Florida Law After the Enactment of the "Stand Your Ground" Law
The "Stand Your Ground" Law introduced two (2) conclusive presumptions that favor a criminal defendant who is making a self-defense claim:
- The presumption that the defendant had a reasonable fear that deadly force was necessary; and
- The presumption that the intruder intended to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.
These
two presumptions protect the defender from
both civil and criminal prosecution for unlawful use of deadly or non-deadly force in self-defense. In addition, the defender/gun owner has
no duty to retreat, regardless of where he is attacked, so long as he is in a place where he is lawfully entitled to be when the danger occurs.
Florida's "Stand Your Ground" Law now provides immunity from prosecution, as opposed to an affirmative defense that you would need to assert in Trial (after being arrested and charged by the State of Florida).