'Stand your ground' defense fails in Texas case. Lessons for George Zimmerman?

Statistics indicate, however, that the stand-your-ground defense is generally effective. In Florida, about 70 percent of stand-your-ground defenses – which have grown in number annually since Florida passed the first version of the law in 2005 – are successful. Nationally, homicides are twice as likely to be ruled justifiable in stand-your-ground states.

While the Florida law, for instance, wasn’t intended to protect criminals in the commission of a crime, it has protected defendants involved in gang shootings and drug deals gone bad, as well as defendants who shot and killed someone retreating from an altercation.

Thanks in part to its broad definition of "stand your ground," as well as the national attention on the Trayvon Martin case, Florida has remained in the center of the stand-your-ground debate. Two state task forces are looking into whether the law needs to be changed. Moreover, the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that juries have to weigh immunity decisions on the preponderance of evidence, not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Florida courts continue to debate how the law should be applied when someone is shot in retreat, or if the stand-your-ground claimant has an illegal gun.

Texas may join states like Florida and Michigan in reviewing its stand-your-ground law, especially as Trayvon's parents this week released a video pleading with state residents to ask legislators to take another look at the laws. But aside from the potential for minor tweaks, legal experts say, stand-your-ground laws are likely to withstand scrutiny and are unlikely to be repealed.

Legal verdicts like the one Wednesday in Texas, however, could further clarify the limits of stand your ground. 

On the 22-minute video he made as he confronted his neighbors over the noise of a party, Rodriguez tells a police dispatcher: "It's about to get out of hand sir, please help me. Please help me, my life is in danger now.... Now, I'm standing my ground here. Now, these people are going to try and kill me."

Rodriguez says he didn’t pull out his gun until Mr. Danaher approached him in a threatening way. Jurors, however, ultimately agreed with the prosecutors’ description of Rodriguez as an out of control neighborhood bully with a gun. 

"He felt like he had ultimate control, control to determine who lives and who dies," said Donna Logan, Harris County assistant district attorney.

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