4/15/2012

"Stand Your Ground" Law background

The piece is mainly about Marion Hammer, but it does have some discussion about the Stand Your Ground law. From CNN:
The case of 77-year-old James Workman inspired the law that became Stand Your Ground. The retired oil worker from Pensacola was living in a trailer outside his hurricane-damaged house when he shot and killed 35-year-old Rodney Dean Cox on November 3, 2004. His wife was on the phone with 911, and he had fired a warning shot first. Prosecutors declined to prosecute Workman, ruling the shooting was justified under the legal theory that homeowners have a right to defend themselves and their property from imminent harm. "It was months before he knew whether or not he was going to be charged with a crime for simply defending his own life and his property," Baxley said. "That is not right, and Marion talked to me about this bill that would firm up the self-defense posture." . . . Stand Your Ground sailed through Florida's House of Representatives 92-20 before clearing the Senate, 39-0. Opposing it seemed like political suicide in Florida. Hammer's position resonated with his constituents, Baxley said. . . . .

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