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Is this the age of "justifiable homicide"?

A Florida judge dismissed murder charges against Greyston Garcia (above) last week. Garcia fatally stabbed a man he thought had stolen his car stereo, and claimed self-defense. WPEC

(CBS) In 2000, 164 Americans were killed in incidents deemed to be "justifiable homicide." By 2010, the number had jumped to 278, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.

In 2005, Florida became the first state to pass a so-called "stand your ground" law that expanded on when and where a citizen can use deadly force against another, to include having a "reasonable" fear for their own safety.

In the past seven years, at least 21 states have enacted similar laws, and several others are currently considering one.

These laws, many of which were funded and drafted by the National Rifle Association, often protect an individual who claims he or she killed in self-defense from being arrested. According to Pete Magrino, Florida's Fifth Circuit Assistant State Attorney in charge of homicide, the laws - which are widely opposed by law enforcement - may expose police to criminal and civil penalties if they arrest someone who is claiming self-defense.

"Since the law has changed, there has been a marked increase in what, unfortunately, under state law, is deemed to be justifiable or excusable homicide," says Pete Magrino, Florida's Fifth Circuit Assistant State Attorney in charge of homicide.

Advocates say that the laws protect people who kill in order to save themselves or others from a protracted, expensive and painful legal ordeal. For example, according to CBS Detroit, Detroit prosecutor Kym Worthy announced last week that 75-year-old Willie Joe White, a Detroit man who shot an armed 18-year-old who broke into his home, would not face charges in the teen's death.

But opponents, galvanized by the lack of an arrest for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who claims he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense, are pointing to much murkier cases, specifically cases where the killer chased down his victim, and then pleaded self-defense.

On March 27, a Florida judge dismissed a murder charge against Greyston Garcia, who chased a man he thought had stolen his car stereo for more than a block, confronted him, and when the man swung a bag of stereos at Garcia, Garcia stabbed him to death, reports the Miami Herald. Garcia didn't wait for the cops to show up. The Herald reports that he left his victim on the ground, took the stereos, and went home and slept. Later, he sold two of the stereos and hid the knife.

"Since its passage in 2005, the "stand your ground'' law has protected people who have pursued another, initiated a confrontation and then used deadly force to defend themselves," reports the Tampa Bay Times, which identified 140 cases where "stand your ground" has been invoked in the state.

The newspaper has created a database profiling 11 cases similar to the Trayvon Martin case, including one road rage incident, one shooting that escalated from a fight outside a bar, and one shooting that was apparently the culmination of a series of long-running dispute between neighbors.

Assistant State Attorney Magrino worked the latter case, where 54-year-old Oscar Delbono shot and killed his neighbor Shane Huse, 34 - no charges were filed against Delbono.

"Before this ridiculous law, fact-driven circumstances were presented in court and a jury decided" a defendant's fate, says Magrino. "Now, it doesn't even get to that point."

Complete coverage of the Trayvon Martin case on Crimesider

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