MIAMI – On Tuesday, April 3, 2012, Miami-Dade Commissioners passed a resolution urging the Florida Legislature to convene hearings related to the “Stand Your Ground” law and ultimately repeal the controversial statute under scrutiny in the Trayvon Martin case. The resolution was presented by Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan, who represents the Miami-Dade district where Trayvon lived with his mother.
The “Stand Your Ground” law was enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2005 and states that a person has “no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” According to Jordan’s resolution, there have been 130 incidents in Florida since the law was passed; 37 of those incidents occurred within the last 18 months. In many cases involving a fatality, no criminal charges were filed.
“Trayvon Martin’s death has forced us as elected officials and as a community to re-evaluate the effectiveness of ‘Stand Your Ground’. A young man is dead without cause and the nation is outraged that justice has not been served,” said Commissioner Jordan. “The language of the statute is far too broad and there is no consistency in how it’s applied. How can our police officers and state attorneys investigate and prosecute a case involving ‘Stand Your Ground’ when the law is so vague? It needs to be repealed.”
