Florida man accused of hate crime in deadly shooting of gay man claims self-defense
CNN
A Florida man accused of a hate crime for killing a gay man is asking a judge to dismiss the charges, saying he acted in self-defense.
A Florida man accused of a hate crime for killing a gay man is asking a judge to dismiss the charges, saying he acted in self-defense. Gerald Radford testified on Friday that he feared for his own life when he shot John “Walt” Lay at a Tampa dog park on February 2. Local news outlets report Radford testified that Lay repeatedly hit him in the face just before the shooting. “I don’t know if I told him to stop or not, but he wasn’t stopping,” Radford testified in a hearing before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Samantha Ward. Radford is charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors are seeking additional hate-crime penalties if Radford is convicted. Defense attorneys cited Florida’s stand-your-ground law in seeking immunity from prosecution. Such laws say people have no duty to retreat before using deadly force when they believe they are defending themselves against a violent crime.
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