Exploring Racial Disparities of Victimization in Three Core Dimensions of Stand Your Ground Law: The Case of Florida

<p>‘Stand Your Ground’ (SYG) laws continue to be a source of controversy, even more so after the shooting death of an unarmed black teen in Florida, Trayvon Martin. Upon abolishing the ‘duty to retreat,’ the law has been criticized for allowing ordinary citizens to carry out vigilante justice. The media has shed light on a few incidents which indicate that young black males may be vulnerable to SYG laws. Prior research on SYG laws have mostly focused on racial disparities in the outcomes of cases and deterrence effects of the law, but this research should contribute to the study of SYG laws by focusing on demographic disparities among victims of self-defense acts since after the law’s enactment in Florida, to ascertain if there is a racial disparity of victims in self-defense acts. In doing so, this paper examined three important aspects of self-defense acts: the proportionality of the force, the ability to avoid, and the initial aggressor. Secondary analysis of data on self-defense cases was conducted through bivariate analysis using cross tabulation and chi-square tests. Results suggest that the SYG law does not seem to have a disproportionate effect on certain race or age groups of victims when it comes to the use of initial aggression, disproportionate force, and non-avoidance by the accused.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Criminal Justice

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Isijola, Toyin

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Tanja Link
• Dr. Peter Fenton
• Dr. Samuel Abaidoo

• Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/etd/619

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu:etd-1615