Stand your ground law explained as woman shoots her neighbour in chilling Netflix documentary
A woman who shot her neighbour is the focus of a chilling new Netflix documentary releasing tomorrow.
The Netflix doc tells the story of how a woman was shot under the guise of the ‘stand-your-ground law’ in 2023, through police bodycam footage and recordings.
The death shook the local community, leading to various protests calling for the arrest of the shooter, something which Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbour partially focuses on.
Ajike Owens was just 35 when she was shot and killed in America, leaving behind four children following the shocking incident.
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Owens had gone over to her neighbour Susan Lorincz’s house and knocked on her door when, without prompting, Lorincz shot her through the door.
Whilst in other countries this may sound like a crime and the most open-and-shut case in the world, Lorincz was partially protected at the time by something called ‘stand-your-ground laws’.
What is the stand your ground law and did it apply in the death of Ajike Owens?
Stand-your-ground is a law that applies in over half the states of the US, and declares that residents are allowed to use deadly force under incredibly specific circumstances.
These circumstances state that the person must reasonably believe that deadly force is necessary, and that they are defending themselves in a place where they are lawfully present.
These laws are an extension of laws that allow US citizens to defend their homes with deadly force if deemed necessary.
In the case of Lorincz and Owens, stand-your-ground laws led to a delay in her arrest whilst investigators tried to decide whether Lorincz had a legal right to shoot her neighbour.
The woman, who was 58 at the time, claimed that she believed that Owens had come to her house that night to kill her, something which, if true, would likely lead to stand-your-ground laws applying.
Did stand-your-ground laws apply and what is the Netflix documentary about?
A key part of stand-your-ground law is that it can’t simply be that anyone who thinks deadly force is necessary to keep themselves safe is allowed to shoot their neigbhour, or anyone, for that matter.
The most important word in this situation is that they must ‘reasonably’ believe that deadly force is necessary.
In the case of Lorincz and Owens, it was decided that this did not apply, with Lorincz arrested by local police.
*Spoiler Alert*- ultimately, she was sentence to 25 years in jail for manslaughter, with a judge saying that she was motivated not by fear, but by anger, and that at the time of shooting the gun she was safe.
The Netflix documentary retells the events of that day through bodycam footage and phone recordings accessed by freedom-of-information requests.
The film has been widely critically acclaimed, with The Perfect Neighbour currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Perfect Neighbour is available to stream on Netflix tomorrow, October 17.
Topics: Netflix, True Crime, TV and Film, Film, Documentaries, US News
Michael Slavin