The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman: The Trial

'Emboldening'

As "stand your ground" claims have increased, so too has the number of Floridians with guns. Concealed weapons permits now stand at 1.1 million, three times as many as in 2005 when the law was passed.

"I think the (stand your ground) law has an emboldening effect. All of a sudden, you're a tough guy and can be aggressive,'' said George Kirkham, a professor emeritus at Florida State University who has worked as a police officer.

Criminologists say that when people with guns get the message they have a right to stand and fight, rather than retreat, the threshold for using that gun goes down. All too often, Bruce Bartlett, chief assistant state attorney for Pinellas-Pasco counties, sees the result.

"I see cases where I'll think, 'This person didn't really need to kill that person but the law, as it is written, justifies their action,' " Bartlett said about incidents that his office decides not to prosecute due to "stand your ground." "It may be legally within the boundaries. But at the end of the day, was it really necessary?"
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/florida-stand-your-ground-law-yields-some-shocking-outcomes-depending-on/1233133

That last point relates to a finding that could be seen as evidence of racial bias: While black and white defendants fared equally well, people who killed blacks were more likely to make successful self-defense claims than people who killed whites. "People who killed a black person walked free 73 percent of the time," the Times reported, "while those who killed a white person went free 59 percent of the time."

Well, I tune in, 135 pages in and can't make sense of the jabber. (Take that, swat!, multiplied.)

I rather naturally agree with firefly,

However, the SYG laws do not need to be abolished at all.
What Zimmerman was accused of doing had nothing to do with SYG, nor should he have been allowed to claim it did.

BUT, that does not mean the fundamental law is bad.

73% vs 59%. There's bias against black victims.

ff would give up calling ci. silly names in a far shorter time than she spent calling me silly names. ci. couldn't get under the skin of a rice pudding.

she has followers?

how sinister...

you should make a list for us...

you have me worried for your safety now...

Zimmerman made his bed.

now he gets to lie in it...

(CNN) -- A Kentucky mother stepped outside of her home just for a few minutes, but it was long enough for her 5-year-old son to accidentally shoot and kill his 2-year-old sister with the .22-caliber rifle he got for his birthday, state officials said.
The shooting that took the life of Caroline Sparks in southern Kentucky has been ruled an accident, Kentucky State Police Trooper Billy Gregory said.
"It's just one of those nightmares," he said, "a quick thing that happens when you turn your back."
Young children in the area are often introduced to guns at an early age, Gregory said.
Ferguson: Irresponsible humans, not guns
"In this part of the country, it's not uncommon for a 5-year-old to have a gun or for a parent to pass one down to their kid," he said.
Her family kept the Crickett rifle in what they considered to be a safe spot, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White told the CNN affiliate.
The boy was playing with it Tuesday when it accidentally went off and killed his sister, White said.
"The little Crickett rifle is a single-shot rifle, and it has a child safety," White told CNN. "It's just a tragic situation."
Kids and guns: 'These are not isolated tragedies'