By CANTON WINER
MANAGING EDITOR
“I think it might honestly be time for The Sunshine State to officially change its motto,” John Oliver said on the July 15 episode of “The Daily Show.” “The Worst State,” Oliver quipped, would better suit the state of Florida.
This attack on my home state was provoked by the not-guilty verdict in the case of George Zimmerman, who fatally shot teenager Trayvon Martin last year during an altercation in a Sanford, Fla. gated community.
Even as a third-generation Floridian, I have a hard time disagreeing with Oliver. After all, Zimmerman, whom Florida state prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda called a “wannabe cop,” pursued Martin — a teenager armed only with Skittles and an Arizona iced tea — even when a police dispatcher told Zimmerman, “we don’t need you to do that.”
In the altercation that followed, Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Martin. Zimmerman was taken into custody, treated for head injuries, then questioned for five hours, but eventually released under the supposition the shooting was in self-defense.
It was not until six weeks later (under massive public pressure) that he was charged with murder. Zimmerman also was not tested for drugs or alcohol the night of the shooting. Martin, then dead, was.
Zimmerman shot and killed an unarmed teenager on February 26, 2012. But the jury’s verdict was correct.
Unfortunately, Florida’s archaic “Stand Your Ground” (or, more aptly, “Shoot First, Ask Questions Later”) law made it extremely difficult to prosecute Zimmerman. The statute states that anyone who “reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself” is “justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat.”
I believe in the right to self defense, but “Stand Your Ground” laws create unnecessary Wild West scenarios, acting more as a “License to Kill” than a self-defense law. Florida law actually prohibited police from arresting Zimmerman, given the circumstances.
“Stand Your Ground” is detrimental to the judicial process, and serves to change deadly force from a last resort to an entitlement. Individuals only need to “reasonably believe” that using deadly force is necessary to stop the other person from hurting you.
In court, it is nearly impossible to prove that a person didn’t “reasonably believe” that he was in danger, given that the only real witness to the situation — in this case Trayvon Martin — is dead.
Attorney John Howe, the first black president of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post that this is one of the biggest problems with the verdict.
“The worst message that comes out of [the acquittal] is if you have a gun not only should you shoot the person, but you should kill them,” said Howe. “You have every incentive to shoot them and kill them because then that person isn’t there to refute your version of events.”
According to data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, deaths due to “self defense” increased by 200 percent following the 2005 passage of “Stand Your Ground.”
Clearly, “Stand Your Ground” means more bodies in the ground. “Stand Your Ground” laws are an affront to justice, a danger to society and must be repealed.
Given the situation, perhaps John Oliver’s indictment of Florida as “The Worst State” is dead-on. Fifteen other states, however, also have “Stand Your Ground” laws on the books. Florida may have to share its new motto.
Canton Winer, FCRH ’15 is an American studies major from West Palm Beach, Fla.
[polldaddy poll=7267941]
