subject: Stand Your Ground Defense. [print this page] Mark O'Mara, the attorney for George Zimmerman said Monday he will not be using the stand your ground defense and will attempt to get the case dismissed using the traditional self defense argument. The traditional self-defense approach is appropriate because the facts suggest his client couldn't retreat from the beating he received from Treyvon Martin. Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force - rather than retreat would be more appropriate if the Victim believed he or she was in imminent danger of deadly harm.
"The facts don't seem to support a 'stand your ground' defense," O'Mara said. Zimmerman, 28, has entered a not guilty plea and is out on a $1 million bond. If a judge were to side with Zimmerman in a pretrial hearing under either theory, the murder charge would be dismissed immediately. O'Mara said that he would not have to invoke any part of the "stand your ground" statute under the strategy he plans to use. "I don't like 'stand your ground' because I'm not sure it's a 'stand your ground' case," O'Mara said.
The standard self defense argument would be more appropriate in this case because Zimmerman reported Martin to 911 as being "a real suspicious guy [who] looks like hes up to no good or hes on drugs or something, After this report 911 operators advised Zimmerman not to initiate a pursuit and to wait for law enforcement. Zimmerman disregarded this advice and apparently chased Martin. Thus he initiated the chase therefore the stand your ground theory of defense would not be applicable in the case. One cannot use the stand your ground defense as a blanket defense even when they are the primary aggressor. Some other mitigation that the defense may use is that Martin appeared high at the time according to Zimmerman. Also, Martin may have been a member of a club whose primary objective is to fight. Zimmerman also appears to have a witness who can corroborate his version of events.
Some argue that the evidence released in this case means Floridas Stand Your Ground law isnt even a factor in Zimmermans defense. Much political focus has been made out of this law, but if Zimmerman was on the ground being attacked vigorously, walking away from such attack could have been impossible. Despite the size difference between Martin and Zimmerman this appears the Defense Zimmerman is putting forth.
In short, this case is going to garnish worldwide attention solely due to the media attention it is receiving.
