The #NAU shooter is pretty likely to get acquitted on some counts because of Arizona’s stand your ground law. http://t.co/dxy8ufJd3u

— Tim Steller (@senyorreporter) October 9, 2015

[…]

The prosecutor, deputy county attorney Bruce Chalk, and the defense attorney, Natasha Wrae, largely agree on why Mota was acquitted. Arizona’s 2006 “stand your ground” law makes it hard to convict a defendant with even a slightly credible claim of self-defense.

Under the 2006 law, we have no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense if we’re someplace where we’re allowed to be and we’re not engaged in a crime.

As Mota’s case shows, under the law, it doesn’t matter whether your fear is based on facts. It can be a gut instinct. Basically, if you get scared to death, you can kill the person scaring you.

[…]