From Marlei Martinez
(WESH)
OCALA, Fla. — With a mother of four now dead and her accused killer behind bars, Florida’s “stand your ground” law is under the microscope once again.
“I want to make this clear,” said Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods. “That moment that we had was unjustified. But we had to make sure that the steps and the loopholes in regards to the use of the ‘stand your ground’ was eliminated.”
Woods said it took time to arrest Susan Lorincz because she claimed self-defense after she allegedly shot through her door, killing Ajike “A.J.” Owens.
“Because of what she said, it triggered the possibility of stand your ground. And stand your ground law, for us in the state of Florida, is clear that we cannot make the arrest. And the burden to disprove or prove the use of the deadly force, justified or not justified, is on law enforcement,” said Woods. “So that’s what held it up.”
Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump represents the victim’s family.
“Even though we are bothered that it took four days, we understand because of archaic laws like stand your ground, it can complicate matters,” he said.
Crump is calling for stand your ground laws to be eradicated.
“It’s so important because we can’t have this message being sent that it’s OK to shoot Black people in America for knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell. It’s not OK,” he said.
Former state senator and Rep. David Simmons disagrees and says that’s a “complete misunderstanding of stand your ground.” He is the main author of Florida’s stand your ground law, which has been on the books since 2005.
“The suggestion to eradicate laws like stand your ground is something that would lead to lawlessness in and of itself,” Simmons said. “I believe that this helps African Americans, it helps whites, it helps any individual who is attacked.”
In Simmons’ view, this is not a stand your ground case, but instead a “castle doctrine” case. Castle doctrine allows people to reasonably defend themselves in their own homes. Instead, Simmons thinks the focus should be on something else.
“When you’re shooting through a door, someone’s got to ask: What legitimate fear do you have of an imminent, imminent bodily, great bodily harm or death?” he said.
Simmons is a longtime attorney. He said another important element of the case is what led up to the shooting.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when Lorincz became angry that Owens’ children were playing in a field close to her home. She then threw a skate at Owens’ 10-year-old son, striking him on the foot. The boy and his 12-year-old brother went to Lorincz’s door, and she opened and swung at them with an umbrella, according to the sheriff.
The children went and told their mother, who then approached Lorincz’s door, knocking multiple times and demanding Lorincz come outside. Officials say that’s when Lorincz fired one shot through the door, striking Owens in her upper chest.
She died with her 10-year-old son standing next to her.
According to investigations, Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense and that Owens had been trying to break down her door and that Owens had “come after her in the past.”
“Did she provoke the use of violence?” posed Simmons. “A person is not entitled to the defense of self-defense if they provoke the use of violence.”
