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| Bullard |
You know it's hard out here for a black state senator from Florida. With apologies to Three 6 Mafia, the group that wrote that Oscar award winning song from the movie Hustle and Flow, I present the case of state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, who has been trying his best to get Florida Gov. Rick Scott to overturn a legal travesty.
Bullard wants clemency for Michael Giles, a military veteran who was involved in a brawl outside of nightclub in Tallahassee in 2010. He fired his gun, claiming self defense.
Unfortunately, for him, the state's Stand Your Ground law was no help. He's now serving thinking a 25 year prison term under Florida's 10-20-Life law that calls for mandatory punishment when a gun is used in a crime.
So far, the Republican governor hasn't responded to any of Bullard's request. But, now The good news is Bullard now has help. Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund manager and a big time Republican donor. has joined the fray. According to press reports, he too has asked Scott to release Giles.
Giles who is black didn't use Stand Your Ground as a legal defense, but under Florida's other controversial gun law, he now finds himself in prison. Civil rights groups and black Democrats like Bullard hope the case can be used to fix the troubling legal aspects of the two laws.
The fact that a major Republican donor is also interested shouldn't be lost on Scott. At the moment though, the only sound coming from the governor's office about the case is, well, nothing.
By Doug Lyons
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