Florida Man Uses Stand Your Ground Defense in Killing of Black Teen Over Loud Music

[spin]

44. It was indeed part of the jury instructions. ...

You can read all 27 pages of the Zimmerman jury instructions here:
http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2013/07/12/Zimmerman_Final_Jury_Instructions.pdf

Stand your ground is mentioned in the section of the instructions titled JUSTIFIABLE USE OF DEADLY FORCE on page 12 of 27.

An issue in this case is whether George Zimmerman acted in self-defense. It is a defense to the crime of Second Degree Murder, and the lesser included offense of Manslaughter, if the death of Trayvon Martin resulted from the justifiable use of deadly force.

“Deadly force” means force likely to cause death or great bodily harm.

A person is justified in using deadly force if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself.

In deciding whether George Zimmerman was justified in the use of deadly force, you must judge him by the circumstances by which he was surrounded at the time the force was used. The danger facing George Zimmerman need not have been actual; however, to justify the use of deadly force, the appearance of danger must have been so real that a reasonably cautious and prudent person under the same circumstances would have believed that the danger could be avoided only through the use of that force. Based upon appearances, George Zimmerman must have actually believed that the danger was real.

If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.(...emphasis added)

In considering the issue of self-defense, you may take into account the relative physical abilities and capacities of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin.

If in your consideration of the issue of self-defense you have a reasonable doubt on the question of whether George Zimmerman was justified in the use of deadly force, you should find George Zimmerman not guilty.

While I feel the judge gave the jury a fair overview of the laws in Florida dealing with the legitimate use of lethal force for self defense, was it necessary to mention the SYG law which was not part of the Zimmerman defense? Is this a common practice in such cases? My google-fu failed to answer this question.

The only thing I could find was this statement in an NPR article;

Every line of the instructions was fought over by the attorneys.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/07/12/201410108/read-instructions-for-the-jury-in-trial-of-george-zimmerman

If the above statement is true it may prove once again that the prosecution team in the Zimmerman trial was largely incompetent.