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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFlorida Moves To Restrict Media Access To Stand Your Ground Case Records
After a Tampa Bay Times' review of 200 cases that involved the controversial "Stand Your Ground" law found an "uneven application" and "shocking outcomes," one Florida lawmaker is seeking to impede the media's ability to scrutinize the law.
Earlier this month, state Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach) filed an amendment that would "severely limit access to court records in the self-defense cases," the Times' Michael van Sickler reports.
The amendment would allow those found innocent in a Stand Your Ground case to "apply for a certificate of eligibility to expunge the associated criminal history record."
Gaetz said his amendment was unrelated to the Times' Stand Your Ground investigation, the Associated Press reports. "The point is to ensure that someone who appropriately uses a Stand Your Ground defense doesn't have their life ruined by the use of that defense," he said.
Gaetz's amendment has sparked concern among journalists, Media Matters reports, who say the loss of access to public records could have damaging effects. Alongside statements from editors at the Miami Herald and Florida Times-Union are the opinions of staff who worked on the groundbreaking review by the Times:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/stand-your-ground-records_n_5007847.html
Logical
(22,457 posts)etherealtruth
(22,165 posts)I think it is working as "they" designed .... and that does not mean it is good
doc03
(35,293 posts)that is downright scary. What happens if two rival drug gangs get into a
shoot out, does everyone get a pass on SYG?
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)And all those other guys that have killed or will kill innocent people. How would we know if one was ever a serial killer if his records were repeatedly expunged?
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)Many, including legal commentators who should know better, repeatedly citing the statute as a crucial issue in both cases.
And yet neither defendant invoked the controversial aspects of Florida's law. In fact, both defendants argued basic self defense law that would have been similar in just about every state in the nation.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/floridas-stand-ground-law-determine-zimmerman-dunn-cases/story?id=22543929
siligut
(12,272 posts)They might get the idea that something is wrong
otohara
(24,135 posts)no good reason to visit a state where if you get shot chances are the shooter won't be arrested if they declare SYG. Nor will the public able see the farce which is the Florida justice system of letting murderers go free.
Sen. Walter Sobchak
(8,692 posts)Notorious single-term California Governor who said he would pardon the suspects in a lynching if they were tried.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Literally.
Sick fuckers!