Who's The Victim?
The Tampa Bay Times recently published a list of 210 'stand your ground' cases. Aside from the fact that the SYG law is designed to protect law-abiding citizens, not miscreants, who find themselves in situations requiring the use of deadly force, the Times' article points out one of my pet peeves—referring to the dead guy as the victim. When valid criteria are met, the person who was forced to apply SYG is the victim! This kind of sloppy classification, coupled with inept councel and/or prosecutorial misconduct, has led to more than one miscarriage of justice. Is it any wonder that these cases are confusing the dabblers?
-fl