'Stand Your Ground' Law Repeal Proposed

[Thames]

Question: Have Detroiter's benefited from this law over the last year as crime has continued to escalate such as home invasions, car jackings and the like?

I think everyone has the right to protect themselves and their property and it's a law that should stay on the books.

With that said, it seems like the violence is escalating. The bad guys are coming in guns blazing more than ever, even when they are only there to victimize little old grandma, for fear that grandma might be packing.

[beachboy]

I think everyone has the right to protect themselves and their property ... it seems like the violence is escalating. The bad guys are coming in guns blazing more than ever...

Your comment is well put! Especially in high-crime areas such as metro Detroit, it would stand to reason that people should be able to defend themselves without legal jeopardy.

In the context of this discussion, it's important to note that so-called "stand your ground" [[SYG) laws merely relieve the victim [[of an armed assault) from the "duty to retreat". In other words, a victim can be given immunity from prosecution, as a result of self-defense during assault, where the victim did not retreat from the scene. Equally importantly, SYG laws never justify armed aggression or premeditated homicide [[so-called "murder one") on the pretext of self-defense.

SYG laws tend to clarify some previously-ambiguous laws about self-defense. For example, depending on the extent to which the law protects the criminal, even unarmed resistance may or may not place a victim in jeopardy.

Here in Florida, it is legal to defend oneself manually without retreat. For instance, several years ago I was unarmed and attacked at knifepoint. After thrashing the attacker then calling the police, I was lectured on how it was not safe to defend myself, but no charges were pressed by the police - or by the attacker [[who fled).

In contrast, our other tropical state [[Hawai`i) has a complex web of conditions under which a person may engage in self-defense. For example, if you are attacked with a stick or club, you technically may not defend yourself with a "greater weapon", i.e., a larger club, hunting knife, sword, or gun. Such nonsense can become tragic ... several years ago on the island of Maui, an elderly, ill homeowner was charged with a fourth-class felony when he defended himself with a shovel [[on his own houselot) against a knife-wielding neighbor who was high as a kite. The court eventually sided with the assailant, claiming he did not understand the extent of the attack, also decided the homeowner was using a "greater weapon". Go figgah...