THE BULLY LAW and Treyvon Martin

The State of Florida vs George Zimmerman.

This case brings to the forefront two different but related issues -- the Bully Law (stand your ground) and the question of racial bias. Advocates of each appear to dismiss the other and in so doing, they miss the point entirely. Zimmerman's defense used a self defense argument to mask the racial dimension and the Bully Law to extract a "penalty."

One must say the Florida prosecutors failed miserably in their case preparation and presentation. Further, because of the basic conflict between a traditional self defense claim and the revised instructions the judge had to give the jury based on the Bully Law, they enabled an innocent verdict. Because of this, the mistakes and legal conflicts in the law, will never be subject to appeal. If Zimmerman had been convicted -- he would have had the option of appeal. But because Martin was killed and is dead, and Zimmerman was set free, he (Martin) has no appeal right nor recourse to sue his lawyers for shady representation.

Why is the Stand your ground law a bully law? Bullies create situation where they can pick their victims and work their will on them without the threat of retaliation. The Stand your ground law favors the bully with the gun (weapon) and not the bully's victim (armed or unarmed).

In the natural world there are predators and pray. Predators stoke and attack their prey; while prey generally flee their attackers. Civilized societies recognize this difference in individuals and have long recognized that self defense is a shared responsibility. It can be accomplished by either "fight" or "flight." Therefore, the self defense principle places a burden on both parties to a potential conflict. The burden is to chose flight over fight if there is the opportunity to avoid injuring or killing the other party. 

 

Are the scales balanced?

The Bully Law removes that obligation by favoring the attacker and not recognizing the victim's efforts to escape. Even a lion will quit if the intended victim exits the situation fast enough. Zimmerman apparently could not give up on the chase. 


The other element is the timeline. When did "stand your ground" take precedence? Was it when Zimmerman spotted a questionable person in the neighborhood from his car? Or, when he got out of the car? Maybe it was when he confronted Martin (and under what authority?) Or was it when an unarmed Martin chose to stand his ground? No, apparently it was when Zimmerman lost control of the situation which he allegedly created, and drew his gun and shot his unarmed assailant? It seems that the the Florida prosecutors failed to define and control the context and the defense managed to reduce the timeline to the fight. The proximate causes leading up to the fight apparently had no bearing on the jury's decision. And thereby enabling the judge to allow the defense to mount a traditional self-defense argument, ignoring the stand your ground law and procedures while relying on the Bully Law instructions.

What about the racial issue? This case highlights the fact that racism is still present in people like Zimmerman (according the 911 tapes) but it could have just a easily been a Jew, a Muslim, a Yankee or Red Sox fan. The Bully Law legalizes killing and murder by predator personalities of anyone they "feel" is a threat, even if it is threat created by their own prejudice or paranoia. It does not require them to prove that they had no flight option to avoid the threat. It also make the victim, the bully's prey, who choose flight, responsible for her/his own death at the hands of the Bully predator.

The Bully Law represents what is wrong in America's law -- its hypocrisy when it comes to the principle of "innocent until proven guilt," Lately, there seems to be one law for the perpetrator and another for the victim. The "perps" always seem to have the POWER to bully the victims. Congress, the Supreme Court, and the State Legislatures all are co-conspirators in placing the burden of proof on the victim while excusing and even idealizing the bully/predators.No wonder people no longer trust their leaders and institutions.