Florida Gov. Rick Scott appointed a task force on Thursday charged with reviewing the state's gun laws, including the so-called "stand your ground law," that came into controversial focus after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
As we've explained , the law, passed in 2005, got "rid of the English Law concept of 'duty to retreat' from a situation that is dangerous outside your home." The law will likely play a central role in the case against George Zimmerman, the man charged with killing Martin.
The Miami Herald reports that the governor's task force includes law enforcement officials, legal experts and politicians, including the representative who sponsored the law. The governor also appointed his lieutenant, Jennifer Carroll, as the 17-member panel's leader.
"'We are not walking into this with any preconceived notions,' said Governor Scott, a Republican, who announced in March that he would appoint a panel to address concerns raised over how the criminal justice system responded to Mr. Martin's killing. He said part of the task force's job would be to examine data that has been gathered since the Stand Your Ground law was enacted in 2005."It was Governor Scott who appointed Angela B. Corey as special prosecutor to handle the Martin case after Seminole County's state attorney stepped aside."The Stand Your Ground law was cited as a factor in the decision by the Sanford, Fla., police to not immediately arrest George Zimmerman, 28, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Mr. Martin as he walked home from a convenience store through a gated community. Mr. Zimmerman told police that he shot Mr. Martin, who was unarmed, in self-defense."
Back in 2010, The Tampa Bay Times looked at the law and found that reports of "justifiable homicides tripled after the law went into effect."
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