Summary
Gerald Radford, accused of killing John “Walt” Lay in a hate crime, claims self-defense under Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
Prosecutors dispute Radford’s story, citing witness testimony of months of harassment, homophobic slurs, and a threatening video Lay shared.
The judge will rule on the stand-your-ground motion next week.
Lay shared a video claiming Radford had threatened him at the dog park the day before the shooting. In the video, Lay claimed he had an encounter with Radford at the park and that Radford told him, “You’re going to die.”
So, because this is Florida, I assume the judge will rule that this is a definite stand-your-ground case. Gotta defend yourself against catching a case of the gays.
Trace this back to the republican money that is likely backing the defense to ride this up to the Supreme Court and set legal precedence to murder LGBTQIA+ People.
What a fucked up country where if you want to murder someone, all you need to do is harass them relentlessly for days beforehand so when they eventually try to protect themselves you can shoot them and claim self defense.
Sounds like people who defend themselves with deadly force have more rights than those who defend themselves without murder. So, the lesson should be to make sure to kill, not just injure someone who is attacking you? That’s what the gun companies have been wanting anyway. More people will need to buy their guns.
