this point in time, domestic violence reporting and laws differ greatly by states. The only way to rectify this is through federal legislation, which supersedes state laws (Daunt). Therefore, it seems appropriate to enact federal legislation that would impose harsher sentencing for abusers and guaranteed protection for victims and their families. Another vehicle to address this disparity would be to abolish all state mandated prison sentencing, thereby, allowing judges leniency when those who are victimized stand up to their abusers. While this would be ideal, it may be unrealistic. Therefore, one should propose federal legislation that would identify special circumstances in court cases, such as domestic abuse. When these issues are voiced and documented by prior reporting, the judge should be absolved from state minimum prison requirements, as federal laws supersede state laws. In addition, a national, public reporting of identified cases should be published

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