stand your ground Archives - Rolling Out

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is drafting legislation that would empower anyone with a gun the right to shoot rioters and looters in the future. DeSantis was appalled by the levels of endless protesting and marches unleashed in the aftermath of the violent death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on…

Christopher Bruce is the political director for the ACLU of Georgia. Bruce has been a leader in the fight for civil rights and liberties across the state and country. He led a campaign against suppressing the Black vote in South Atlanta by preventing the closure of polling locations in predominately Black districts during the 2016…

It is a fact that some White men with guns are feeling particularly emboldened when confronting Blacks in their everyday lives. The most interesting thing about these encounters is that the Blacks who are on the receiving end of these threats are often women or young adults. For many, the power of death in their…

There has been a dramatic change in the case of the White man who shot a Black father in front of his girlfriend and kids. Back on July 19, Michael Drejka, 47, of Clearwater, Florida, decided to confront Britany Jacobs, who was in a car with her two kids in a handicapped parking spot. Drejka…

When it comes to race and the stand your ground law in Georgia, there seems to be a separate level of proof that must be reached. This week the trial ended for Jessie Murray, a Black man who was beaten while trying to rescue his wife from four drunken White men. During the beating, his…

Almost 3 1/2 years ago, Jesse Murray was with his ex-wife at a bar and restaurant in the city of Hapeville, Georgia. Throughout the evening they were being harassed by a group of four White men, who were part of a larger party. A drunken White male stumbled into Murray’s wife Traci and made no apology…

Philando Castile is the latest victim to have been killed by a police officer who overreacted to a Black man carrying a gun. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was killed in a similar incident. The two men were separated by little other than geography — Castile was in the Minneapolis area; Sterling in Baton Rouge,…

Clayton County, Georgia Judge Albert Collier has denied Jessie Murray the use of stand your ground as a defense in his murder trial. Shockingly, the judge stated that the reason Murray could not use the defense was because he said his gun fired by accident during the struggle with the victim and his three friends. Murray…

A clearcut stand your ground case in Georgia is showing that when it comes to race there is a separate level of proof that must be reached. On February 16, 2014, Jesse Murray, 33, met with his estranged wife at Benefields Sports Bar in Clayton County, Georgia. The couple was there to discuss the future…

The tragic murder of Guma Oz Dubar, 45, a Black father who was a hard working taxi driver, has taken center stage in South Carolina. The reason is a stand your ground defense being used by James Loftis, 39, in the killing of Dubar and another man, James Newland, 32, identified as a friend of…

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Meet Matt Apperson, the man who shot at George Zimmerman.

Walter Scott was not murdered by ISIS overseas, he died in his neighborhood. Walter Scott was not murdered by foreign drug dealers trying to evade his Coast Guard detail. Walter Scott was not killed by a deranged student with an illegal gun. Walter Scott was murdered by an American police officer, who had sworn an…

Marissa Alexander, the Florida woman who made national headlines after being sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot to fend off her abusive husband, is now a free woman. Alexander was released Tuesday, Jan. 27 via a plea deal that confined her sentence to the three years she had already served. Initially,…

It seemed that justice had finally been served for Florida mom Marissa Alexander, who was facing a 20-year prison sentence for defending herself against her abusive husband. In September of 2013, a Florida appellate court overturned her conviction of aggravated assault stating in part that “jury instructions unfairly made Alexander prove “beyond a reasonable doubt”…

The story of Renisha McBride has finally come to a legal end. McBride was the 19-year-old girl that was shot in the face by Theodore Wafer on Nov. 2, 2013. McBride had an auto accident and was seeking help when she knocked on the door of Wafer at 2:00 a.m. McBride was dazed and bleeding…

Marissa Alexander is a Florida mother who made national news around the same time as George Zimmerman. But her case received special attention because she was, by all accounts, an abused woman. Alexander had given birth nine days before she shot at her abusive husband, Rico Gray, who had accused her of being unfaithful and…

Everyone get out your violins and play a sad song for killer George Zimmerman. The man who shot Trayvon Martin dead is apparently enduring financial hardship because no one will hire him or buy his paintings on eBay. In recent divorce proceeding documents, Zimmerman had to list his financial assets in an affidavit. According to…

Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal proves what happens when an irrational being is allowed to be the head of an entire state. On April 23, Deal passed a law that could make Georgia a land where guns will be plentiful and gun violence could become commonplace. The pro-gun law, which passed the House and the Senate,…

Matt Gaetz

In reaction to a story by the Tampa Bay Times, state lawmakers are trying to restrict media access to court records in “stand your ground” cases. The Tampa Bay Times reviewed 200 cases where the “stand your ground” law was invoked as a defense. The results showed a disproportionate amount of white shooters and black…

There has been a new development in the Marissa Alexander case and the application of the Stand Your Ground defense. The court is being asked to reconsider a new trial because critical evidence was not submitted to the judge for his consideration. The evidence in question concerns her ex-husband’s, Rico Gray, prior actions including intimidating…