The Many Cases That Have Tested the Limits of 'Stand Your Ground' Since Trayvon Martin
ADAM CHANDLER
Wayne Burgarello, who reportedly shot and killed an unarmed man in Nevada, is the latest of many defendants since the Trayvon Martin case to invoke a "Stand Your Ground" law. The Associated Press reports that Burgarello acknowledges the February 13 shooting on his property in Sparks, Nevada, but says it was self-defense when he "killed a man and wounded a woman who had done meth and entered his vacant duplex."
Burgarello was arrested and charged with murder on Thursday and is being held without bail. Since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the infamous Trayvon Martin case last summer, we've seen continued reports of "Stand Your Ground" cases, and no successful efforts to alter the laws, which exist in more than 20 states.
The discourse over whether "Stand Your Ground" laws beget more violence or are an effective check on crime (unsurprisingly) hasn't yielded a consensus, with some studies submitting that the laws cause more homicides and state task forces dedicated to reviewing the laws concluding that they're necessary. However, by sheer dint of statistics, justifiable homicides have nearly doubled from 2000 to 2010. Meanwhile, in recent months, some of the cases involving "Stand Your Ground" laws seem extreme.
In February, Cyle Wayne Quadlin and Kriston Charles Belinte Chee got into a fight in the middle of a Walmart in Chandler, Arizona. After sensing that he was losing the fight, Quadlin pulled out his gun and shot and killed Chee, who was unarmed. After declaring he had feared for his life, Quadlin was not arrested.
Earlier this year, ThinkProgress broke down 26 children and teens in Florida alone who had been killed in "Stand Your Ground" cases. They included a mix of instances in which the shooters were ultimately convicted, found innocent, or let go with charges. That list includes the death of Jordan Davis, known as the "loud music trial" and the most high-profile "Stand Your Ground" case since the Martin case. In the case, Michael Dunn, the shooter, was acquitted of first-degree murder, but was convicted on lesser charges, after firing into a car with four teens following an argument over the loudness of the music in the car.
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http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/05/the-many-cases-that-have-tested-the-limits-of-stand-your-ground-since-trayvon-martin/371770/
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