Video & Multimedia
In reply to the discussion: Pic Of The Moment: So Much For Self Defense [View all]Alva Goldbook
(149 posts)Let me just say that I'm no lawyer either, but for a layman, I understand gun laws very well. This is due to spending many an hour reading everything I can find on the subject, and I read the actual statutes, court interpretations, and legal experts in this field like Massad Ayoob.
It makes no difference if Zimmerman's attorneys wanted to use SYG. They couldn't. Not unless they wanted to lose the case. And I was unaware that they even wanted to (I'll take your word for it that they actually did).
There is nothing ambiguous here. Every single shooting incident is unique. The law will apply differently depending upon seemingly unimportant details. For instance, it is very clear that someone who is walking away is not attacking you. Someone getting out of a car is a different matter. Suppose the guy who was walking away was in the process of getting a couple of his friends to all come after you? Details like this matter.
It is also important to understand that what the shooter believes plays an important part of this. Suppose someone looks angrily at me and holds up a knife like he's about to strike me with it. I shoot the guy in self-defense, and the guy lives. He tells the police that it was a fake knife and he was just playing a practical joke on me. The question then becomes, did I really believe that my life was in danger? And would a reasonable person, if they were in my shoes, have done the same thing? Details like this matter.
It doesn't matter if people with bad intentions will use SYG laws to try to settle scores, or if they think it gives them a license to kill. It will not give them a 50/50 chance of getting off. All it will do is put more people who probably should be behind bars behind bars quicker. People who do this will try to claim immunity with SYG, but the vast majority of the time, the facts of the case will come to light and they will be found guilty.
Here is a presentation from Massad Ayoob on SYG laws. He is a retired police officer and one of the foremost legal experts on this subject.