I’m, not a fan of “Stand Your Ground”, or as I like to call them, “Make My Day” laws, but the determination of prosecutors to ensure that it only applies to white males is unseemly:
Whitlee Jones screamed for help as her boyfriend pulled her down the street by her hair. Her weave fell from her head and onto the pavement.
A neighbor heard Jones’ cries and dialed 911 on that night in November 2012.
But the scuffle ended before a North Charleston policeman arrived and asked Jones’ boyfriend what happened. Eric Lee, 29, said their argument over a cellphone had never turned physical. The officer left.
A short time later, Jones went back to the home where she lived with Lee. She planned to pack up and leave for good.
But after Jones gathered her things, Lee stepped in front of her. Though authorities later contended that Lee didn’t attack her, Jones said he shook her and blocked her way out, so she pulled a knife and stabbed him once. Lee died, and Jones was arrested for murder.
Nearly two years later, a judge found earlier this month that Jones, now 25, had a right to kill Lee under the S.C. Protection of Persons and Property Act, which allows people in certain situations to use force when faced with serious injury. But to the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Jones is not the kind of person legislators had in mind when they passed the “stand your ground” law in 2006. It does not apply to housemates in episodes of domestic violence, the prosecutors argued.
Because, of course, a woman cannot be in fear for her life from an abusive partner.
I’m thinking that the prosecutors would need to worry about getting whacked by their wives if they stopped beating them.