Criminal Law in the News

Essay by kjstubbsUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, January 2009

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Criminal Law in the NewsI chose to use an article that I received from www.nytimes.com/2006/08/07/us/07shoot.html. This article is about how there are 15 states that have enacted laws that expands the right of self defense back in 2006.

According to the Liptak, the supporters of this law call them "stand your ground" laws and the opponents call them "shoot first" laws. There have been many so called self defense shootings that were not self defense. It is so easy to say that a shooting was self defense and it is hard to prove that it was not. It seems too many of the people who are against the new law that it is alright to shoot someone over a shouting match so long as the shooter claims it was self defense. There are misconceptions to the self defense law. Many just need to take the time to research it. If one thinks about it; how would the people that are against the law feel if they shot someone while they were protecting themselves from that person and they ended up getting prosecuted for murder?The Florida law is a self-defense, self-protection law not a gun law.

It has four key components.

According to CFIF 2008, "The four components are as followed: 1) it establishes that law-abiding residents and visitors may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use defensive force, including deadly force, against the intruder, 2) In any other place where a person "has a right to be," that person has "no duty to retreat" if attacked and may "meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to...