Pros and Cons of the Law
Pros
The positive aspects to having a law such as Stand Your ground mostly center around protecting the rights of the person being attacked. Stand Your Ground allows people to protect themselves without the fear of being prosecuted for their actions. This law also eliminates the requirement for people being attacked in public places to first retreat (if a safe retreat route is available) before taking action against their attacker. The policy necessitating the threatened person to stop and decide whether or not they are able to retreat farther often failed due to the urgency and intensity of the situations. Stand Your Ground essentially aimed to protect people who acted to protect themselves rather than retreat as far as possible. Supporters of the law also argue that the law defends good people from prosecution when their only crime was protecting themselves (and/or others) from harm. In its essence, the purpose of the law is to protect the right of people to protect themselves, eradicate requirements of retreat attempts, and aid threatened people in avoiding prosecution.
The positive aspects to having a law such as Stand Your ground mostly center around protecting the rights of the person being attacked. Stand Your Ground allows people to protect themselves without the fear of being prosecuted for their actions. This law also eliminates the requirement for people being attacked in public places to first retreat (if a safe retreat route is available) before taking action against their attacker. The policy necessitating the threatened person to stop and decide whether or not they are able to retreat farther often failed due to the urgency and intensity of the situations. Stand Your Ground essentially aimed to protect people who acted to protect themselves rather than retreat as far as possible. Supporters of the law also argue that the law defends good people from prosecution when their only crime was protecting themselves (and/or others) from harm. In its essence, the purpose of the law is to protect the right of people to protect themselves, eradicate requirements of retreat attempts, and aid threatened people in avoiding prosecution.
Cons
The negative aspects of Stand Your Ground laws surround the understanding and application of such laws. The Stand Your Ground laws are vague and poorly understood. Many people do not know what the laws actually entail or protect, and often times complete knowledge of Stand Your Ground laws is not possessed by the jury either. Due to a jury’s insufficient information on the subject, criminals worthy of jail time have avoided or lessened his or her jail time. Since the laws allow threatened people to take violent action against their attacker rather than first attempting to flee, many people believe that these laws encourage violence and will therefore cause an increase in homicides. When cases go to court involving mixed race murders (a white man killing an African American or vice versa), the issue of race always becomes the center of attention. The verdicts of these cases lead many Americans to suspect that Stand Your Ground is not only vague in its terms, but also racially biased. Conclusively, the Stand Your Ground laws are poorly understood, adequately applied in court cases, and purportedly racially biased.
The negative aspects of Stand Your Ground laws surround the understanding and application of such laws. The Stand Your Ground laws are vague and poorly understood. Many people do not know what the laws actually entail or protect, and often times complete knowledge of Stand Your Ground laws is not possessed by the jury either. Due to a jury’s insufficient information on the subject, criminals worthy of jail time have avoided or lessened his or her jail time. Since the laws allow threatened people to take violent action against their attacker rather than first attempting to flee, many people believe that these laws encourage violence and will therefore cause an increase in homicides. When cases go to court involving mixed race murders (a white man killing an African American or vice versa), the issue of race always becomes the center of attention. The verdicts of these cases lead many Americans to suspect that Stand Your Ground is not only vague in its terms, but also racially biased. Conclusively, the Stand Your Ground laws are poorly understood, adequately applied in court cases, and purportedly racially biased.