Duty to retreat vs stand your ground and castle laws: Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

[spin]

86. Under the system I propose ...

for any self defense incident in which the "victim" used lethal force, a review by a higher authority than the local police and DA would be required. If the results showed that the force used was appropriate, no charges would be filed. In any case where the action was questionable, the individual would be prosecuted. If the action were found to involve legal self defense or if a jury acquitted the defendant, no civil law suits could be filed against the defendant.

Sounds like a fair compromise to me.

There will be cases where a person uses self defense but no witnesses are available and the evidence is inconclusive. I fear many would love to automatically assume that the person who used lethal self defense and survived was guilty of murder but under our system of justice we have a presumption of innocence. That's why in such cases the background of the two individuals should be considered. If the supposed attacker is a street thug with a long history of muggings and robbery and the shooter has a spotless record, this should be a mayor consideration in determining if self defense was justified.

Remember that such self defense shootings are relatively rare. Over 800,000 Floridians have Concealed Weapons Permits and there here been only a few incidents where an individual with a carry permit has used his weapon to stop an attack on the street. If you live outside Florida, the attention that such incidents receive from the media might lead you to believe that such incidents are a daily occurrence. That would be false.