Woman shoots mother, claims stand your ground
A mother of six says who she was forced to shoot he mother in self-defense is claiming immunity under the controversial stand your ground law.
Surveillance video of the 2011 incident from a Florida food mart shows Shireeka Wilson being attacked by her mother, Valerie Rushing.
“She said that she had planned to kill Shireeka,” said attorney Rhonda Peoples-Waters. “Or she at least told Shireeka that she was going to kill her.” The store’s surveillance video shows the moments leading up to the shooting and as it happens.
Rushing was shot in the neck and survived. She later requested that the state drop all charges against her daughter admitting she went to Wilson’s job to seriously harm her. The state denied that request. “The use of force was necessary because she felt her own life was threatened,” said Peoples-Waters.
Under Florida’s stand your ground law, individuals who aren’t involved in illegal activity have the right the meet force with force, even if it’s deadly if they reasonably believe their life is in danger.
Two senate committees approved a measure that would tweak the Stand Your Ground defense, making it more difficult for individuals to claim.
Civil rights advocates have argued the law wrongfully protects white citizens, and creates a danger for African Americans in he country. Wilson is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a sentence that comes with a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison.
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