[nessman]

I'll never understand Florida's injustice system.

"Stand your ground" double standard in Florida? - Anderson Cooper 360 - CNN.com Blogs

For once I'm on the NAACP's side.

 

[Darthgamer138]

So now because of the SYG fiasco with Trayvon Martin, every justifiable shooting will now be unjustified so FL doesn't look bad? That seems like where we are going...

 

[macnorfin]

The story is far more grey than any of the prior posters has suggested. I think the same thing should heppen to Zimmerman as happened to her. He should face a jury of his peers and let them decide on guilt or innocence.

 

[jmac00]

I don't have the proper credit in front of me, but a little over 35% of all stand your ground claims end in a murder or homicide conviction.

although in this case I think the lady should be given a medal for not killing an abusive, dirt bag, low life cowardly husband, or soon to be ex- husband


I wonder what the charge would have been had she killed the DB.

 

[guygus3516]

I don't have the proper credit in front of me, but a little over 35% of all stand your ground claims end in a murder or homicide conviction.

although in this case I think the lady should be given a medal for not killing an abusive, dirt bag, low life cowardly husband, or soon to be ex- husband

I wonder what the charge would have been had she killed the DB.

Yea, if she shot him dead there would only be one side ofthe story. If it all went down as she said this is a travesty. Definitely got to think about trial by judge or jury. the general public isn't too smart you know.

 

[Degenret]

Not knowing the details, but knowing that a jury found her guilty in 12 minutes (was it time to go home and make dinner?), I would guess that the fact that she went back into the house with the gun had something to do with the verdict. Just for arguments sake.

 

[Tred15]

The story is far more grey than any of the prior posters has suggested. I think the same thing should heppen to Zimmerman as happened to her. He should face a jury of his peers and let them decide on guilt or innocence.

Why do we need a jury of our peers? We have the media to decide our guilt.

 

[Darthgamer138]

Why do we need a jury of our peers? We have the media to decide our guilt.

Hell yeah. Nancy Grace for "The Great Decider" 2012!

:O

 

[NirvanaFan]

Not knowing the details, but knowing that a jury found her guilty in 12 minutes (was it time to go home and make dinner?), I would guess that the fact that she went back into the house with the gun had something to do with the verdict. Just for arguments sake.

This^^

The man sounds like a dirt bag. He admitted to hitting previous wives, and I'd be willing to bet that he hit her before. Going outside to retrieve the weapon and come into a very hostile situation is what did her in. Still, a mandatory 20 years with no chance of parole seems kind of crazy. There are second degree murderers that get less time than that.

 

[ChrisWNY]

This is just an example of the fallout from the negative PR as a result of the Martin/Zimmerman fiasco and Florida's SYG law. I bet the rate of convictions go up for future SYG cases in FL, regardless of the surrounding circumstances leading to the shooting. FL is in CYA mode now, they have a huge conviction quota to fill and people who find themselves invoking SYG (who are otherwise decent and law abiding) will suffer the consequences.

Unfortunately for this woman the punishment does not fit the crime. 20 years without parole for firing a warning shot? She was in an altercation with an abusive SOB who had a history of beating women, she was beaten herself by this scumbag on previous occasions. I hope she appeals and wins (after firing her defense attorney of course).

 

[nessman]

Sentenced to 20 years... what bullsh|t. Even my anti-gun wife was pissed.

Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case - CNN.com

 

[jmac00]

what a screwed up justice system, I think they should give the girl a medal.

 

[PA Guns & Ammo]

Their must be more to the story here people. If it only took the jury 12 minutes to decide, then there is something we do not know. It says she left and came back in for her keys but something tells me she came back in and went right back out.

James

 

[nessman]

This is how messed up Florida's "justice" system is.

Back in 2005, girl that grew up down the block from me was murdered by her boyfriend and his buddy near St. Augustine. The murderer got 28 years. His pal was just an accessory, plead down to negligent manslaughter in return for testifying against the murderer and sentenced to 10 years.

Florida's got it's 10-20-life sentencing law when it comes to using a firearm in the commission of a crime, but that "life" part is just a misnomer to make it sound tough... what it really means is 25 to life.

So... scared chick fires warning shot at husband who's trying to beat her in her house in a state with a SYG law - she gets a mandatory 20. If she shot and killed him, she'd probably walk - and if the SYG defense was rejected - likely just 25 years. Nice huh?

 

[ChrisWNY]

...

So... scared chick fires warning shot at husband who's trying to beat her in her house in a state with a SYG law - she gets a mandatory 20. If she shot and killed him, she'd probably walk - and if the SYG defense was rejected - likely just 25 years. Nice huh?

Yeah that's a good point, and proof of why laws should not be black and white, or locked in some sort of mathematical framework where violation of law X always result in Y or Z years. Laws are unreasonable (black and white) because of the occasional d-bags (aka scum of the earth) that happen to become an elected judge or lawmaker. Flexibility in law enables a corrupt scumbag to wreak havoc; it's very unfortunate because a reasonable, level-headed judge would probably cringe at (and possibly recommend against) handing out that particular mandatory sentence.

This is a case where the punishment is disproportionate to the crime. A battered woman fires a warning shot at someone who has a history of throwing the occasional beating, and she's jailed for 20 years. If I was a FL taxpayer, I'd be bitter about such a verdict. This should be one of these cases that have a good possibility of being appealed, but who knows. If that woman was in NYS, I wonder if her sentence would've been more lenient?

 

[GROM]

The biggest problem I see with what she did was that she talked to the police. She should have kept her mouth shut. She confessed that she left the house, went into the garage, got the gun, went back to the house, and fired a "warning" shot. Is 20 years over the top? Probably.

 

[zeroskin]

...

 

[nessman]

She's been convicted and sentenced... appeals can drag on for years.

I feel terrible for this woman.