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KenTheAlbino t1_is9rggf wrote

Reply to comment by frankie109 in Two Florida men charged with attempted murder after two children shot during road rage incident by DragonWriterDB

If you are convicted of shooting someone in Florida- the mandatory minimum is 25 years. And Florida doesn’t have parole.

BUT- because of the way Florida’s self defense statutes are written- there is a very good chance one or even both of them will be acquitted.

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Logistocrate t1_is9w8fw wrote

First shooter may have fucked himself though, arrest affidavit states he "was just trying to get out of the situation" and thought he had shot a tire, or the rear of the other vehicle after a water bottle was thrown at him. Those aren't the actions/statements of someone in immediate fear for their life.

Second driver has a better chance even though he returned fire at a vehicle that was fleeing the scene. Im hoping that since two kids were shot a jury will find these fucks guilty, but sadly, given what l said to open, with it being Florida you are probably correct and they could both skate to do this shit again some day.

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KenTheAlbino t1_is9wqyx wrote

Here is the wild thing- driver one doesn’t need to be in fear for his life in this situation; it is justifiable in Florida to use deadly force against someone who is committing a forcible felony against you. By the letter of the law- throwing an object from a moving vehicle could- and most likely would be considered a forcible felony.

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Logistocrate t1_is9x5x5 wrote

Holy shit...I had heard it was somewhat loose down there, but that's just fucking nuts! I wonder how many incidents like this don't make the news because no kids got hit? Not that I had any intention of visiting Florida, but now l know to avoid at all costs.

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KenTheAlbino t1_is9xn9k wrote

I practice criminal defense in a medium sized central Florida county. This is sadly not out of the ordinary nor shocking to me.

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DarkWasp14 t1_isa3b33 wrote

I would never feel safe living in a country where you can be justifiably murdered for throwing a water bottle. That’s outrageous.

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KenTheAlbino t1_isa4nef wrote

It is outrageous but I understand why the law is written the way it is in a vacuum; when thrown from a moving vehicle- anything rigid could potentially cause serious injury or death. You get smoked by a full water bottle in the head from a car doing 60 mph? You most likely are going to be severely injured. It when applied to this case it does seem absurd- but that is how the law around “throwing a deadly missile” is written.

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Logistocrate t1_is9y4lc wrote

Damn dude... yeah, you'd definitely be a SME in that area, if you think odds are they skate, then l'm entirely inclined to accept that.

Stay safe man. And thanks for doing what you do.

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Darkalice1 t1_isbz7xx wrote

It looks like the act of throwing the water bottle could be charged as a second-degree felony in Florida. The term for this act is Throwing a deadly Missile. Florida statute (Sect. 790.19)

Edit oh I see lower down you already commented this. I just wanted to point it out like a fun fact cause I love that the law calls it a missile

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KenTheAlbino t1_iscfto7 wrote

Yep you got the correct one! And then you couple that with the forcible felony definition found in 776.08 and you have your legal defense.

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Jim_from_GA t1_isbe5bo wrote

So does "Drive Your Ground" work the same way as "Stand Your Ground?"

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