Saturday, June 23, 2012

No, it doesn't matter that stabbing someone in the back and then running away is pretty much the exact opposite of "standing your ground."

Andrew Wolfson at the Courier:

Citing Kentucky’s controversial “stand your ground” law, a divided state Court of Appeals Friday threw out the conviction of a man who fatally stabbed another man in the back in a Newport street brawl, then ran away.

So-called “stand your ground,” or “no retreat” laws — enacted in 21 states, including Kentucky and Indiana — have come under fire in the wake of a high-profile Florida case in which neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin and initially avoided criminal charges under that state’s version of the statute.

Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Stengel has criticized the Kentucky law as giving people “a license to kill.”

SNIP

In a dissent, Judge Kelly Thompson of Bowling Green wrote: “Lemons was not defending his ‘castle’ but was a participant in a brawl outside a nightclub. The autopsy report indicated that the victim died from stab wounds in the back. Lemons had no defensive stab wounds, and only Lemons’ version of the facts supported his self-defense theory.”

Yep, it's pretty much open season on anybody who pisses you off. Or gets in your way. Or just happens to be standing there doing nothing.

Push your wheelchair-bound grandmother down the stairs? You're standing your ground against her annoying guilt trips! Shoot up a college quad full of freshmen? You're standing your ground against godless liberal indoctrination!

Use your imagination - under Stand Your Ground laws, anything is possible.

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