14 DAY TRIAL // Sybrina Fulton, the mother of slain teen Trayvon Martin, has spoken up against the law that got her son's killer acquitted.
The “Stand Your Ground” law in Florida is meant to protect those defending themselves. However, Fulton argues that it makes way for abuse, when in the hands of the wrong person.
Fulton's son was shot in February of last year, and prosecutors claimed that he did nothing to provoke the attack.
“He was simply going to the store to get snacks, nothing more, nothing less. He was minding his own business, he was not looking for any kind of trouble, he was not committing any kind of crime.
“The person who shot and killed my son is walking the streets today. ... The Law is not working,” Fulton says, as reported by NY Daily News.
Ilya Shapiro of the libertarian Cato Institute counters that these laws, which are available in many states, “just protect law-abiding citizens,” and are particularly helpful for victims of domestic violence.
Democrat Illinois Sen. Dick Durban argues that they encourage a “shoot first,” think later mentality. He discusses the issues of 600 homicides a year falling under the provisions of a similar law, across the US.
These regulations “provide safe harbors for criminals and prevent prosecutors from bringing cases against those who claim self-defense after unnecessarily killing or injuring others,” David LaBahn, president of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, notes.
LaBahn adds that many killers protected under a “Stand Your Ground” law had prior criminal records.
The law allegedly protects “people who are in a place where they have a right to be and who are not engaged in an unlawful activity.”
“No one in this room knows exactly what happened that night,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz argued, mentioning that the hearing was just a political ploy by the Democrats.