[...] The details of Zimmerman's early account of the confrontation could complicate pressing charges against him, which one veteran prosecutor has already said could be difficult.
"The stand-your-ground law is one portion of justifiable use of deadly force," veteran State Attorney Angela Corey told ABC News. "And what that means is that the state must go forward and be able to prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt… So it makes the case in general more difficult than a normal criminal case." [...] Zimmerman claimed self defense and this weekend the lawyer counseling him, Craig Sonner, told ABC News that he was likely to invoke Florida's controversial stand-your-ground law in his defense.
The law affords people enormous leeway to use deadly force if they feel their life is seriously endangered. Sonner said Zimmerman felt "one of them was going to die that night," when he pulled the trigger. [...]
Trayvon Martin Shooter Told Cops Teenager Went For His Gun http://gma.yahoo.com/trayvon-martin-shooter-told-cops-teenager-went-gun-030349812--abc-news.html
On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 7:05 AM, Joseph Catron <jncatron at gmail.com> wrote:
> Florida State Rep. Dennis Baxley, "Stand Your Ground" sponsor: "[I]f you
> carefully read the statute, which most of the critics have not, and read the
> legislative analysis, there's nothing in this statute that authorizes you to
> pursue or confront other people. If anything, this law would have protected
> the victim in this case; it could have."
> http://www.npr.org/2012/03/26/149404276/op-ed-why-i-wrote-stand-your-ground-law
>
> Craig Sonner, George Zimmerman's attorney: "In my legal opinion, that's not
> really applicable to this case. The statute on 'stand your ground' is
> primarily when you're in your house."
> http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/24/justice/florida-teen-shooting
>
> Here's my question for other news-watchers: Has Florida's "Stand Your
> Ground" law ever been cited by anyone of consequence - Sanford police,
> Zimmerman himself, etc. - in his defense? Or is this a case of some lazy
> journalist pulling a story from the air, and other lazy journalists finding
> it less demanding to run with it than to do any actual reporting?
>
> --
> "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen
> lytlað."
>
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-- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org