Is this what is happening in Ferguson? Are the police now standing their ground? [View all]

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Published on
Thursday, August 14, 2014
byCommon Dreams
'Stand Your Ground' Laws Linked to Rise in Homicides, Extreme Racial Bias: Study
byNadia Prupis, staff writer

States that have enacted "Stand Your Ground" laws have seen an increase in homicide rates and problems in law enforcement, a task force with the American Bar Association said last Friday when they released a study (PDF) conducted on the controversial law.

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The laws currently exist in some form in 33 states. Apart from removing the duty to retreat, they also legalize deadly use of force, allowing individuals to kill someone they perceive as an attacker — even if they have the means to escape a confrontation — without being found criminally liable. In some states, people who use Stand Your Grand may receive civil immunity. The notorious case of George Zimmerman, a Florida man who shot and killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin and claimed a Stand Your Ground defense, turned a spotlight on the law when he was acquitted of murder in 2013.

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ABA's report largely corroborates the numerous critiques of Stand Your Ground laws, particularly in the ways they endanger young black men and encourage a "shoot first, ask questions later mentality." The authors cited a 2012 Texas A&M study by Mark Hoesktra and Cheng Cheng which found that Stand Your Ground states had seen an eight percent spike in homicides since enacting the law.

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Troubling statistics from the report show that all homicides in Stand Your Ground states are found justifiable much more often than in other states — but the most glaring discrepancy can be seen when comparing gun homicides carried out by white perpetrators on black victims. When both individuals are strangers, white-on-black gun death cases are found justifiable almost 40 percent of the time, more than any other kind of homicide.

By contrast, black perpetrators who kill white victims are found justified about five percent of the time.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/14/stand-your-ground-laws-linked-rise-homicides-extreme-racial-bias-study

States That Have Stand Your Ground Laws

Here are the states that have passed stand your ground laws:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Note: Some states have adopted stand your ground-like doctrines through judicial interpretation of their self-defense laws -- but they are not included on this list.

Some states have self-defense laws on the books that are similar to stand your ground laws, often with at least one key difference. These laws generally apply only to the home or other real property (such as an office) and are often referred to as "castle doctrine" or "defense of habitation" laws. Most U.S. states have castle doctrine laws, including California, Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, and Washington.

- See more at: http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-law-basics/states-that-have-stand-your-ground-laws.html#sthash.bPDPTKck.dpuf

One has to wonder if the police have now adopted that policy. If you are a person of color, you seem to be targeted far more than whites. Is this what is happening now in Ferguson, Mo?

they also legalize deadly use of force, allowing individuals to kill someone they perceive as an attacker — even if they have the means to escape a confrontation — without being found criminally liable.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/14/stand-your-ground-laws-linked-rise-homicides-extreme-racial-bias-study