"I think the town was split on the use of deadly force, " Alaniz said about the case.
He argued that Gonzalez had the right to use deadly force because the boys had broken into his home.
The law allows people to use deadly force when they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
Other reports say that Obama authorized the use of deadly force only if Phillips' life was in imminent danger.
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It was revised in 2007 to expand the right to use deadly force.
Florida law allows the use of deadly force anywhere a person feels a reasonable fear of death or serious injury.
It raised questions about how far someone can go -- and what it means to defend yourself using deadly force.
"I think the law is basically an invitation to use deadly force under basically any circumstance, " he told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Monday.
In states with more restrictive self defense rules, deadly force is only an option if someone subjected to an attack can't escape with complete safety.
Under Wisconsin's "castle doctrine, " someone who uses deadly force against an unlawful intruder to their home, business or vehicle is presumed to have acted reasonably.
Florida authorizes deadly force "if the danger could be avoided only" by using it, but does not require a threatened person to try first to flee.
Martin's shooting set off a national outcry over race issues and stand-your-ground laws, which allow people to use deadly force if their lives are in danger.
Clinton later authorized the CIA to use deadly force against bin Laden and a cruise missile to strike his camp in Afghanistan, but lamely, to no avail.
Zimmerman recently waived his right to a pretrial hearing under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force when threatened regardless of where they are.
The Transportation Security Administration said a "small percentage" of the undercover agents - authorized to use deadly force to thwart terrorist incidents - had been placed on administrative leave.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly defended the officers in both instances, saying they acted within guidelines developed by the department on the use of deadly force.
Known as Stand Your Ground, the 2005 Florida law eliminated the requirement that individuals retreat in the face of an attack and allowed them to respond with deadly force if necessary.
Fulton said he wants to see changes in Florida's "stand your ground" laws, which allow people to use deadly force if they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
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Under the law, you can use deadly force if you reasonably believe it immediately necessary to protect yourself and prevent certain violent crimes, such as murder, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault or robbery.
I've prosecuted a woman who shot her husband and killed him because he slapped her, and we argued that was not deadly force and she was convicted and sent to state prison.
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As more facts in the case emerged, the conversation shifted to the controversy surrounding Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which allows for the use of deadly force in cases of self-defense.
This, as it turns out, is actually a really important function but one that does not mean much unless it is understood that behind that presence stands the lawful use of deadly force.
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The law allows people to use deadly force away from their homes -- where such force has long been allowed -- if they have reasonable fear an assailant could seriously harm them or someone else.
Martin's death has triggered a nationwide debate about race in America and Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force anywhere they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
For example, in both criminal and civil law we allow the occupants of a residence to stand their ground against an intruder and defend the home up to and including the use of deadly force.
And yet, even so, once the struggle began and the two men are wrestling on the ground, if Zimmerman felt his life was threatened, I can't condemn his decision to use deadly force to defend himself.
As their reason for not immediately arresting Zimmerman, police cited Florida's "stand your ground" law, which states that people who feel threatened don't have to retreat from danger and can use deadly force to protect themselves.
This means arguing at trial, and on appeal, that someone like Zimmerman can be brought to justice notwithstanding Florida's strong self defense law, or that the law should be construed less favorably to those who resort to deadly force.
The Martin case has sparked intense discussions about race, gun control and the state's "stand your ground" law, which make it legal for people to use deadly force when they feel a reasonable threat of death or serious injury.
Sanford police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, saying there was no evidence to contradict his claim of self-defense under Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force anywhere they feel a reasonable threat of serious injury or death.
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