re: #129 Dark_Falcon

It’s the smart move. If Zimmerman truly did chase after Martin and gun him down, then that would be murder under normal definitions. “Stand your ground” is supposed to mean you do not have to run or back down. It does not (or at least should not) mean you have the right to chase after someone who is no longer a threat. Gunning someone down as they run away is not allowable or justifiable by police or civilians*.

*: A qualification is needed here to note that soldiers are a different case. Thus for a NATO sharpshooter to gun down a fleeing Talib would be allowable, as the Talib is an enemy combatant and can be lawfully engaged until he surrenders. But that rule set applies only in war, and it has no bearing on the shooting in Florida.

Of course that’s true regarding the military. I always wondered why the right tried to use John Kerry’s actions in Vietnam against him in 2004, given how much the right claims to support the troops (especially those with multiple combat decorations). One of the things Kerry was excoriated for during the campaign was killing an 18-year old North Vietnamese sniper by shooting him in the back as he fled after shooting at Kerry and his subordinates. There’s nothing outrageous about what Kerry did; quite the opposite, it was his duty to act as he did.