ATLANTA — Georgia could be changing how it handles cases involving claims of self-defense.
If you claim self-defense now, you have to prove it was. But under this new law, the state would have to prove it wasn’t.
In the 2020 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, three men in Brunswick claimed self-defense. But under current Georgia law, they had to prove it first.
But under a new bill that just passed out of a House committee, the burden of proof would fall on the state to prove it wasn’t.
“Has the state proven enough evidence that says that self-defense does not apply?” said Republican state Sen. Brian Strickland.
Strickland thinks it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the person claiming self-defense to prove it.
He’s written a bill that would allow them to claim immunity to prosecution, making it the responsibility of the state to show a judge why that self-defense claim is false.
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“What this does, though, is give you a chance if you have a self-defense claim to have your day in court earlier and to make sure there is enough evidence saying that self-defense claim doesn’t work, that’s for your case to go forward,” Strickland said.
But critics say that kind of law would’ve made it easier for the three men convicted of murdering Aubery to get away with it.
Some prosecutors and law enforcement officers oppose it, too.
Jeff Ploussard of Georgia Majority for Gun Safety lobbied against it.
“If enacted, 527 might have several unintended consequences, including a spike in the number of self-defense claims because claimants would no longer have the initial burden of proving self-defense,” Ploussard said.
The bill barely passed out of committee. It will now head to the full House for a vote.