Many killers who go free with Florida 'stand your ground' law have history of violence

[Smilo]

Maurice Moorer is not the kind of person lawmakers had in mind when they gave Florida the broadest self-defense law in the nation in 2005.

State legislators sold "stand your ground" as a legal protection for law-abiding Floridians who were forced, through no fault of their own, to defend their family and property.

But the day Moorer killed his ex-wife's boyfriend in 2008 capped two years of violent behavior that had landed Moorer in jail multiple times and left his wife living in fear.

Still, prosecutors set Moorer free, saying Florida's "stand your ground" law prevented them from pursuing murder charges.

.........snip.........

• More than 30 of those defendants, about one in three, had been accused of violent crimes, including assault, battery or robbery. Dozens had drug offenses on their records.

• Killers have invoked "stand your ground" even after repeated run-ins with the law. Forty percent had three arrests or more. Dozens had at least four arrests.

• More than a third of the defendants had previously been in trouble for threatening someone with a gun or illegally carrying a weapon.

• In dozens of cases, both the defendant and the victim had criminal records, sometimes related to long-running feuds or criminal enterprises. Of the victims that could be identified in state records, 64 percent had at least one arrest. Several had 20 or more arrests.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/many-killers-who-go-free-with-florida-stand-your-ground-law-have-history/1241378

[HockeyMom]

1. It terrfies me Florida's Shall Issue and SYG

Maybe it does others too and that is why they think the solution is for THEM to get a gun too. That is not the answer. Changing these LAWS is. Unfortunately, these "red" states won't.

[bongbong]

2. Comments on this from the gun-relgionists?

Crickets will be heard.

Gun-religionists are too busy cutting-n-pasting NRA Talking Points on DU.

[bluerum]

3. So people with a violent crime conviction and drug convictions

can legally own firearms in Florida.

Nice.

What did they expect?

Dipwads.

[Edweird]

5. Not legally. Somebody somewhere is dropping the ball. There are Brady Law NICS done

EVERYWHERE. It's Federal law.

[Kalidurga]

4. WTF

I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that the body count isn't even higher. I also fail to see how invoking SYG can stop police from investigating these crimes as murder. They should be able to detain for long enough to gather at least some basic evidence. A history of violence doesn't mean you will never be a victim of violence yourself. But, it should be a red flag that when this person shoots someone that they were most likely the instigator and got themselves in a SYG situation at the very least or have lied about SYG as a defense for cold blooded murder.

[Scurrilous]

6. Thank you FL GOP!!1!

[vaberella]

7. People talk about Arizona; but nothing can beat Florida in stupidity and title of shittiest State.

n/t