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Will deadly force law open door to abuses?

Authorities worry that it might. But citizens say they "deserve more credit than that."

TAMPA - It has been nearly a decade since prosecutors charged Tampa cabinetmaker Richard Zane Britt in the fatal shooting of a homeless man Britt said was about to attack him.

A jury deliberated for about an hour that August day in 1996 before acquitting Britt, then a 47-year-old father of four, of a second-degree murder charge in the death of James Curtis.

Had the deadly force bill legislators passed this week been in place, Britt probably would never have faced charges, said the attorney who defended him.

Yet the attorney, Eddie Suarez, said the deadly force bill is an unnecessary measure - fraught with uncertainty and ripe for abuse.

"Prosecutors already make the call on whether to prosecute people who say they're acting in self-defense," Suarez said. "And most of the times, the prosecution errs on the side of the citizen acting in self defense."

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe said the law has always allowed self-defense if someone felt an attacker posed a threat of death or serious injury.

"You don't have to let them stab you three or four times before you use deadly force," he said.

Suarez said he sees worrisome implications within the text of the bill, which allows citizens to "meet force with force" when threatened inside their homes and in public.

"The Britt case would be one of the handful of times where a law-abiding citizen would benefit from it," Suarez said.

"But for every Zane Britt, there will be hundreds of muddled cases where bad decisions were made. Most violent encounters do not have one person who is clearly in the right or the wrong."

The measure passed Tuesday reverses the longstanding law that a person acting in self-defense outside their home, workplace or car has a "duty to retreat" from the danger before resorting to deadly force.

It also puts into state law the decades-old "castle doctrine," a common law principle that gives people the right to use deadly force if attacked inside their residence. Under the bill, a person is justified in using deadly force when the force is "necessary to prevent death, great harm or the commission of a forcible felony."

Gov. Jeb Bush has said he will sign the bill. The law would take effect Oct. 1.

The Florida Sheriff's Association and Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, both opposed to early drafts of the legislation, have taken a neutral stance on the final version.

"We think by and large they have come away with a good product," said Buddy Jacobs, general counsel for the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

Pinellas Park police Capt. John Green, a board member of the Tampa Bay Area Chiefs of Police Association, said the group has not taken an official stance on the deadly force bill.

But some officers expressed concern that citizens eager to exercise their rights under the new law might mistake undercover or plainclothes officers for intruders and shoot them.

The measure comes as the violent crime rate in metropolitan Tampa Bay remains among the highest in the nation compared with similar sized metro areas, but continues to drop.

The bill's supporters - including the National Rifle Association - say it is a necessary self-defense measure for potential victims of those crimes.

"Criminals will know the public has the full backing of the law," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala. "This sends a message that we're going to stand behind anybody that has the guts to stand up and defend themselves."

But Florida State University criminology professor Gary Kleck said he doesn't think the new law will register much with criminals or citizens.

"I don't think criminals really have any idea about the intricacies of the law on self-defense," Kleck said wryly. "And the same folks who weren't likely to retreat before, will continue to not retreat."

Kleck is known for his study of census surveys that ask people whether they were victims of crime and what they did for self-protection. He concluded that guns are effective for self-protection, in that victims who resist their attackers with guns are less likely to be hurt or lose property.

As of February, more than 340,000 people in Florida - including 50,348 in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties - had permits to hold a concealed weapon or firearm.

The deadly force legislation does not change the requirements for carrying a concealed weapon. People without permits can still have guns in their homes or in the glove compartments of cars as long as they have not been convicted of a felony.

Tampa defense attorney James Felman said he worries the bill goes too far by encouraging people to fight back with guns or other deadly weapons.

"The law ought to take every step possible to discourage people from shooting each other," Felman said. "We ought to encourage people to walk away."

Bill critics say the measure will lead to more people carrying guns and other deadly weapons, in some modern-day version of the Wild West.

St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon said he isn't sure about that, but he is one of the few local law enforcement leaders to air publicly his concerns about the legislation.

"The law isn't age specific, it's not intent-specific," Harmon said. "Can a sixth-grader retaliate against a bully? If you're in a bar and you've been drinking, maybe you think you've been threatened, but what about your judgment in those cases?

"I just think the citizenry could misinterpret this law."

Tampa neighborhood crime watch leader Helen Harmon - no relation to Chief Harmon - said residents "deserve more credit than that."

Harmon and her husband, Jeff, live in the Seminole Heights neighborhood north of downtown Tampa. They patrol Seminole Heights on weekend nights to discourage suspected prostitutes and their customers, some of whom throw bricks and kick at their cars.

Harmon said she sees the deadly force bill as another powerful warning to those would-be attackers.

"If there's the potential that a victim can legally retaliate, they'll think twice about carjacking someone or getting violent," Helen Harmon said. "It's one added step of protection for the times we live in."

Times researcher Caryn Baird and staff writer Chris Tisch contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com