Florida oks shoot ‘em in the back law
Fla. court OKs force against retreating attackers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida’s “stand-your-ground” law allows the use of deadly force for self-protection even if an attacker or intruder is in retreat, an appellate court said Wednesday.
A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal issued that explanation for last month releasing Jimmy Hair from jail, where he had spent two years awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge.
Hair, 28, was charged with fatally shooting Charles Harper, 26. Harper had forced his way into a car in which Hair was a passenger and then tussled with him. The car was parked outside a Tallahassee nightclub where Harper earlier had argued with the driver.
A trial judge had refused to grant Hair “stand-your-ground” immunity due to conflicting testimony on whether Harper was being pulled out of the car by a friend when he was shot, but the appellate court said that didn’t matter.
“The statute makes no exception from immunity when the victim is in retreat,” the panel wrote in an unsigned, unanimous opinion.</em>
Shooting someone in retreat is not self defense, it’s retribution.
