I was reading the Zimmerman Continues His Racism diary, and my first reaction was, how do we know this is really Zimmerman's website? Somebody mentioned in the comments they had read about the website at Think Progress, so I went to that site to see if I could find out it had been confirmed (it had). But, more astonishing was the first article on the homepage:
In the years since Florida enacted its “stand your ground” gun law, so-called “justifiable homicides” in the state have tripled, according to data from the FBI and Florida law enforcement officials, the Washington Post reports. In the five years before the law’s passage, just 12 killings per year, on average, were declared justifiable by Florida prosecutors — that number spiked to an average of 36 since the law passed. At least 32 states have copied Florida’s statute, thanks to a campaign by the National Rifle Association and the conservative, corporate-backed American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and the “other states have seen similar increases” in justifiable homicides. The law has been thrust into the national spotlight due to concerns that the law may wrongly shield Trayvon Martin’s shooter.
Stand Your Ground Laws Coincide With Jump In ‘Justifiable Homicides’
This shouldn't surprise "some police chiefs and other law enforcement officials [who] warned that the measure would make it hard to convict people of murder — defendants would simply claim self-defense and challenge prosecutors to prove they were lying." However, what is surprising to learn about these statistics since the law went in to effect is:
Neither the state nor Florida’s association of prosecutors declares the jump in justifiable homicides to be a direct result of the new law, but the state public defender’s association does draw that connection, as have advocacy groups opposed to Stand Your Ground laws.
The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, a national group, argues that Stand Your Ground is not just a technical expansion of the castle doctrine, the ancient legal concept that allows property owners to defend their homes, but rather a barrier to prosecution of genuine criminals.
“It’s almost like we now have to prove a negative — that a person was not acting in self-defense, often on the basis of only one witness, the shooter,” said Steven A. Jansen, the group’s vice president.
Stand Your Ground laws coincide with jump in justifiable-homicide cases
Doesn't that sound backwards? The prosecutors in Florida tasked with charging criminals don't see a connection between the rise in justifiable homicides and the Stand Your Ground Law; however, the public defenders in Florida tasked with defending criminals do see a connection.