Trayvon Martin V Stand Your Ground Defense

February 26th, 2012, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a community watch volunteer while walking home from a convenience store. In a 911 call, Zimmerman stated Martin was just walking around and up to no good. The dispatcher advised Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon and wait for a police officer to arrive. George Zimmerman proceeded to shoot Trayvon Martin, killing him. Based on physical evidence and the testimony provided by Zimmerman it was viewed that he acted in “self-defense”. He was claimed to have used justifiable use of force though he was told not to follow Trayvon, and he was not suppose to have gun being the community watchman. Due to the conditions that triggered the shooting this induced major media

Of these 134 cases in which the Stand your Ground defense was used, 56% were ruled justifiable, 39% was ruled unjustifiable. Forty-four African Americans have used the SYG defense in Florida, and of these forty-four cases, it was determined by a court of law that 24 (55%) were justified in their use of deadly force. Since the passage and inception of the stand your ground law, less than 52% of whites who used it as a defense were found to be justifiable in their actions. Of these 134 cases 19% saw the death of children and teens. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports homicides victims in justifiable homicides have dramatically increased within twelve years from 2000-2012. Shoot first state, black victims gave increased between 0.4 to 1.2, where as non-shoot first state has stayed the same in shooting black

Karma used the stand your ground defense, as well as the castle doctrine, that means that one has the right to defend themselves within their own home. This case is an example of the Stand you Ground law failing to protect the killer. Markus Kaarma shot an eighteen year old who was attempting to steal alcohol from Kaarma’s garage. This form of theft was a trend that was common at the time, and Kaarma had left his garage door open with a purse sitting in plain view in hopes of luring a thief. Though Kaarma's defense was that he was protecting his home and property, and that the circumstances made it a 'Stand Your Ground' case, the courts determined that setting a trap made Dede's death an instance of premeditated murder. It might be of relevance to note that Dede was an exchange student from Germany; originally of Turkish descent and that Kaarma is a person of color. Though Dede's family is Muslim, his German identity was heavily pushed throughout the trial. Kaarma was sentenced to about 100 years in prison. Kaarma is technically a man of color so we see how the stand your ground law becomes biased when people of color are either committing or not committing a