The "Stand Your Ground" statute states that “a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony” (Sherman). Many people will say that the “Stand your Ground” law is a great law that has diminished the crime rate, made people feel safer in their neighborhood and has given the people back the power to protect themselves and their loved ones from fatal danger. I would have to …show more content…

According to an article published in the South Florida Sun by Nolin, Haughney and Williams “When Lavoie reached into the truck to open the door, Murdock fired. A grand jury, citing Stand Your Ground, absolved him”. In a case like this, one might say that Murdock had a legitimate reason to fear for his life. Lavoie, unknown to Murdock was charging angrily at him; this in most cases would cause a certain amount of fear and would justify defending himself and or his family, but does self-defense always mean killing someone? Why wasn’t there a warning shot or why didn’t he shoot just to incapacitate and not kill, is it because he knew the law would protect him?
Another case that fell under the “Stand Your Ground” law happened In November of 2009. Shane Beil, whose Tavares home business had been burglarized in the past, caught a prowler in his yard early one morning. According to an article published in the South Florida Sun by Nolin, Haughney and Williams “He shot the man, Brett Lee Canada, 23, in the back. He was also cleared under the Stand Your Ground law”. Again, in this case one might feel a certain amount of fear for their lives, but the victim was shot in the back; which in most cases means that he posed no immediate threat to Beil, and the situation could have been handled with a 911 call. That is the problem with this law, there are no specifics governing how the law can and should be used.
The most famous case to date