Remember back in the “Old West” when gun fights were a common occurrence and the words “reach for your gun” were prominently portrayed in the movies? Apparently those words are back.
The trial of George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin will be the test for the Stand Your Ground laws which have been adopted in 25 states in the last decade.
Could a criminal use Stand Your Ground to justify a deliberate homicide? It’s happened on multiple occasions, say critics of the law. One such case occurred in 2008, when a wild gunfight broke out between rival gangs outside an apartment block in Tallahassee. Some 30 shots were fired, and one of them resulted in the death of 15-year old Michael Jackson. Two young men were arrested for his murder, but they were subsequently freed after claiming they had acted in self-defense. An angry Judge Terry Lewis said he had no choice but to order their release. “The law would appear to allow a person to seek out an individual, provoke him into a confrontation, then shoot and kill him if he goes for his gun;’ Lewis said. “Contrary to the state’s assertion, it is very much like the Wild West.”
Coast Contact 