General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Florida Man Uses Stand Your Ground Defense in Killing of Black Teen Over Loud Music [View all]Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)It's simplistic to say "X number of people were acquitted/convicted so SYG is a good/bad thing"
When I say "context", I'm not talking anecdotes, I mean stuff like:
1. What quality of legal defense did the shooter have at his trial?
2. What was the racial makeup of the juries?
3. How thoroughly/competently did the local police investigate the original shooting? (fwiw, this as much as anything helped pave the way for Zimmerman's acquittal), and how competent were the prosecutors?
4. Was the victim known to the shooter, or a complete stranger?
5. Was the victim actually committing a crime when he/she was shot? Was the shooter committing a crime before pulling the trigger?
6. What are the previous legal histories of the shooter and victim?
7. Was the shooter a helpless victim of circumstance and left with no alternative actions? Or did he/she willfully escalate the situation with the eventual outcome in mind? Or did he/she willfully inject him/herself into an escalating situation unnecessarily?
8. And the list goes on...