NEWSMAX: [Attorney General Eric] Holder said he was concerned about the Trayvon Martin slaying case in which Florida’s stand-your-ground law played a part.
But he added: “Separate and apart from the case that has drawn the nation’s attention, it’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods.”…
The country must take a hard look at laws that contribute to “more violence than they prevent,” Holder said during a speech before an NAACP convention in Orlando, about 20 miles from the courthouse where Zimmerman was cleared of the charges three days earlier. Such laws “try to fix something that was never broken,” he said… (more)
At no time was the Florida “stand your ground” law a part of the Zimmerman trial. Zimmerman was charged with 2nd degree murder and pleaded self defense; the jury agreed. Holder is parroting the party line to the NAACP. Let justice be damned.
EDITOR: Not quite correct. The jury instructions following the trial did contain components from the ‘stand your ground’ law.
At no time did the defense team argue “stand your ground” as a defense. It is unfortunate that the trial judge even mentioned it as it may have caused angst among many people. The following excerpt is from the jury instructions under the heading “Justifiable Homicide” The words “stand your ground” should have been left out. It should have read: ” …had no duty to retreat and had the right to meet force with force ….”
“If George Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in any place where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”