Florida airman gets 25 years after failed stand your ground defense

[bogie]

I wouldn't have gone back in personally...

http://www.policymic.com/articles/77603/this-man-s-case-proves-the-truth-about-florida-s-stand-your-ground-law


If you believe that the George Zimmerman verdict was fair because Florida law protects a person's right to use deadly force to defend himself, consider the case of Michael Giles.

In 2010 Giles, who is black, was a 26-year-old father of three on active duty with the U.S. Air Force stationed in Tampa, Florida, about 100 miles from where Zimmerman would fatally shoot unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin less than two years later. One night, shortly after Giles arrived at a nightclub in Tallahassee with some friends, a huge brawl broke out among 30 to 40 fraternity brothers from nearby Florida A&M University. Giles wasn't involved, but went to his car and retrieved his gun before going back to the club to find his friends. Randomly, someone from the crowd punched Giles, knocking him to the ground. Afraid for his life, Giles shot his attacker in the leg and wounded three men, none of whom died.


Immediately, Giles was arrested. He was later charged with second-degree attempted murder. Unlike Zimmerman, Giles had no criminal background. But today, the former U.S. airman is sitting in a Florida prison while Zimmerman walks free.


So, why did Giles lose his case? The prosecuting attorney argued, "There is no self-defense that is applicable based on the evidence that's before the jury," and apparently, the jury bought it. They convicted him of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and sentenced him to 25 years behind bars based on the other controversial law at play here. The rule, "10-20-Life" confers a minimum sentence of 10 years for a felony conviction where a firearm is brandished. Another 10 years is automatically added if the gun is fired, and, if someone gets shot, it goes up to 25. So there you have it.


But Giles' family isn't passively accepting the conviction or sentencing. They want the state to reevaluate his case, claiming it was wrongly decided. And apparently, lots of people agree. Already, 56,000 people have signed an online petition made by Giles' mother asking Florida Governor Rick Scott for executive clemency for her son.

[Colorado_Outback]

Personally I don't think he deserves clemency. Should have walked away and called it a day.

[TheBelly]

Agree. Giles actually walked away. Then he got a gun and went back. If you're not there, you can't be in fear for your life.

trouble didn't find him. He went and found trouble.

[hatidua]

Giles wasn't involved, but went to his car and retrieved his gun before going back to the club to find his friends.

oops.

[wctriumph]

Can't find any sympathy for him, hope he does well after he gets out.

[Skip]

I don't think you can call it "stand your ground" when you escalate.

Disengaging from the situation in public, retrieving a weapon, and then re-engaging is an escalation. I'm no fan of "duty to retreat" but there should be a duty to use your brain.

And we should be happy because this case would allow Liberals to claim SYG covers general mayhem and street violence. It most certainly does not.

[kidicarus13]

Shouldn't have went back for his friends with a pistol. I wonder if he was intoxicated. If he was I'm sure that didn't help his decision making.

[fj605]

Stay in the car and go home.

[Drucker]

If he had weighed in to help his friends right then he would have been good. Going out to get his pistol put him on the foul side. No question.

[PSS]

On the other hand if Zimmerman would have stayed in his car there wouldn't have been a confrontation either. When you don't have a dog in the fight don't make the fight your own. Some people just have to get involved. Idiots bring guns to those situations.

[Skip]

On the other hand if Zimmerman would have stayed in his car there wouldn't have been a confrontation either. When you don't have a dog in the fight don't make the fight your own. Some people just have to get involved. Idiots bring guns to those situations.

That situation was fundamentally different for two reasons...

1. The dispatcher was asking Zimmerman for information on his location. He wasn't getting out of his car to confront anyone but to get a good description of where he was. Yes, total fail for a neighborhood watch volunteer IN HIS OWN NEIGBORHOOD to not know his addresses and cross-streets.

Zimmerman had no reasonable expectation that there would be a confrontation because Trayvon had already left. Trayvon's friend Rachel testified to this in court. It was Trayvon who decided to come back and initiate a confrontation.


2. Zimmerman's presence on a sidewalk in his own neighborhood can hardly be called an escalation. If we're getting to that point where we allow people to think that, we have serious problems.


I can't blame Zimmerman for having a gun with him doing neighborhood watch. Turns out he needed it.

[th3w01f]

If you pull your gun in FL you better be able to say you feared for your life. Reading a bit on their mandatory minimum law it seems possible that if you were being robbed and pulled your gun only to have the attacker give up you might be facing 10 years.


Ronald Thompson, 62, a disabled veteran, fired two shots into the ground to protect an elderly woman from her violent 17-year-old grandson. State Attorney Angela Corey — the same prosecutor in the Zimmerman case — charged him with four counts of aggravated assault. Thompson was sentenced to 20 years in prison, a punishment that the judge in the case called a “crime in itself.” (He is currently awaiting a new trial.)

Orville Lee Wollard, a former auxiliary police force member, shot a bullet into the wall to scare away his daughter’s abusive boyfriend. Prosecutors offered him probation. But he wanted to be exonerated at trial. Now he’s serving 20 years.

Erik Weyant, 22, fired shots in the air to disperse a group of drunk men who accosted him in a parking lot outside a bar and blocked his car. No one was hurt. But he’s in for 20 years.

[RonMexico]

I think he is wrong if this story is accurate but 25 years is steep in my opinion.
Here is the problem in America; why can't people just take an ass beating without using a weapon?

[Irving]

I think he is wrong if this story is accurate but 25 years is steep in my opinion.
Here is the problem in America; why can't people just take an ass beating without using a weapon?

Agreed, with the first part.

[hatidua]

Here is the problem in America; why can't people just take an ass beating without using a weapon?

-count me as the problem then as I'm not about to voluntarily "take an ass beating" on the assumption that I'm going to live through it.

[rondog]

Yeah, fuck that - people die from "ass beatings". I'd rather see the beater croak than the beatee.

[Irving]

Yeah, fuck that - people die from "ass beatings". I'd rather see the beater croak than the beatee.

For me it is more that despite my natural joke-cracking nature, I'm VERY non-confrontational. In short, I just don't start trouble. So if I'm minding my own business, and you think you're going to start beating on me for whatever reason, then fuck you, I'll smash your head in with a brick.

[sniper7]

I can see where they believe Zimmerman went looking for trouble as well. This guy went back to get the gun to escalate the situation, he didn't flee as was supposedly what Zimmerman was doing when he was attacked. Two totally different cases.

[mcjhr]

He should not have gone back to get a firearm. End of story.

[XC700116]

Also since I'm in Florida for vacation I brushed up on the cc laws and establishments that serve alcohol are a big no no in the first place. Then he was clearly out of danger and decided to go back into it and go in shooting. IMO he put himself in prison.

[rondog]

To quote another member, "no fucks given"!

[rockhound]

he is at fault, he won the prize he was looking for

[airborneranger]

A very similar thing happened to a Fort Hood Soldier. This dumb ass got into an altercation at an on post party, wen home to get his gun, returned and killed a dude. He also claimed self defense. I am not sure of the final outcome of the case.


Kate Dickinson told the Long Island Newsday, her brother was killed after Wessel allegedly argued with him, returned to the party with a weapon and shot Dickinson.

http://www.kwtx.com/ourtown/communities/forthood/headlines/Fort-Hood--Soldier-Arrested-After-Post-Murder-Transferred-222698471.html

[streetglideok]

Not a fan either of "submitting myself to a needless beating". I don't normally look for trouble, in fact I'll walk away from a situation if I feel in any way I had a hand in instigating it. However, sometimes trouble comes looking for you, and you should not have to submit to a beat down just cuz. If another came looking for trouble, and I don't have a way out of it, then he got what he wanted. This case, in florida, the guy would have been guilty here at least. He wasn't in fear for his life, as he had a reasonable way to avoid the danger, but he chose to ignore it. He either had a case of the stupids, case of the drunks, or case of the movie heroes.

[ChadAmberg]

I'm thinking of different scenarios.
Lets assume he had the gun in the first place and was in the bar, was going to leave, and got punched. I'd still say not a valid shoot, not for a single punch.
Only if he had the gun in the first place (no return to the bar) and they were beating on him repeatedly would I vote not guilty based on the small amount of info given in a newspaper writeup.

[ZERO THEORY]

If you pull your gun in FL you better be able to say you feared for your life. Reading a bit on their mandatory minimum law it seems possible that if you were being robbed and pulled your gun only to have the attacker give up you might be facing 10 years.

I would note that all three of those stories involve firing warning shots, which is a pretty big no-no in every situation and location I can think of.