re: #306 Lidane

why isn’t it Trayvon Martin who gets the benefit of the “stand yr ground” statute?

— davidfrum (@davidfrum) March 24, 2012

Why didn’t Trayvon Martin under FL law have a valid legal right to attack his deadly stalker?

— davidfrum (@davidfrum) March 24, 2012

Because he’s dead. The justification structure of SYG means that the survivor (aka, the killer) gets first dibs on creating the narrative.

Also because it’s likely that the precise Zimmerman narrative will emphasize that his conduct wasn’t technically illegal: he was being a nutjob bully dickhead, but as long as it can’t be proved that he used violence first, then SYG doesn’t apply. On the other hand Zimmerman’s lawyer will point to his injury and suggest that Martin hit out first, and that Zimmerman could thus be considered defending himself.