Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law Now Includes Warning Shots

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was expanded to include warning shots. The expansion was designed to “fill gaps,” which exist in the original law. Although the original legislation remain controversial, the extension was signed into law by Florida Governor Rick Scott on Friday.

The Stand Your Ground law grants Florida residents immunity from prosecution — if deadly force is used in self defense. However, the law did not provide immunity for those who fire a warning shot.

In 2012, Melissa Alexander fired a warning shot during a dispute with her estranged husband. Alexander’s attorney, Anthony Rickman, underlines the fact that the man was not harmed in the incident.

As she was not provided with immunity, Alexander was found guilty of aggravated assault. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

As reported by Huffington Post, Circuit Judge James Daniel seemed sympathetic to Alexander’s situation. However, he said the sentence was “out of [his] hands.” Florida’s “10-20-life” imposes specifically strict sentences on those who use guns during the commission of a crime. Defendants who are convicted of firing a gun, even if nobody is harmed, are automatically sentenced to 2o years in prison.

Alexander’s conviction was eventually overturned by an appellate court. However, her case will be reexamined in a new trial.

Changes to the Stand Your Ground law will not affect the outcome of Alexander’s case, as immunity cannot be claimed retroactively. Alexander is still facing serious charges, but her attorney hopes the changes will help future defendants.

As reported by Fox News, Rickman is confident that the changes will protect others from similar prosecution:

“The problem was that under Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws, as it was originally, it only allowed you to use that defense if you used actual deadly force… The new law, as it stands now, allows you to claim immunity from prosecution if you used or threatened deadly force.”

Essentially, the expansion has added “threatened” to the original law. Although Alexander and her attorney have supported the change, others are concerned that the expansion will lead to some dangerous situations.

Resident Jason Collazo explains that warning shots, in general, can be terribly dangerous:

“Bullets have to go somewhere… It’s going to endanger people whether they’re firing into the air, into the ground, at a tree, they don’t know if that surface is going to ricochet, so it’s just not well thought out.”

The expansion of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law will certainly lead to more controversy. However, opponents argue that the changes will protect those who either use or threaten deadly force in self defense.

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