Stand Your Ground Laws in the United States

Authors

  • Noel Otu

Keywords:

Self-defence, Castle doctrine, Stand-Your-Ground, Violence, Justice

Abstract

On February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin and in July 2013 he was found not guilty. Also, on July 19, 2018, Michael Drejke killed Markeis McGlockton and it was not until August 13, 2018 that he was arrested. These cases sparked a nationwide debate around castle doctrine, self-defence and stand your ground laws. Texas, Florida and many other states have these laws, which generally allow an individual to stand his or her ground, and meet force with force, even deadly, at any place he/she has a legal right to be. This study examines what these laws do and do not do. The results of the cost and benefit analysis of this study make it clear that self-defence law is enough protection for individuals in the face of attack. The “Stand Your Ground” law promotes unpredictable and uneven use of violence. The argument by proponents that the law deters crime is unfounded. This study makes several recommendations, among which are: repeal the existing law and remove statutory immunity to allow victims to seek compensation and justice.

Author Biography

  • Noel Otu

    Noel Otu Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley in Texas. His current research interests include ethnic behaviour, culture and crime, and Police brutality. His recent publications have appeared in several leading criminological journals, including The Justice Professional, International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminology and Criminal Justice, The Police Journal, Journal of Nigerian Affairs, African Journal of Criminology & Justice Studies, Salus Journal, International Journal of police Science & Management, and Law Enforcement Executive Forum.

References

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Published

2023-02-04

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Research Articles

License

Authors retain copyright in their articles and grant SALUS the right of first publication. The work is simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the journal, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

How to Cite

Stand Your Ground Laws in the United States. (2023). Salus Journal, 7(1), 2-19. https://journals.csu.domains/index.php/salusjournal/article/view/94