...t Stand Your Ground Laws Name Institution Date Abstract The dissension encompassing Stand Your Ground laws have recently seized the nation’s heed. So far about eighteen regimes have accepted laws extending the right to ‘self-defense with no duty to retreat’ to any region a person has a legal right to be. Several governments are also debating the passing of similar legislation. Inspite of implications that the laws may have for public well-being, there has been less empirical investigation of their impact, not only on crime but also on victimization. This laws makes it easier for some people to use deadly force when their “reasonably fears” result in serious injury at the hands of others. In such cases, those persons may be entitled to immunity from prosecution and civil liability. In fact, these laws usually confer powers that police have on private citizens, without the need of training kind and accountability. Before the Stand Your Ground laws, right to use deadly force was strictly not allowed. An individual had to show that it was reasonable to believe that the use of such force was necessary to prevent sudden death or great harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible ‘felony’. Only when a person was attacked in his home by a person not having an equal right to be there, she/he had a duty to retreat if he/she could do so in safety. Florida was unambiguous in protecting human beings.an individual under...
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...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...
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...*Stand Your Ground is a law that is legal in 36% of the United States. The law states that when you are in danger, you do not have to retreat but can instead defend yourself with any means necessary.* 17 year old Trayvon Martin went out on February 26th, 2012 to buy Skittles and iced tea before heading home to watch the local NBA game. George Zimmerman, a resident of Sanford, Florida called 911 to report a “suspicious person”. He was instructed to stay in his SUV and not confront them. Zimmerman disregarded the instructions and began following Martin. Moments later, neighbors reported hearing gunshots. Zimmerman admitted to shooting Martin but claimed it was out of self-defense because Martin had gone for Zimmerman’s gun. When the police...
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...of nowhere and after an altercation occurs he is dead lying on the ground. Under Florida’s stand your ground law George Zimmerman would have legally defended himself against Trayvon martin even though Zimmerman started the incident. The stand your ground law is basically a law that removes your duty to retreat. So if you get into a fight with someone you legally don't have to back down and can “stand your ground”. It is very similar to the castle doctrine which states a person does not have to flee when their place of residence is attacked.Many believe the stand your ground law is too much because it gives everyday citizens too much freedom to use lethal force. Lethal force should only be used when there is no other option. More than twenty-two states have passes laws similar to the stand your ground law. In Florida the law was passed in 2005....
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... went to the store to buy a bag of skittles and a can of ice tea when attacked by neighborhood watchmen, George Zimmerman. Martin is a resident of Miami, but was visiting his father in Sanford. Zimmerman saw Martin walking in the gated community that he lives in and called 911 to report him for “suspicious action”. After being told by the emergency operators not to follow Trayvon, Zimmerman proceeded. He pursued young Martin and ordered him to “stand his ground”. Alarmed by what was happening, Martin turned his back and continued to walk back to his father’s fiancé’s home. Zimmerman attacked Martin and in the process was hurt. Zimmerman pulled out a gun and fired two shots. The first shot had missed, but the second made direct contact. Trayvon Martin died from a bullet wound minutes after being shot. Neighbors around the area called 911, claiming to have heard gunshot. Zimmerman was released on terms that he only attacked due to “self-defense”. According to Florida laws, Zimmerman is a free man under the “state you ground” law. This has caused a national outrage with protests and marches taking place all over the United States. President Obama has stated that if he had a son, he would look like Trayvon Martin. He has also requested a more in-depth investigation in...
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...His defense was the Stand Your Ground Law. Which is a law that authorizes a person to protect and defend one's own life and limb against threat or perceived threat using deadly force if necessary. After all of the facts were presented at trial to disclaim George Zimmerman defense, he was acquitted of all charges against him proving the Stand Your Ground Law is bias. I believe the Stand Your Ground is biased, because the interpretation of the law could have different meanings. Unfortunately, this law has allowed murders to walk free without being prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Through the history of gun control, the meaning of Stand Your Ground Law, and the controversy topic of Stand Your Ground law would help enlighten others on how biased the law has become over the...
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...Hooliganism The English Disease Daniel Sune Andreasen Jakob Christiansen - 2.E A short prelude We think this is a really good topic which is very up-to-date, and really interests us. We also think that it is a big pity that Jesper Fredin was not available for this assignment. One of the biggest problems in writing this paper was the dominating lack of sources. It was basically impossible to search for information about the topic in books, and the only place to really search was on the Internet. Another problem was the difficulty of finding statistics that were up-to-date. Our problem formulation We have decided to examine and analyse the often used terms; “Hooligan” and “Hooliganism”. Where do these terms come from? How come hooliganism is spread all over the world today? Could this be stopped? And especially, how come hooliganism is so much more dominant in England than in another country in the world? These days you can hardly go a week without hearing of hooligans in England thrashing stuff, and/or other fans. The topic of hooliganism is extremely prevailing at the present time. It is a topic discussed all over the world, and everyone has an opinion about it. We also chose this topic, seeing as we are both enthusiastic soccer fans and have seen incidents of hooliganism in real life. Index of the project Introduction to the term Hooliganism 1 How did the term arise? 1 Hooligans all over the world 2 Something...
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..."Stand Your Ground Laws Cat in the Hat ENG/757 December 7, 1941 Dr. Seus "Stand Your Ground" A Citizen's Right to Self Defense. As of 2012, 24 of the United States have put in place some form of “castle doctrine” or “stand your ground” law. These laws are designed to enable citizens to legally defend themselves with deadly force and eliminate the requirement for them to attempt to flee when they feel that an attacker is threatening their life. In the wake of the case in Sanford Florida in which self-proclaimed community watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a confrontation, much attention and public scrutiny has been brought to bear on these controversial laws. A few “stand your ground” states have claimed that abuse of these laws has fostered what some say is a shoot first ask questions later mentality, and in some cases, instances of what could be considered legalized murder. However, instances of abuse are minimal, and in states that have instituted these laws, homicide rates are the lowest in the nation. “Stand your ground” laws are also said by some to promote vigilantism, but even if in some cases this were true, law abiding citizens must be afforded the right to self-defense by any means necessary, without fear of prosecution. “Stand Your Ground”, “Castle Doctrine” What Do They Mean? In the growing debate concerning abolishment of the “stand your ground” laws in place in nearly half of the United States, there are several...
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...Zimmerman case has stirred the controversy around Stand Your Ground laws and brought these laws to the public light, becoming the subject of vigorous nationwide debates whether these laws should be repealed or not. Like many controversial legislative, Stand Your Ground laws have their critics and proponents, and both sides tend to make valid points in defense of their position. The goal of this paper is to show cons and pros of Stand Your Ground laws. In Florida as well as 21 other American states, as stated by to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the above-mentioned laws are self-defense laws that relieve individuals of their “duty to retreat from an attacker before using force against them anywhere they are legally allowed to be” (Clark). While in general these laws do not use such a notion as “stand your ground” specifically, Florida together with nine other states has these words in its law. In Stand Your Ground law in Florida, particularly, it is stated that “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 felony” (qtd. in Clark). The major con of this law, as its critics think, is that it essentially...
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...Morthland, R. (2012, March 28). 'Stand Your Ground' Laws Protect the Innocent. Retrieved November 4, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/are-stand-your-ground-laws-a-good-idea/stand-your-ground-laws-protect-the-innocent Wallace, P. A., & Crowe, K. (2008). Stand your ground, revisited: Measuring reasonable fear. Forensic Examiner, 17(1), 74-77. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/ docview/207651496?accountid=35812 Weaver, Z. L. (2008). Florida's “Stand Your Ground” Law: The Actual Effects and the Need for Clarification. University Of Miami Law Review, 63(1), 395-430. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy. apollolibrary .com /ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid= aec30e20-5a5e-4b4c-8159-f2e72c79a41b%40 sessionmgr4003&hid=4101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lgs&AN=502051509 What would you do if you were in a situation where you felt you were in danger? The Stand Your Ground law “states that an individual has no duty to retreat from any place they have lawful right to be and may use any level of force, including lethal, if they reasonably believe they face an imminent and immediate threat of serious bodily harm or death,” as stated by U.S. Congress candidate, Michael McKenna. Don’t be a victim! The Stand Your Ground law is an important tool in protecting the right of self-defense. Though there is still much scrutiny regarding the clarity of the law, as identified in Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law: The Actual Effects and the...
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...Stand Your Ground To Be Denied In the United States there are an outstanding amount of violent crimes and incidents that involve different self-defense laws. In recent days Massachusetts law makers are discussing the adoption of the extension castle doctrine, the ‘stand your ground’ law. This is because there is a growing average amount of questionable and justifiable crimes happening on the streets. The “stand your ground“ law allows an individual to protect him or herself with self defense if they feel their life is at stake or going to be subjected to serious bodily harm. With many positives and negatives to this law it should not be passed in Massachusetts and be removed from all states where this law exists. The ‘Stand Your Ground’ law promotes vigilantes to conjure up crimes through loopholes, allows people to commit crimes based off of prejudicial profiling, and is misunderstood and used improperly so law enforcers don’t know when to act on the law and when to enforce it. As it stands now there are twenty four states in the United States that hold the 'stand your ground' law in which each state has its own definition. With the recent case Florida vs. Zimmerman in Florida, where Zimmerman killed a boy Martin without good reason, the law is being questioned on its definition and misuse. Currently Florida statutes chapter 776 defines justifiable use of force. In the subset .012 it states a person is allowed to use force, except deadly force, against another person when...
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...Getting away with Murder There are different laws in each state that allow citizens to protect themselves against a criminal. However, Florida’s law Stand your ground is giving todays citizens a right to kill. Every day we read about a new case where this law justifies the killing of another person. This law was made up to protect criminals and people who choose to kill when they could have easily avoided the whole situation. Shoot first and ask questions later should have been the name of this law. Walking home from the convenient store, playing your music in your car at a gas station, or even going to the movies and asking someone to keep it down has become a scary task. How is it possible that you run the risk of getting shot or killed by doing these everyday normal tasks and the person responsible for your death gets off Scott free with no repercussion for their actions? Having the right to protect yourself when you are seriously in harm’s way is necessary, but useless acts of violence is what todays people are doing and justifying it in court with the Stand your Ground law. This is turning innocent people into targets for angry individuals to take their frustrations or dislikes out on. I want to have the right to walk down the street with a hoodie on and not fear for my life. Gun laws have been restricted over the U.S since the Sandy Hook shootings; however Florida still hasn’t caught up with these actions and still provides an out for over zelles gun toting...
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...argument to the street, where they engage in a legal duel. A shopkeeper who pulls out a gun and shoots a young teenager to death because he caught her trying to steal more than five hundred dollars in goods. Or how about a good old fashioned shoot out? If you were thinking that I was referring to a small western town back in the late eighteen hundreds, you'd be wrong. The wild, wild west has made a comeback to modern America. That era, synonymous with lawlessness and vigilante justice is being revived in essence by the introduction of legislation called "Stand Your Ground". Currently, there is a debate raging in our country over the rights of gun owners in regards to gun control and startling increases in justifiable homicides all over the United States. Recently, there was an incident that sparked a huge backlash against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and their support of a law called "Stand Your Ground". The law states that "... a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if: (1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony...". (FL Statute, 776, 2011) The incident involved an armed self appointed Caucasian neighborhood watchman named George Zimmerman and an unarmed seventeen year old African American male, named Trayvon Martin. The situation began as the watchman patrolled...
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...Maggie Dominguez, Med/MA Implementing Five-Step Strategy for Critical Reading Five-Step Strategy for Critical Reading Please refer to pages 73-77 in The Art of Thinking for this assignment. Step One: Skim the Article * Take five minutes and skim the following article. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/11/08/stand-your-ground-law-survives-florida-house-vote/ Step Two: Reflect on Your Views * What ideas do you have about this subject that could create a bias for or against the author’s view and prevent me from giving it a fair hearing? Please explain in 25-50 words. Being somewhat familiar with the trial against George Zimmerman and the situation that created the uproar; left me in a situation where I believed George Zimmerman should have been convicted, and the stand your ground law should have been reanalyzed. Step Three: Read the Work Step Four: Evaluate What You Read * Identify the issue of the article in 25- to 50-words. In a push to have the Florida state law, “stand your ground” repealed, the article reflects on the decisions of the legislature and some of the senseless crimes committed that should make the legislature want to change the law. * In this article, the author uses words that are open to more than one meaning. Please provide examples and explain in 25- to 50-words. When the author uses the word pushed, he/she is referring to being forced to take action rather than being forced in a certain direction physically. When the author...
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...Criminal Defenses and Criminal Punishments Evelyn Diaz Strayer University LEG 320 Criminal Law Prof. Stratis-Malak May 23rd, 2014 Criminal Defenses and Criminal Punishments When determining if the use of force is lawful or justified by the court, various key points involved would have to be evaluated before deciding whether or not the use of force was warranted. Depending on the state statue, for example, if someone uses a Self-Defense and the Defense of Others approach in a court of law, the court would need to take into account three important key points that need to be involved. One being, if the act done by the other person was unlawful, if so, then it would be considered justified; secondly, if the act or force was immediate and necessary to defend yourself; and lastly, if the circumstances were reasonable enough to warrant the amount of force applied in the act. When determining the reasonableness of force used, one would have to take into account the relationship of those involved along with their size and age, and whether the assault was aggressive, and the type of weapon used (Gardner, & Anderson, 2012). Another approach to take when determining lawfulness of the use of force would be, the use of Deadly Force in a Self-Defense or the Defense of Others, would be the Stand Your Ground Law, a Florida Statute, that if and when a person feels that they are in fear of their life, and believe that they are in danger, then they have the right to defend themselves...
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