William T. Woodward has been accused of shooting three of his neighbors—two of them fatally. To save himself, he's citing both Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law and the "Bush Doctrine," claiming that the latter gave him the right to preemptively kill his neighbors before they killed him.
The Titusville native had a long-standing issue with neighbors Roger Picior, Bruce Timothy Blake and Gary Lee Hembree that reached its peak on Labor Day when the 44-year-old killed Hembree and Picior. His attorneys have asked a judge to throw the first-degree murder charges, alleging that the state "allows" him to defend himself should he feel legitimately threatened.
Attorneys claim that Woodward's neighbors had verbally harassed him prior to the shooting. They were allegedly heard saying "we’re going to get him, all three of us." They looped the bush doctrine into their case, saying that it justified Woodward striking first in the face of "imminent" danger.
This could get even more messy than it already is.
[via Gawker]
