Uneven application, shocking outcomes
A Tampa Bay Times investigation has found that Florida's "stand your ground" law is being used in ways never imagined -- to free gang members involved in shootouts, drug dealers beefing with clients and people who shot their victims in the back.
Defendants have invoked the law to excuse all manner of mischief, from minor fistfights to drug possession to killing an endangered species.
And who goes free can sometimes depend as much on where a case is heard as its merits. Read the story
Case study: Shooter is free but not proud
The fight started over a barbecue grill. It ended on Christmas Eve with a man dead. Two years later, the shooter is still trying to make sense of it. Read the story
Case study: When the law cuts both ways
In Clearwater, a self-defense case could be made for each man trading punches and then gunshots. Read the story
