‘Stand your ground’ has become a get-out-of-jail-free license to kill

By Benjamin Crump

As has happened before in Florida, “stand your ground” is being appropriately scrutinized in the aftermath of the shocking shooting death of Markeis McGlockton, an unarmed black man who was gunned down for trying to protect his family — including his young children — in a dispute over a handicapped parking space.

The local sheriff concluded that shooter Michael Drejka pulled the trigger because he was in fear, and therefore stand your ground applied. Somehow, according to this inexplicable interpretation of the law, Drejka needed to defend himself from a man who had pushed him but who was backing away from the confrontation.

Originally, Florida’s stand your ground law emerged as an outgrowth of the traditional “castle doctrine,” which allowed individuals to defend their home with whatever force was necessary. Somehow that concept has been warped into a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card that is essentially a license to kill.

Too often in today’s society, people act first and think later. The most common place for this is on social media. In the real world, this mentality is leaving corpses in its wake.

Twisted individuals believe they can be judge, jury and executioner without suffering consequences for their actions. Unfortunately, thanks to misguided ideas like stand your ground, these individuals turn out to be correct. Let’s call them what they are: murderers — self-appointed “wannabe cops” abusing lousy legislation.

This outrageous situation cries out for justice. Five members of Congress, including three U.S. senators, have called for the Department of Justice to investigate why stand-your-ground immunity was extended to a man carrying a concealed weapon who angrily approached a car — with young children inside — and created a confrontation.

Had McGlockton been the one to pull out a gun, there is no way stand your ground would have been extended to him, a man of color. He would have been charged with murdering a white man.

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