The real culprit in the Zimmerman case is the Florida stand your ground law. This NRA/ALEC law was enacted in Florida in 2005. Since then, rate of homicides claimed to be legally "justifiable" in Florida has jumped 300 percent.
It used to be that you could use deadly force within your home if your life was endangered. But otherwise, a victim had the duty and obligation to flee, to retreat to a position of safety, if at all possible. Now a killer only has to think that his life, or great bodily harm, might be endangered. Stand your ground law goes beyond the common law notion of self defense, because it creates a presumption in a shooter's favor. This means prosecutors must disprove a killer's assertion that he felt threatened, rather than a shooter having to establish he acted reasonably and in self defense. It also bars the deceased's family from bringing a civil suit.
The Zimmerman jury was instructed on Florida law concerning 2nd degree murder and manslaughter (aka negligent homicide). But they were not instructed about jury nullification. Not by the judge, and not by the prosecution. Indeed very few juries are ever informed about jury nullification. Everyone should know about jury nullification: that it is a right, long established in both federal and state law.
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