Castle Doctrine on Parole vs Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Below I am going to make the case that we have a law that we desperately need to repeal…

The Martin-Zimmerman case has enacted tons of attention on Florida’s Castle Doctrine and duty to retreat laws – this despite the fact that it is irrelevant to the case.

If Martin was actively beating Zimmerman while he was on the ground, per George Zimmerman’s testimony. Zimmerman has no means to retreat.
If Martin was fighting off a George Zimmerman who was forcibly confronting him, per the Martin side of things, than Zimmerman also does not fall under the duty to retreat clause, being the aggressor.

So what is the argument against Castle Doctrine in this case?

“Zimmerman should be arrested and jailed!”

But wait, I thought America believed in “Innocent until proven guilty!” And this is the crux of the matter, do we believe in innocence until proven guilty?

If so, we need to let the process work. We might need to nudge it, but I sure as heck DO NOT want to eliminate America’s “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” foundation. And I’d wager African-Americans are even less inclined to see us disolve that fundamental American trait. Cause let’s be honest, African-Americans have throughout American history more often than most groups found themselves presumed “Guilty Before Innocent”.

Let’s just hypothetical say that Zimmerman is telling the truth. Do we really want to send a man to prison if he’s innocent?

And if he’s not innocent, and that determination is made, then Zimmerman will go to prison for manslaughter.

But let’s talk about all the hub-bub regarding repealing Florida’s Castle Doctrine. Why? How did it affect this case other than Zimmerman isn’t sitting in jail right now awaiting determination to his innocent or out $5 Grand for a bail bond.

The real net result is very minimal in regards to final justice.

CONFESSION: I did feel that initially, it looked as if the process had stopped when there were numerous questions involving this case. And that continued investigation, and a judicial review was necessary. I still believe Zimmerman may be guilty, but with all the evidence released, I have probably moved from a 60% / 40% in Martin’s favor to 60% / 40% in Zimmerman’s favor. But all that said…my opinion is meaningless, it’s the investigators and/or jury’s that will count.

***

Now let’s talk about a law that Florida absolutely needs to repeal.

Parole

The parole process releases thousands of criminals onto our streets. And please understand, these are criminals – they have not completed their sentences. They haven’t “done the time, for the crime”.

I don’t know the exact figure, but I would wager an estimate that 85% of these parolees commit crimes upon their release. Though far less are likely caught, and even less lose their parole. My family had dealings (unfortunately) with one convicted Federal felon on parole. He was habitual in both fraud and crime, and yet three law enforcement branches did nothing about it for over a year.

One study concluded 45% of parolees fail their parole. Now realize, what that means…1/2 of parolees fail. Of that, the article claims 2/3 return for technicalities. Now considering it took about a dozen crimes for the one parolee I’ve ever had to deal with. I wager he probably returned on a technicality as well.

What affect does the returning of parolees to society result in? Per this article

8% rise in aggravated (violent) assault
20% rise in robbery reports
10% rise in burglarly reports
20% rise in murder rates

So the misguided claim is that Florida’s Castle Doctrine law is reponsible for the death of an innocent youth. Okay, well parole is responsible for the death, rapes and assault of tens of thousands of innocent people. If we need to abolish a law, one that leads to the harm and death of innocents, then clearly, the practice of parole should be abolished.

Imagine the life Jaycee Dugard would have had if Phillip Garrido , a convicted kidnapper, rapist, sex offender had not been paroled – who testified in court, “that he masturbated in his car by the side of grammar schools and high schools“.

Do you think Jaycee’s life would have been better if she wasn’t locked in a basement being raped repeatedly for nearly 20 years?

Seriously, I believe the parole system is fundamentally broken. It exists because our prisons are too full. Our prisons are too full because we fill our prisons with perpetrators of so-called “victimless crimes”. Be it an individual who enjoys growing and smoking cannibas or an elderly handicapped orchid hobbyist arrested by a SWAT team. (Seriously, neither is someone I want filling up my jails. If you want to abuse your body on drugs, that’s your call. The mere choice of drug, cannibas vs alcohol/tobacco really shouldn’t be the difference of freedom or prison. 2 years of filling up a prison slot that could have been used for a violent murdering rapist. Really, which do you want locked up and kept from society.

God help those who find themselves or their loved ones harmed by a parolee. I believe at that point, the government has failed in it’s duty. Releasing violent criminals to prey upon society and repeat their crimes is negligence on the part of the government – and de facto negation of the rights we have ceded to them.

Therefore, I believe we should enact a campaign to have Florida repeal parole. Thousands more innocents are harmed in Florida by the parole process than Castle Doctrine.