# Stand Yer Ground: a drunk, scared teen looking for help might knock on your door **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956 "2013-11-15T02:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/81 "2014-08-08T13:27:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No; a vast collection of not-hidden-at-all cases where “white folks shot black folks without any justification”, and got away with it. This stands out because the guy was actually convicted; that’s unusual. Generally you can practically kill black people for sport and get away with it. Apparently we’re drawing the line at shooting teenage girls for being black. ---
**Author:** ![Srsly\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Srsly\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Srsly_Dad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/82 "2014-08-08T13:49:59Z")
He was convicted of second-degree murder [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/07/theodore-wafer-guilty-renisha-mcbride\_n\_5655163.html](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/07/theodore-wafer-guilty-renisha-mcbride_n_5655163.html) I live in the area. This has been covered extensively. The girls father said in a radio interview that he did not believe that race played a factor in the shooting. If I can find a cite or transcript I will post it. ---
**Author:** ![Srsly\_Dad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Srsly\_Dad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Srsly_Dad)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/83 "2014-08-08T13:55:01Z")
Cite for her father saying race was not a factor [http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2014/08/08/news/doc53e256bb294c3216761443.txt?viewmode=fullstory](http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2014/08/08/news/doc53e256bb294c3216761443.txt?viewmode=fullstory) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/84 "2014-08-08T14:01:51Z")
Race is a non-issue here. The fact that my daughter might be slightly stupid, wreck her car, seek help from a nearby house and end up in pieces on the owner’s front lawn is. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/85 "2014-08-08T19:58:42Z")
Even IF race is largely a non-issue here, I can’t help wondering… has any media outlet told us the racial makeup of the jury? If Wafer was convicted by a largely WHITE jury, that means more to me than if he was convicted by a mostly black jury. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/86 "2014-08-08T20:22:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Race is a non-issue here. > > The fact that my daughter might be slightly stupid, wreck her car, seek help from a nearby house and end up in pieces on the owner’s front lawn is. Yeah, what is this frame of mind under which “young person at the door in the night” is to be presumed a threat to be met with deadly force. So by now the presumption is that any “normal” person will just stay put and call for help on their mobile phone, and NOT approach people’s homes, ever? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/87 "2014-08-08T21:39:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Even IF race is largely a non-issue here, I can’t help wondering… has any media outlet told us the racial makeup of the jury? And if so, have they got the makeup correct? Because in the Zimmerman trial that didn’t happen. Anyway- [eight jurors were white and four were black.](http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2014/07/22/news/doc53ceba26c67fe499241107.txt) The author of this piece breaks down the racial composition of the jury to a point where you may feel vaguely uncomfortable, but anyway, that answers the question. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/88 "2014-08-08T22:16:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Other than the Zimmerman trial I can’t think of another example of a recent shooting that went that way… There are a few out there; presumably not that common, though. [Here](http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/18/6248412/jury-convicts-reputed-white-supremacist.html) is one first-degree murder conviction, and [another](http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/john-spooner-to-be-sentenced-for-killing-teen-neighbor-b9959131z1-216417501.html). [Here](http://www.newson6.com/story/24234704/tulsas-good-friday-murder-suspects-plead-guilty) is a guilty plea with life sentence. [Here](http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/05/30/self-described-white-supremacist-keith-luke-convicted-first-degree-murder-for-rampage/UOI1ACrfLJgGbny2QluitI/story.html) is a white defendant convicted of murdering two Latino/a victims. [Manslaughter](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/26/oklahoma-police-captain-convicted-unarmed-teenager-murder) by a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/89 "2014-08-09T01:47:08Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He plainly refers to the conviction and says it’s an exception. Other than the Zimmerman trial I can’t think of another example of a recent shooting that went that way, \ It’s pretty common in “stand your ground” cases; a white person killing a black one is much more likely to get off without punishment than the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/90 "2014-08-09T01:55:48Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s pretty common in “stand your ground” cases; a white person killing a black one is much more likely to get off without punishment than the other way around. You don’t have some stats to back that up, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/91 "2014-08-09T04:48:26Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > It’s pretty common in “stand your ground” cases; a white person killing a black one is much more likely to get off without punishment than the other way around. Any evidence or cite for this because this looks like an outlandishly stupid statement. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/92 "2014-08-09T05:03:58Z")
> [@](#): > > While white victims account for approximately one-half of all murder victims, 80% of all Capital cases involve white victims. Furthermore, as of October 2002, 12 people have been executed where the defendant was white and the murder victim black, compared with 178 black defendants executed for murders with white victims. From [here](https://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/race-and-death-penalty). And, [this](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/opinion/09dow.html?_r=0). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/93 "2014-09-03T22:04:12Z")
[Just to put a cap on this case, the shooter was sentenced to at least 17 years in prison.](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/03/wafer-sentencing-renisha-mcbride/15012615/) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/94 "2014-09-03T22:47:50Z")
Who the hell are these people whose guns go off “accidentally”? I have yet to have this happen. Nor has anyone I know. I have a number of military, LEO, and hunters among my family and friends. So that’s a good number of firearm hours. I guess he wasn’t following the “don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you’re fixin’ to shoot something right then” rule. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956/95 "2014-09-03T23:12:32Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Who the hell are these people whose guns go off “accidentally”? > > I have yet to have this happen. Nor has anyone I know. > > I have a number of military, LEO, and hunters among my family and friends. So that’s a good number of firearm hours. > > I guess he wasn’t following the “don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you’re fixin’ to shoot something right then” rule. Indeed, I have always been suspect of the claim of a gun going off “accidentally”. (The exception being a dropped gun firing.) IMHO the claim is so often used for euphemistically describing unfortunate delicate circumstances (he was “cleaning his gun” and it “went off accidentally” into his temple) that many people in other circumstances actually think they can make the claim and it will be believed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stand-yer-ground-a-drunk-scared-teen-looking-for-help-might-knock-on-your-door/673956.md?page=4)