-a self-appointed doer of justice
What George Zimmerman did was an act of a vigilante. He took the law into his own hands and acted as a law enforcement officer to stop a 'preceived' threat to the community. In fact, George Zimmerman was the threat to the community. An innocent young black man is dead today because Zimmerman carried out an agenda of his own without cause. That is murder.
When Zimmerman states he defended himself, he completely truncates the event leading to the confrontation of Trayvon Martin. In his self defense stand he is the victim and Trayvon the perpetrator. Trayvon Martin is the victim. He tried to defend himself and a vigilante shot him when Trayvon's defense of his own life was stronger than Zimmerman estimated it ever could be.
Zimmerman passed judgement on Trayvon Martin. Trayvon never had a chance against the weapon presented to him. He fought valiantly and lost his life. If the law fails this innocent unarmed young black man, then it fails all of us.
A stand-your-ground law states that a person may use force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of a threat, without an obligation to retreat first. In some cases, a person may use deadly force in public areas without a duty to retreat.
A Castle Doctrine (also known as a Castle Law or a Defense of Habitation Law) is an American legal doctrine that designates a person's abode (or, in some states, any place legally occupied, such as a car or place of work) as a place in which the person has certain protections and immunities and may in certain circumstances attack an intruder without becoming liable to prosecution. Typically deadly force is considered justified, and a defense of justifiable homicide applicable, in cases "when the actor reasonably fears imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm to himself or another" The doctrine is not a defined law that can be invoked, but a set of principles which is incorporated in some form in the law of most states.
