What is a stand your ground law and which states have one?

Two caller cases of unarmed radical being changeable and killed successful the US person renewed treatment of alleged "stand your ground" laws.

The shootings person prompted questions astir a person's rights to support themselves and their spot successful the US - and erstwhile a idiosyncratic tin usage deadly unit successful aforesaid defence.

The reply depends connected wherever you live.

A basal your crushed instrumentality is enacted astatine authorities level and astir of these licence an idiosyncratic to support themselves with the usage of tenable force, including deadly force, to forestall decease oregon large bodily harm.

Stand your crushed laws echo the communal instrumentality "castle doctrine" principle, which does not transportation a "duty to retreat" erstwhile a idiosyncratic feels they indispensable support their home.

The work to retreat, oregon an work to measurement backmost and debar confrontation wherever possible, is removed nether astir basal your crushed laws, dubbed "shoot first" laws by critics.

The laws began to look successful states aft a measure featuring the connection "has the close to basal his oregon her ground" was introduced successful Florida successful 2005.

When defendants usage a basal your crushed instrumentality to support their actions, often the lawsuit centres connected whether oregon not their usage of unit meets the modular for "reasonable", fixed the perceived threat.

Some laws notation to "deadly force", defined arsenic the magnitude of unit which a tenable idiosyncratic would deem apt to origin death, oregon superior bodily harm, to different person, according to Cornell University.

Versions of basal your crushed laws are in effect successful astatine slightest 28 states - including Missouri wherever Ralph Yarl was changeable - and Puerto Rico.

The states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia Wyoming.

In these states, determination is nary work to retreat from an attacker.

In Missouri, a idiosyncratic does not person a work to retreat from their backstage property. An 84-year-old antheral has been charged first-degree battle and equipped transgression enactment implicit Ralph Yarl's shooting.

Eight different states - California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont and Washington - licence the usage of deadly unit successful aforesaid defence.

New York state, wherever Ms Gillis was changeable arsenic the car she was successful pulled into the incorrect driveway, does not person a basal your crushed law, and imposes a wide work to retreat.

But its authorities instrumentality besides introduces the castle doctrine successful definite circumstances. A antheral has been charged with second-degree execution implicit the Ms Gillis' death.

John Roman, manager of the Center connected Public Safety and Justice astatine NORC astatine the University of Chicago, authored a survey examining 53,019 cases involving basal your crushed laws.

He told the BBC that they "promote violence".

"People consciousness similar they person an added extortion that makes them much apt to sprout wherever they wouldn't person changeable without that perceived protection," helium said.

It besides "tragically" increases radical disparities successful the US transgression justness system, helium said.

Data from the report showed that, erstwhile the shooter is achromatic and the unfortunate is black, the achromatic shooter is 10 times much apt to person their actions deemed justified than erstwhile the shooter is achromatic and the unfortunate is white.

The survey recovered that, successful cases wherever basal your crushed laws featured, 11.4% of white-on-black homicides were ruled arsenic justified, compared to conscionable 1.2% of black-on-white homicides.

The decease of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin successful Florida successful 2012 thrust conversations astir the rule down basal your crushed into the nationalist spotlight.

Lawyers for neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman, 29, said helium acted successful self-defence with justifiable usage of deadly force. He was acquitted of each charges.

The lawsuit sparked a fierce statement astir radical profiling successful the US and spontaneous protestation marches were staged overnight successful cities specified arsenic San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC and Atlanta.

In different salient case, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old achromatic male, was fatally gunned down by 3 achromatic men portion jogging done a Georgia neighbourhood, unarmed. The men tried to warrant their actions by citing basal your crushed laws.