Title: 'Stand Your Ground' Linked To Increase In Homicides : NPR
Headings: 'Stand Your Ground' Linked To Increase In Homicides
'Stand Your Ground' Linked To Increase In Homicides
Comparing States
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Content: Until now, there has been little attempt to rigorously study these laws at a national level. Comparing States
This chart, based on data provided by Texas A&M researcher Mark Hoekstra, compares homicide rates in states that have stand your ground laws with homicide trends in states that don't have the laws. The vertical y-axis represents an adjusted homicide rate that takes into account a state's population, pre-existing crime trends and other factors. Notes
To learn more about the data that went into this graph, please see this study (PDF). Source: Mark Hoekstra, Texas A&M University
Credit: Alyson Hurt, Adam Cole & David Schultz/NPR
Hoekstra recently decided to analyze national crime statistics to see what happens in states that pass stand your ground laws. He found the laws are having a measurable effect on the homicide rate. "Our study finds that, that homicides go up by 7 to 9 percent in states that pass the laws, relative to states that didn't pass the laws over the same time period," he says. As to whether the laws reduce crime — by creating a deterrence for criminals — he says, "we find no evidence of any deterrence effect over that same time period."