Sometimes truth truly is stranger than fiction.
A Florida man tried to use the state’s “stand-your-ground” law in court yesterday on a case where it’s alleged, he… stomped a three-foot iguana to death.
“Stand-Your-Ground” has often been a political flashpoint in Florida since its adoption in 2005 – most notably in the shooting death of a 17-year-old African American man named Trayvon Martin by a 28-year-old Hispanic-American man named George Zimmerman in 2012.
As a quick refresher, “stand-your-ground” in Florida basically means that you don’t have to try and flee a dangerous situation (what most other state laws require) before resorting to the use of deadly force against another PERSON. “Person” being the key there.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on September 2, 2020 PJ Nilaja Patterson was arrested after beating, kicking, and dragging a 3-foot iguana in Lake Worth, FL.
Animal Control of Palm Beach County transported the animal to a local veterinary hospital where unfortunately it had to be euthanized.
The judge in this case denied the defense’s motion to dismiss. Attorneys Frank Vasconcelos and Carey Haughwout said that their client was trying to save the lizard from getting hit by cars. When he tried to get it to safety, a crowd agitated the animal and it bit Patterson’s right arm, according to a defense motion.
The motion goes on to then say that Patterson “kicked the iguana as far as he could”. Basically, the defense’s case boiled down to the animal was the first to engage, thus their client is not guilty.
The prosecution, however, says it has video evidence of Patterson abusing the animal when no one else was around. The state’s position is simple: “stand-your-ground” does not apply because the iguana is not a human being.
Patterson is back in court July 30.