Friday, July 19, 2013

They know not what they do

The people are marching. and protesting. Why? To have the 'stand your ground' law repealed because of the perceived racism of the Zimmerman case. The only problem is that blacks benefit from the SYG law at a rate far out of proportion to their presence in the state’s population.

Black Floridians have made about a third of the state’s total “Stand Your Ground” claims in homicide cases, despite the fact that only 13% of the state's population is black. This probably has to do with the fact that 52% of murders in the US are committed by blacks. (pdf alert)

With one third of the defendants in homicide cases who have invoked SYG being black, and 55% of those cases being successful, blacks are far more likely to suffer should this law be repealed.

One hundred thirty three people in the state of Florida have used a “Stand Your Ground” defense. Of these claims, 73 were considered “justified” (55 percent), while 39 resulted in criminal convictions and 21 cases are still pending.
Forty four African Americans in the state of Florida have claimed a “Stand Your Ground” defense. Of these claims, 24 were considered “justified” (55 percent), while 11 resulted in convictions and nine cases are still pending.
Of the 76 white people who have used the defense, 40 were considered “justified” (less than 53 percent), while 25 were convicted and 11 cases are still pending.
Ten Hispanics have used the defense, seven of them successfully, according to the database, which included George Zimmerman as a “Stand Your Ground” defendant.

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