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The debate regarding controversial Stand Your Ground laws has once again hit a fever pitch following the release of The Perfect Neighbor<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Netflix documentary, which premiered in October 2025, chronicles the events leading up to the killing of Ajike \u201cAJ\u201d Owens<\/strong>. The Perfect Neighbor<\/em> uses body cam footage and audio from numerous 911 calls to document Owens\u2019 history with her neighbor Susan Lorincz<\/strong><\/a> in Ocala, Florida<\/a>. For years, Lorincz called the police on Owens and her family while Owens\u2019 children played in the yard next to Lorincz\u2019s property. (Owens was the mother of four kids: sons Isaac, Israel and Titus and daughter Afrika.)<\/p>\n In June 2023, one of Owens\u2019 sons had an altercation with Lorincz after he went to retrieve his tablet from the yard. Lorincz threw the child\u2019s device to the ground, swung a pair of roller skates at the kid\u2019s foot and tossed an umbrella at another child. Owens\u2019 son recounted the incident to his mother, who decided to confront Lorincz..<\/p>\n Owens knocked on Lorincz\u2019s door multiple times, asking to speak with her with her son by her side. Lorincz called 911, claiming that she felt threatened. After calling the authorities, Lorincz shot through her front door and hit Owens in the chest.<\/p>\n Lorincz claimed she acted in self-defense but was arrested days later on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. Lorincz pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury of her peers in August 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.<\/p>\n Keep scrolling to learn more about Stand Your Ground laws and how it\u2019s connected to The Perfect Neighbor<\/em>:<\/p>\n A Stand Your Ground law provides the right to self-defense by using deadly force when it is reasonably believed to be necessary against certain violent crimes. What makes Stand Your Ground different is that the duty to retreat, which is in most self-defense laws, is removed. (Duty to retreat is when a person attempts to avoid danger with complete safety by withdrawing from a potentially dangerous or deadly situation.)<\/p>\n Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming have adopted Stand Your Ground laws.<\/p>\n In 2005, Florida was the first state to pass a Stand Your Ground law. In addition to removing the duty of retreat, Florida\u2019s version of the legislation expanded upon the traditional castle doctrine, which allows self-defense by the use of any force necessary when a person is inside their home. In Florida\u2019s Stand Your Ground law, the right is expanded to include public spaces.<\/p>\n While cases like the 2007 Joe Horn<\/strong> shooting controversy used castle doctrine as a defense in the past, Stand Your Ground got national attention in George Zimmerman<\/strong>\u2019s 2012 trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin<\/strong>. Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a Black, unarmed teenager, in Sanford, Florida.<\/p>\n Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, but claimed he killed the child in self-defense, citing the state\u2019s Stand Your Ground law. The case went to trial and a jury found Zimmerman not guilty.<\/p>\nWhat Is the Stand Your Ground Law?<\/h2>\n
What States Have Stand Your Ground Laws?<\/h2>\n
When Did Florida Enact its Stand Your Ground Law<\/h2>\n
Has the Stand Your Ground Law Been Mentioned Before?<\/h2>\n