If the “Stand Your Ground” portion of the law was to be applied to the Zimmerman Case, even if George had an ability to retreat, he would not be required to do so before utilizing deadly force.
If???? O'Mara is separating SYG from self defense.
In this particular case, George did not have an ability to retreat because he was on the ground with Trayvon Martin mounting him, striking blows, therefore the “Stand Your Ground” “benefit” given by the statute simply does not apply to the facts of George’s case: it is traditional self-defense.
O'Mara is framing this as one or the other. As I see it, it is both -- both SYG and traditional self defense. He did not have the duty to retreat and he did not have the ability to retreat.
I get the feeling that O'Mara is going soft on the facts and the law here and willing to grant the prosecution that George might have instigated his own thugging -- and that's why he's talking self defense not SYG.
IOW, he is saying that "stand your ground" is limited to the phrase "and has no duty to retreat." The remaining statutory language is sufficient to find immunity, in this case. Either way, Zimmerman's case presents the exercise of lawful force in self-defense.
Said another way, even if the law DID include a duty to retreat, Zimmerman would prevail. Keep in mind that "duty to retreat" doesn't attach at every moment. It exists only when confronted with force. If the confrontation with force renders a person unable to retreat, the law will not hold them to a duty to retreat. The law will not require a person to do what the person cannot do. The clock starts with the first blow, not with Zimmerman getting out of his truck.
And I say this because O’Mara is very careful about his choice of words and they should not be taken lightly.
He is signalling his willingness to accept a deal from the prosecution that may play out in the courtroom.
He is willing to consent that his client was equally to blame for the initial assault by not retreating back to his truck. But later when he wanted to retreat, he was unable to since Martin would not let up.
This would grant his client an acquittal under the statute but not immunity from future civil action. And future civil action is what this whole thing is all about.