Annals of WTF

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I mentioned a few moments ago the rather comical case of the murder defendant in Florida who is citing Stand Your Ground and the “Bush Doctrine” to have the charges against him thrown out. But what’s even more amazing, frankly, are the facts of the case.

A few hours before the shooting some neighbors holding a Labor Day barbecue had threatened to “get him.” So William T. Woodward “snuck up” on the family barbecue a bit after midnight and opened fire, killing two of the threateners and seriously injuring the other, who survived despite being shot eleven times. In other words, what we normally call cold blooded murder.

As Woodward’s lawyer explained, “I think legally that term has sort of been evolving especially given changes of our government’s definition of ‘imminent. It’s become more expansive than someone putting a gun right to your head. It’s things that could become, you know, an immediate threat.”

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