*In another glaring example of how the Stand Your Ground law was designed to justify white violence against Black people, a Georgia man will spend 10 years behind bars for fatally shooting a suspected white supremacist who racially harassed him.
Marc Wilson, 23, (a Black man) has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the death of 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson. Haley (a white girl) was traveling with an alleged group of racists who reportedly tried to run Wilson and his girlfriend off the road, according to the Statesboro Herald.
According to Wilson, he was driving his Ford Fusion with his then-girlfriend Emma Rigdon (who is white) on June 14, 2020, when a group of white teens in a Chevy Silverado began yelling racist slurs at them. According to Complex, Wilson said the teens also threw objects at his vehicle and tried to force them off the road.
The unruly group followed Wilson and his girlfriend for several miles. Wilson, feeling justifiably threatened by the teens, fired his “legally possessed handgun” at the truck — striking Hutcheson in the head. Her friends reportedly rushed her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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A Black man in Georgia was sentenced to 10 years for fatally shooting a 17-year-old after he says he was almost run off road by white teens in a truck yelling racial slurs.
Marc Wilson, 23, claimed self-defense under “stand your ground” laws but was given the maximum sentence. pic.twitter.com/SvhriCXSvf
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 21, 2022
Imagine what the outcome would have been had the group not been triggered by the sight of a Black man and simply minded their business and not followed Wilson’s truck for miles. *KanyeShrug*
“I fully believe Marc saved my life that night,” Rigdon reportedly said during her testimony at Wilson’s trial. “I wholly believe if Marc was not there that night and wouldn’t have done what he did, we would have both been dead…Marc is not the reason Haley’s not here.”
28 states have “stand your ground” laws, which justify use of deadly force as self-defense.
They are used unequally:
▪️ White shooters 12x more likely ruled justified for killing Black people than the reverse
▪️ White shooters 281% more likely ruled justified if victim is Black pic.twitter.com/0iZfShPR2z— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 21, 2022
Wilson’s legal team said the shooting was self-defense under the state’s “stand your ground” law. The state disagreed.
He was initially charged and ultimately acquitted of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Wilson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and received the maximum sentence for the charge.
The judge reportedly failed to inform jurors about lower charge options and laws that could have seen Wilson serve only a year in prison.
Wilson will reportedly receive credit for the two years he has already served. His lawyer intends to appeal the 10-year prison sentence.
Researchers say “stand your ground” laws are rooted in racism and used to justify white violence against Black people.
Such laws got national attention after George Zimmerman claimed self-defense after killing #TrayvonMartin, and were used to defend of #AhmaudArbery‘s murderers. pic.twitter.com/PNuEdP9oJ8
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 21, 2022
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