In this article, he clears up a misconception I had about "stand your ground," which I
mistakenly assumed was irrelevant to Zimmerman's defense. In fact, some of the instructions to the jury stated otherwise:
If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
Coates goes on to point out that the real problem is the Florida law:
Effectively, I can bait you into a fight and if I start losing I can can legally kill you, provided I "believe" myself to be subject to "great bodily harm." It is then the state's job to prove -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- that I either did not actually fear for my life, or my fear was unreasonable.
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1 comment:
Well, the incidences in which a perpetrator could arrange a circumstance-then convince a jury he or she was in fear of his life....they strike me as a little more difficult to bring off consistently than, say, a pro wrestling skit.
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