Oklahoma's 'Stand Your Ground' law based on Florida's
BY WAYNE GREENE World Senior Writer
Friday, March 30, 2012
3/30/12 at 8:21 AM
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Oklahoma's "Stand Your Ground" law is largely a copy of the Florida statute at the center of the Trayvon Martin controversy, an analysis by the Sunlight Foundation shows.
Oklahoma's law says people "have a right to expect absolute safety within their own homes or places of business" and can use deadly force in defense of themselves and others.
State law says deadly force can be used against a person who has forced his way into a home, occupied vehicle or a place of business.
"A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony," the state law says.
A person who uses deadly force under the law "is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force," the law says.
Police can make an arrest only if "there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful."
The law's presumption of self-defense doesn't apply in some situations, including when people are trying to remove children who are in their lawful guardianship.
The Sunlight Foundation's analysis found that 10 states, including Oklahoma, essentially copied Florida's 2005 law. Oklahoma's law was passed in 2006.
The Sunlight Foundation describes itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses the power of the Internet to promote greater government openness and transparency.
Original Print Headline: 'Stand Your Ground' law based on Florida's
Wayne Greene 918-581-8308
wayne.greene@tulsaworld.com
