Repeal stand your ground laws.

Nicole Cardoza
Written By Nicole Cardoza

Happy Tuesday, everyone. How are you holding up today? Today we're analyzing the racial disparities of the enforcement of stand your ground, a controversial law that doesn't live up to its name. Read Marc Wilson's story and take action, and thanks to JustGeorgia and Tamika Middleton for helping to educate me on this topic.

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Nicole

TAKE ACTION

  • Join a live, virtual teach-in during the hearing on the case via Zoom today (12/15/2020) at 3:30p EST. If you live in Southeast Georgia, you can attend live.

  • Spread the word on this case using the hashtags #JusticeForMarcWilson #AllEyesOnStatesboro and #AllEyesOnGeorgia. Sharing assets available on our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  • To get more involved, contact JustGeorgia via their website: just-georgia.org

  • Research the self-defense and/or “stand your ground” laws in your state, and recent examples of its enforcement.

GET EDUCATED

By Nicole Cardoza (she/her)

This past June, William Marcus (Marc) Wilson, a 21-year-old Black student from Sharpsburg, Georgia, was driving with his girlfriend when a truckload of angry white people accosted them, calling them racial slurs and attempting to run them off the road. Terrified, Wilson fired warning shots from a gun he legally carried, one of which struck the car and killed a 17-year-old white woman sitting inside (Washington Post). Wilson fully cooperated with law enforcement and told them he fired his gun, fearing for his life, and surveillance footage demonstrated aggression from the driver. But the next day, Wilson was arrested and charged with one count of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault. He was denied bond in a hearing in August and is scheduled for a bond reconsideration hearing today, Tuesday, December 15, 2020 (Wilson’s lawyers’ website).

Technically, Wilson’s actions may have been protected under Georgia’s “stand your ground” law, a law that protects an individual’s right to use reasonable force, including deadly force, in self-defense without fear of criminal prosecution. Most states in the U.S. have some type of law like this but emphasize that civilians have a “duty to retreat” from the situation before responding with force. But at least 25 states allow “no duty to retreat,” and ten, including Georgia, specifically say individuals can “stand your ground,” hence the term (NCSL). These laws are all worded differently state-by-state, and some can be more lenient than others. Unsurprisingly, the NRA has helped push the implementation of “stand your ground” laws in several states (Mother Jones).

Florida is notorious for having an aggressive “stand your ground” law. Unlike other states, the state has to legally prove that the shooter did not act in self-defense, marking them innocent at default. In addition, those established to have “stood their ground” are granted immunity from both criminal prosecution and civil actions (CNN). 

It’s no wonder that some of the most controversial stories of “stand your ground” stem from Florida. Markeis McGlockton was shot and killed by Michael Drejka after an argument about a parking spot. Drejka was initially not arrested for the crime until a month later, influenced by surveillance video showing McGlockton backing away from the altercation. Drejka was ultimately charged with manslaughter (Vox). More prominently, stand your ground laws in Florida were hotly contested after the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, which, in part, made it difficult to argue against self-defense and lead to George Zimmerman’s acquittal (The Atlantic).

But Georgia, too, has had its own share of challenges against these laws. In February 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year old Black man, was out running for a jog when he was shot and killed by two men. Initially, no arrests were made based on the “stand your ground” defense. It took public outcry and released video footage of the altercation for an investigation, and the two suspects now face life sentences without parole (NYTimes).

The handling of these cases – no arrests, perceived innocence until proven guilty – are very different from how Marc Wilson’s case was handled. But according to studies, this is unsurprising: there are clear racial disparities in how “stand your ground” laws are enforced. Defendants are twice as likely to walk free if their victims are non-white. And race is considered a “significant predictor” of whether a “stand your ground” defense will be sufficient. In states with “stand your ground” laws, white people that shot someone who was Black were 11x more likely to be protected than the reverse (Bloomberg).

This notion has been reinforced throughout history beyond the “stand your ground” laws. In 1967, members of the Black Panthers Party protested on the steps of the California statehouse armed with loaded guns, urging Black people to arm themselves. At the time, this was legal due to the state’s open-carry laws. But this demonstration scared politicians, who quickly pass the Mulford Act, a state bill prohibiting the open carry of loaded firearms – and prohibiting loaded firearms in the state Capitol (History). Strict gun regulation laws passed across the U.S. shortly thereafter. 

And even before this, the notion of stand your ground was reserved for white, male property owners. Native Americans who wanted to defend their homes from colonization had no legal grounds to do so, and many former Confederate states did not allow Black people to own guns for decades (NPR).

But this polarized time shows that, regardless of our history, more people are compelled to buy guns to protect themselves. Self-defense is the leading reason for individuals to purchase a gun. And the biggest increase of firearm sales in 2020 was from Black men and women, who demonstrated a 58.2% increase in purchases during the first six months of 2020 versus the same period last year (NPR). Bruce Tomlin, a 63-year-old truck driver from New Mexico, was inspired to buy a gun after seeing the video of Ahmaud Arbery being shot, stating that he’d “rather go to trial than go to the cemetery” (NPR).

Generally, I don’t think that we should rely on carceral punishment for anyone’s protection. A more comprehensive re-imagination of our criminal justice system is necessary for an inclusive future. And this case only exacerbates that point. If a law designed to promote self-defense can be used to protect those perpetuating the harm, it merely protects violence. And as we re-imagine criminal justice, it’s up to us to advocate justice wherever necessary.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Marc Wilson was charged with murder and aggravated assault for attempting to defend himself after being accosted while driving.

  • Stand your ground laws are racially inequitable; defendants of color are less likely to be deemed innocent, and violence against Black people is more likely to be protected.

  • Throughout history, the law has prioritized the protection of self-defense for white, male property owners.

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Nicole Cardoza
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