Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis shootings may renew debate about 'stand your ground' laws
Correction: Andrew Lester is 84 years old. An earlier version of this article contained incorrect information.
An 84-year-old white man was charged with armed assault Monday days after shooting a Black teenager who family members said went to the wrong house.
Two days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in Kansas City, Missouri, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed by homeowner in upstate New York while in a car that mistakenly turned into the wrong driveway.
The shootings by homeowners probably will renew debates about the nation's patchwork of "stand your ground" laws, which govern the use of deadly force in self-defense, said Christopher Slobogin, law professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the school’s Criminal Justice Program. Slobogin said self-defense laws have proliferated in recent years, and opponents fear they could lead people to overreact and think they are legally justified.
"The concern is that the 'stand your ground' language means we're back in Wild West days where people can respond to confrontations with deadly force, even if deadly force is disproportionate to the threat, and that's not the law in any state," Slobogin said.
What are 'stand your ground' laws and the 'castle doctrine'?
The "castle doctrine" is a common-law principle rooted in English law that says people have the right to use reasonable force to protect themselves against an intruder in their home, Slobogin said. Until recently in most jurisdictions, people outside their homes had to try to retreat from a confrontation before using force, Slobogin said.
Beginning in Florida in 2005, laws related to the Castle Doctrine were passed that granted the right to "stand your ground" outside your home, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 28 states, including Missouri, and Puerto Rico have laws removing the "duty to retreat" in public spaces.
"However, you still have to be reasonable in your response to the attacker," Slobogin said.
Do self-defense laws apply to the Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis shootings?
Andrew Lester, who has been charged with assault and armed criminal action in Yarl's shooting, told police he picked up his gun and went to the door after hearing his doorbell, according to police records. He said he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought he was breaking in.
Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson determined the shooting was not in self defense and said at a news conference that there was a “racial component" to the incident. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated.
Kevin Monahan, 65, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Gillis' shooting death. Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said at a news conference Monday that there was "no reason" for him to feel threatened by anyone in the vehicle.
Missouri has a stand-your-ground law, but New York does not, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Slobogin said the key questions are whether the shootings took place inside or outside the shooter's home – which will determine if the Castle Doctrine applies – and whether the use of force is considered reasonable, which will ultimately be determined by a jury.
'Make Murder Legal Act': Bill changing Missouri self-defense law dies amid prosecutors' opposition
Self-defense laws spark controversy
Self-defense claims and stand-your-ground laws have been at the core of several controversial cases, including the killings of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, as well as the trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and Daniel Perry over the shooting deaths of protesters in 2020.
Research from the Urban Institute found there are substantial racial disparities in rulings of justifiable homicide.
"We also see that the effects of these laws are greatest on individuals who are Black in terms of victimization," said Daniel Webster, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy.
Proponents argue that stand-your-ground laws allow gun owners to keep themselves safe, but data shows the laws not only amplify existing racial and gender inequities, but they also increase rates of firearm injury and death, according to Caroline Light, author of “Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense." Stand-your-ground laws were associated with an 8% to 11% national increase in monthly homicide rates, according to a 2022 study published in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal.
"The key thing here is that in this uneven landscape, where the laws are all kind of different state-by-state, we can see how the circulation of firearms and the expansion of justifiable homicide creates a more precarious landscape for everybody," Light said. "It makes us all less safe, and it raises the stakes and the risks of making an innocent mistake like it sounds like Kaylin Gillis did driving into the wrong driveway or Ralph Yarl did ringing the wrong doorbell."
Dig deeper
Self-defense or deadly overreaction?: In a nation awash with guns and racial division, it's often hard to tell
'Make Murder Legal Act': Bill changing Missouri self-defense law dies amid prosecutors' opposition
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis shootings: Do 'Stand Your Ground' laws apply?
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