Florida, where murder is legal
It's saying no deadly force if you provoke it UNLESS .etc, etc. I'm pretty sure that UNLESS is standard English. Whatever the terms, there are exceptions listed.
I'm arguing a side point. That you can provoke a confrontation and still use deadly force. That's all.
You responded to my point to another poster. Not vice versa. This SYG law does include an exemption for someone who provkes a fight. That's clear.
This one from the other thread. He's not dead, just badly injured.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafe ... 128317.ece
Stewart left his wife inside with their baby and stepped outside, gun in hand. Kuch put his hands up and asked for a light.
"Please don't make me shoot you," Stewart said.
Kuch, then 23, says he might have stumbled. Stewart, then 32, told police the unarmed man took three steps forward. The bullet ripped into Kuch's chest, nicked his heart, shot through his liver, in and out of his stomach, through his spleen, then out his back. He felt like his body was on fire.
Stewart, when questioned by deputies, began to cry. "I could have given him a light," he said.
The days ticked by, Kuch in a coma as his parents waited for word of a trial. And waited. After two months, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office decided the shooting was justified and dropped the aggravated battery charge. Kuch's parents couldn't believe it.
"We're not against gun ownership," said Bill Kuch, 57 and retired from IBM. "But we're against this law that provides someone the right to kill you without prosecution."
Billy Kuch spent more than a month in the hospital.
"The guy is 6-1, 250. I'm 5-9, 165, and I have a 0.3 blood-alcohol level," he said. "Did he really think I was going to be able to take his gun away?"
Just because he didn't shoot multiple times doesn't mean it was not intended to kill him.
I'm not familiar with civilian gun laws, but when I was standing armed watches in the military, the rule for use of deadly force was to shoot to stop someone, not to shoot only once. If you shoot and they stop, then good. If you shoot and they don't stop, you shoot again.
You can shoot once and kill someone (and intend to kill them), and you can shoot multiple times and not kill them.
Single vs. multiple shots does not prove (or disprove) intent. Saying he didn't intend to kill him because he only shot once doesn't make sense.
From what I've heard, the reason he's walking free is that the local police department are not doing their job. That doesn't show that Florida has bad laws (or much less that murder is legal there), it shows the local police department is not doing their job.
There are other investigations being made, including one by the FBI. If the details that I've heard are correct, he's not going to get away with it.
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Ancalgon is right. Police may be trained to fire multiple times, but we have seen no evidence that Zimmerman had such training; furthermore, 'using deadly force' by definition has the potential to make the other guy dead. One does not shoot another person in the chest or abdomen any number of times without the expectation that they will be very seriously injured or killed.
sliqua-jcooter
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Just because he didn't shoot multiple times doesn't mean it was not intended to kill him.
I'm not familiar with civilian gun laws, but when I was standing armed watches in the military, the rule for use of deadly force was to shoot to stop someone, not to shoot only once. If you shoot and they stop, then good. If you shoot and they don't stop, you shoot again.
You can shoot once and kill someone (and intend to kill them), and you can shoot multiple times and not kill them.
Single vs. multiple shots does not prove (or disprove) intent. Saying he didn't intend to kill him because he only shot once doesn't make sense.
It, by itself, doesn't definitively prove or disprove anything - however it contributes to the preponderance of the evidence. If he *did* intend to kill Trayvon, not merely stop the attack, he would have likely fired more than once. Anyone whose been around firearms for even a short amount of times understands that one shot does not necessarily mean a kill. That is why special operations military units train to shoot 2-3 times (two in center mass, one in head).
You yourself hit the nail right on the head:
This is the default training anyone who has been trained in self-defense operates under. To prove in a court of law that Mr. Zimmerman intended to kill Trayvon, as opposed to just stopping the attack, you would have to prove force in excess of that necessary to stop the attack.
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Picking a fight with a person, chasing that person down when that person whoops your ret*d fanny, and then shooting that person in the face when it turns out you are too much of a p**** to win in a fair fight...is murder.
HANG HIM HIGH!
No, maybe yes, but check "reasonable" hiding somewhere if only SYG was invoked:
An issue in this case is whether the defendant acted in self-defense. It is a defense to the offense with which [JOHNSON] is charged if the injury to [SPIVEY] resulted from the justifiable use of deadly force.
"Deadly force" means force likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
However, the use of deadly force is not justifiable if you find:
1. [JOHNSON] initially provoked the use of force against himself, unless:
a. The force asserted toward the defendant was so great that he reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and had exhausted every reasonable means to escape the danger, other than using deadly force on [SPIVEY].
Johnson argues that the giving of the aggressor instruction constituted fundamental error.
The Florida Supreme Court amended Florida Standard Criminal Jury Instruction 3.6(f) to clarify that the trial court should only include the aggressor instruction when the defendant has been charged with a contemporaneous independent forcible felony other than the one for which the defendant claims self-defense pursuant to Giles v. State, 831 So.2d 1263 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). In re Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases (2007-3), 976 So.2d 1081 (Fla.2008).
In Giles, 831 So.2d 1263, the Fourth District held that it was fundamental error for a trial court to issue an erroneous jury instruction incorporating section 776.041(1) of the aggressor instruction where the defendant was not charged with a contemporaneous independent forcible felony. The Fourth District reasoned that the giving of the instruction was fundamental error because the defendant was not engaged in an independent forcible felony at the time of the alleged crime, and the charge "was not one where the alleged [forcible felony] occurred while [the defendant] was attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of some other independent forcible felony." Id. at 1265.
However, the applicability of section 776.041(2) does not follow the same condition as section 776.041(1) insofar as there is no requirement for a contemporaneous independent forcible felony in the giving of the section 776.041(2) instruction. See Martinez v. State, 981 So.2d 449, 452 (Fla.2008). Specifically, section 776.041 "[s]ubsection (2) precludes the initial aggressor from asserting self-defense where he or she is the individual who provoked the use of force" contemporaneously to the actions of the victim to which the defendant claims self-defense. Id.
Here, the trial court properly instructed the jury as to the aggressor instruction of the Justifiable Use of Force because there was evidence in the record that Johnson may have initially provoked the use of force against himself.[1] See 1150*1150 § 776.041(2), Fla. Stat. (2010); see also Martinez, 981 So.2d at 452. Accordingly, there being evidence in the record to support the giving of the instruction, we find no error. We affirm on all other issues on appeal.
Affirmed.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... i=scholarr
weighted with:
The fact that he instigated the conflict means that the stand your ground law *does not apply* - and he *does* have a duty to retreat.
(1)Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of, a forcible felony; or
(2)Initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself, unless:
(a)Such force is so great that the person reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
(b)In good faith, the person withdraws from physical contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of force.
That's not my issue, my issue is that it becomes much greyer when you have no duty to retreat in a public area since it is harder to establish who's in the right and who's in the wrong if one party isn't taking measures to avoid conflict prior to using deadly force. Prevention is the best measure against all the contingencies a grey area presents.
Well, while the rest of you were quarreling over this I was at the shooting range NOT wasting my time.
I don't know why all this hand-wringing about bank robbers and sh!t keeps coming up.
2011 Florida Statutes CHAPTER 776 JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE[14]
776.012 Use of force in defense of person.—A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a *forcible felony; or
(2) Under those circumstances permitted pursuant to s. 776.013.
776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—
(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.
(2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not apply if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or
(b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used; or
(c) The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or
(d) The person against whom the defensive force is used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.
(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.
(5) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Dwelling” means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night.
(b) “Residence” means a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited guest.
(c) “Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or property.
*776.08 Forcible felony.—“Forcible felony” means treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.
[/b]
While the word "robbery" is included in the definition you'd still have to justify your actions and I can assure you you'd be sailing in dangerous waters legally in attempting to intervene on a bank robber or the like with deadly force. The bank robbers had better be killing people and you'd better be the only johnny on the spot with a piece to have a leg to stand on.
That would apply just about anywhere in addition to that horrible, horrible place (except for spring break) Florida......
Whatever, though.....
I vote this the nuttiest gunz-r-bad thread that we've had yet and that's saying A LOT.
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sliqua-jcooter
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Because the poster I was replying to said that because Zimmerman instigated the confrontation, SYG couldnt be used. I just noted that SYG can be used in some cases even if you start it.
You have not once provided an example where someone who instigated a conflict was able to successfully able to use stand your ground laws as their defense.
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Well, this is an issue that a court will have to decide, but from the information I have, it isn't necessarily the case that Trayvon attacked him at all. I think if they can prove that Zimmerman intended to provoke an incident, they don't need to show that he used too much force. In any case, it seems likely that they can show excessive use of force, since Zimmerman was so much bigger than Trayvon and Trayvon was unarmed. Again, I'm not familiar with the details of civilian laws, but the rule in the military was that if you can stop the incident without using deadly force, you do that -- deadly force is a last resort. I find it hard to believe that someone so much bigger than the other guy couldn't have pushed him away or drawn his gun and threatened to use it if the other guy didn't back off.
There's a story I heard while I was in the military where this guy was on watch with a shotgun and some civilians in a boat were getting too close to the area he was protecting. He yelled at them to stop, while in uniform and carrying a shotgun, but they just didn't pay any attention at all. Then he racked back the shotgun and they immediately started falling over themselves to comply. Nobody needed to get shot over that, and I don't think anyone needed to get shot over this.
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sliqua-jcooter
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Well, this is an issue that a court will have to decide, but from the information I have, it isn't necessarily the case that Trayvon attacked him at all. I think if they can prove that Zimmerman intended to provoke an incident, they don't need to show that he used too much force. In any case, it seems likely that they can show excessive use of force, since Zimmerman was so much bigger than Trayvon and Trayvon was unarmed. Again, I'm not familiar with the details of civilian laws, but the rule in the military was that if you can stop the incident without using deadly force, you do that -- deadly force is a last resort. I find it hard to believe that someone so much bigger than the other guy couldn't have pushed him away or drawn his gun and threatened to use it if the other guy didn't back off.
There's a story I heard while I was in the military where this guy was on watch with a shotgun and some civilians in a boat were getting too close to the area he was protecting. He yelled at them to stop, while in uniform and carrying a shotgun, but they just didn't pay any attention at all. Then he racked back the shotgun and they immediately started falling over themselves to comply. Nobody needed to get shot over that, and I don't think anyone needed to get shot over this.
I agree with you in principle, but we're not talking about whether Zimmerman's actions were a bad shoot or not, we're talking about whether it was murder or manslaughter. There's no doubt in my mind that this was a bad shoot - but I don't believe the prosecutor can charge him with murder, only manslaughter.
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I read what the law says.
I never said I would supply a case and no one asked me to. Stop pulling rabbits out of your hat.
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I read what the law says.
I never said I would supply a case and no one asked me to. Stop pulling rabbits out of your hat.
But why if he is a magician the Joker wants to see him put on a show hahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah
Because the poster I was replying to said that because Zimmerman instigated the confrontation, SYG couldnt be used. I just noted that SYG can be used in some cases even if you start it.
You have not once provided an example where someone who instigated a conflict was able to successfully able to use stand your ground laws as their defense.
Hi sliqua-jcooter,
If you are not just playing musical-chairs with the popularized names of sections of Law, for your own polemics, start your own legal research, as such cases were hypothesized by the courts (with reasonings also of no superfluous laws):
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 5&as_vis=1
Tadzio
sliqua-jcooter
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Because the poster I was replying to said that because Zimmerman instigated the confrontation, SYG couldnt be used. I just noted that SYG can be used in some cases even if you start it.
You have not once provided an example where someone who instigated a conflict was able to successfully able to use stand your ground laws as their defense.
Hi sliqua-jcooter,
If you are not just playing musical-chairs with the popularized names of sections of Law, for your own polemics, start your own legal research, as such cases were hypothesized by the courts (with reasonings also of no superfluous laws):
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 5&as_vis=1
Tadzio
I'm trying really hard to understand your point - but all I see is something that is completely consistent with what I just said.
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sliqua-jcooter
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Furthermore, it appears that he was convicted on the original charges - and his appeal had nothing to do with the validity of the stand your ground law - but rather on whether the jury instructions for a forcible felony were correct. It also appears that the appellate court ruled to uphold the conviction.
Even if they hadn't - the reason the conviction was overturned had nothing whatsoever to do with the stand your ground law, but rather a procedural error in how the jury instruction was described.
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