We just got another example of how fundamentally twisted Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law is. Earlier today, prosecutors in Ocala--ironically, the hometown of this crazy law's author--announced that they won't pursue murder charges against a teenager who shot and killed a man coming at him with a stick. Never mind that he was too young to have the gun in the first place, and his friends did the right thing by running away.
No homicide charges will be filed against the teenager who shot and killed 40-year-old Julius Jerome Jacobs in Ocala on the night of July 5.
In a memo released Tuesday, the State Attorney's Office found that the killing was legal under the provisions of Florida's "stand your ground" law.
Tyrone Pierson, 17, shot Jacobs once in the head, according to the memo. Citing witness accounts, prosecutors said Jacobs had gotten out of his sport utility vehicle on Southwest Third Street and come after Pierson and two other teens with a large stick.
Prosecutors quoted statutes saying that killing someone is justifiable if the killer "reasonably believes that deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself … or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony."
In this case, Jacobs' threats and his attempt to hit the teen "would cause a reasonable person to fear imminent death or great bodily harm," the memo stated.
In what amounts to the legal equivalent of throwing up one's hands, prosecutors stated that prior to the enactment of "Stand Your Ground," Pierson would have been required to run away if he could do so safely. His two friends were able to flee to safety, proving that Pierson could have fled as well. That law, however, eliminated any duty to retreat--meaning that in prosecutors' minds, Pierson can't be charged with murder.
Now here's where things really get twisted. Ordinarily, Pierson wouldn't be able to make a Stand Your Ground claim because the law explicitly forbids those engaging in unlawful activity from claiming it as a defense. Pierson was not only carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, but was too young to be carrying a gun in public in any event. However, according to ThinkProgress, a Florida appeals court recently held that other provisions of the law allow the use of deadly force even by those who are engaging in unlawful activity.
Pierson is still being charged with possession of a gun by a minor and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. But this whole situation is a textbook case of why Stand Your Ground is a harebrained idea. While this looks like a textbook case of "two wrongs don't make a right," the fact that Stand Your Ground apparently doesn't even allow this to be examined in court is disturbing to say the least.