Kill at Will? America on Trial Panorama

The American presidential election is just weeks away,

but tonight we take on a subject both candidates are keen to avoid.

That translates pretty much everywhere in the world.

Everyone knows that language.

We examine the gun laws that allowed this grandfather

to act as judge and executioner.

How the same law protected the man

who shot dead this unarmed teenager.

And I grabbed it and I just grabbed my firearm and I shot him.

They told him, "You killed him,

"you stand your ground, go home. Take a shower."

No justice! No peace!

Why the shooting of that teenager became a political issue

dividing America.

If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.

We're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

And how those laws are sponsored by corporate money,

influencing American democracy.

In some regards, democracy is increasingly, in this country,

for sale.

It's election time in America.

RECORDED VOICES: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.

People still believe in hard work,

in personal responsibility.

Mitt Romney has said, "To strengthen this nation,

"we have to begin by strengthening the family."

'I'm here to investigate the country's fascination with guns

'and the most controversial gun crime in recent history.'

'There's almost 90 guns per 100 people in America now.

'Here in Florida alone,

'almost a million people now have a concealed weapon's permit.

'In most states, those over 18 can walk into a gun shop

'and buy a firearm.'

You've got some impressive weapons here.

Most of the guns we're showing are not for hunting

-but they're for self-defence.

-OK.

This shop sells a huge arsenal of weapons,

including handguns, rifles and shotguns.

That must be one of the best guns for home protection.

Several leading gun magazines have written articles about it.

And what is that gun?

-It's a 12-gauge shotgun, pump.

-OK.

What you do is you load it,

but you don't put one in the chamber.

What happens is if somebody's breaking into your house...

GUN CLICKS

That translates pretty much everywhere in the world.

Everybody knows that language.

All these weapons can be bought by American citizens

without the need for a licence

after a simple background check.

Such easy access to firearms is killing innocent people.

In the past seven years, there have been 26 mass shootings in America.

In July, a gunman killed 12

and injured 58 people in Colorado,

during a midnight screening of the new Batman film.

In August, another gunman shot and killed six people

at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

Nearly 100,000 Americans are injured or killed by guns

every year.

All these shootings hit the headlines,

but there was one this year that caused the biggest outcry.

NEWSREADER: Today's unprecedented tragedy was shocking...

Last night thousands gathered...

Protest over the shooting dead of Trayvon Martin

moved to Miami, Florida, on Sunday...

There are even social media sites demanding justice...

The story of Trayvon Martin

starts on a rainy night in Florida.

The 17-year-old schoolboy was staying with his dad

in a gated community in Sanford.

During that time, CCTV captures Trayvon in a dark grey hoodie,

visiting a 7/11 store

to buy a can of iced tea and a packet of sweets.

On his way home,

he's spotted by 28-year-old George Zimmerman,

the Neighbourhood Watchman.

Zimmerman was carrying a concealed handgun,

something that is perfectly legal in 49 states across America.

Zimmerman called the police.

He looks black.

The dispatcher says the police are on their way,

but Zimmerman still gets out of his car.

Zimmerman's version of the events

is that he was knocked down as he challenged Martin

and was then attacked on the ground.

A neighbour hears screams and calls the police.

Just one.

Trayvon Martin, who had no criminal convictions,

died from a single shotgun to the chest,

fired at close range.

It's an unreal feeling.

You just got news that your child's life has been taken

and at that moment everything stops.

I tried to get myself together

so I can call his mom

and inform her

that your child is dead.

I was at work, in my car.

I didn't believe him.

I asked him if he'd seen the body,

and he said no.

He seen a picture.

I still didn't believe him.

Paramedics treated the gunman, Zimmerman, at the scene

for a bleeding nose

and lacerations to the back of his head.

He was handcuffed and taken away.

Robert Zimmerman was brought to this police station,

questioned, but released without charge.

The local police chief was asked to explain.

In this case,

Mr Zimmerman has made a statement of self-defence.

Until we can establish probable cause to dispute that,

we don't have the grounds to arrest him.

The decision to release him raised questions

about a controversial self-defence law

that allows a person to use deadly force

to prevent death or great bodily harm.

It's commonly known as the Stand Your Ground law.

This gated community is where George Zimmerman

shot dead Trayvon Martin.

The law that allowed him to walk free

expanded a centuries-old British legal principle

that also grants immunity from arrest and prosecution.

The shooting dead of Trayvon Martin at this very spot

inside this gated community

polarised America on issues like racism,

justice and gun control.

Sanford's Afro-American community believed justice had not been done

and that Zimmerman had profiled Martin

as a criminal because he was black and wearing a hoodie.

I think it was racially motivated.

You have a child here who did not have a gun,

who did not have drugs.

All he was doing was trying to get home,

from going to the 7/11, buying some Skittles and ice tea

for him and his little brother.

He should not have been killed.

Justice for Trayvon! Justice for Trayvon!

The Stand Your Ground defence outraged people across America,

who demanded the prosecution of George Zimmerman,

so that the circumstances of Martin's death

could be tested in court.

Trayvon could've been anyone of us.

Trayvon represents a reckless disregard for our lives

that we've seen too long.

Arrest Zimmerman now!

The reason there was outrage

is because the police let him walk out of there free.

Had they arrested Zimmerman that night,

there wouldn't have been a movement.

There wouldn't have been a cause of protest.

Zimmerman violated the law, in my opinion.

They told him, "You killed him, stand your ground,

"go home, take a shower."

Zimmerman, seen here on the left with his brother,

was vilified as the white man who shot an innocent black boy.

In fact, he has a Peruvian mother and a white father.

George isn't a racist, I'm not a racist.

We grew up in a bi-cultural family. That means two colours.

Gladys Zimmerman, his mother,

agreed to talk to me provided we did not reveal her identity,

as she fears reprisals.

The only thing that makes him a racist

is the agenda,

the political agenda

and the money agenda.

It makes me feel that there is no way to defend somebody

when you said "racist."

For a while, the case overshadowed the presidential campaign.

It was also being played out

here in Florida, the key swing state

that neither of the presidential candidates can afford to lose.

So no surprise that both candidates intervened.

If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon.

And I think they're right

to expect that all of us, as Americans,

are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves

and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

Mindful of Florida's black vote,

Republican presidential candidate, also set out his stall.

We hope that justice is done in this case, as in all cases.

But very, very tragic,

and our hearts go out to his family, his loved ones,

his friends. This shouldn't have happened.

The pressure from politicians and protesters

led to the sacking of the chief of police,

and the state prosecutor quitting the case.

Mr Zimmerman, you are appearing here for the first time

for a charge of murder in the second degree...

44 days after the shooting,

a newly appointed prosecution team discounted

the Stand Your Ground defence

and had Zimmerman arrested and charged.

I don't think without the public support

we would've gotten an arrest.

I felt as though it should've been an arrest made that night.

George Zimmerman,

seen here describing the moment he shot Trayvon,

maintains he acted in self-defence and stood his ground.

His family have no regrets that he carried a concealed weapon.

I'm glad George had a weapon on him that night.

That means that George is still with us.

I believe he would've been far more seriously injured,

disfigured or damaged in other ways

did he not have that weapon.

# I'll stand my ground

# And I won't back down... #

'The Stand Your Ground law

'has spread across nearly half the states in America.'

Texas adopted it in 2007.

Since then, so-called justifiable killings have increased

from 32 in 2006

to 48 in 2010.

At this firing range, gun owners are trained

to handle and fire a gun

to protect themselves.

If you have somebody that is threatening your life,

you're in fear for your life,

your safety, your family, OK?

At that point then you have the right to use deadly force, OK?

In one of the most notorious cases in Texas,

a grandfather did just that,

but he used a more deadly weapon in defence of property.

'The Pasadena police took me back to the scene of a double killing,

'where the Stand Your Ground law

'protected another shooter.'

-This is the road where it all happened?

-Right.

-Just beyond the white SUV.

-OK, so that...

That was Joe Horn's house,

and where the white SUV is, is the location

that was being burglarised,

as it was being witnessed by Mr Horn.

He indicated that his belief that the suspects

had actually emerged from between the two houses.

It was these two men

Joe Horn spotted coming out of his next-door neighbour's home.

My God, they're breaking into the house.

You can't imagine...

The fear that comes over you,

seeing something like that, in real life, right in front of your eyes.

He called the police

before reaching for his shot gun.

The 911 operator tried to prevent a confrontation.

The Stand Your Ground law had been introduced just a few weeks earlier.

Horn openly argued it gave him the right to use deadly force.

The individual who ran off in this direction was shot

directly in the back.

The individual who ran off on an angle this way,

he was actually shot in the left arm and in the back.

Both men were unarmed and died at the scene.

Nobody fights! Nobody fights!

In an echo of the '60s civil rights movement,

African Americans took to the streets in protest.

If it isn't about race, why are you in a white neighbourhood?!

Tell us why you're here today, please!

A grand jury ruled the shootings were justifiable homicides.

Horn was treated like a hero at a rally held by the Conservative

Tea Party movement.

I saw what I thought was the right thing to do and I did it.

It's unfortunate that it turned out the way that it did,

but that's just the way that it is. CHEERING

Joe Horn agreed to meet me in Pasadena to talk about

what happened that day.

Some have accused you of being the judge, the jury and executioner.

How do you respond to that?

If you're going to call me a judge, jury and executioner,

the only thing I'm trying to do is save my life.

I'm just a regular father, grandfather kind of guy.

You know, I didn't ask for this. You think I wanted this? No.

You think that I would rush out in there like a vigilante

and try and do something? No. No.

I'm just a man that got caught in something

and just didn't want to die, that's all.

The shift in people's mindset

since the Stand Your Ground law was introduced, is having

a measurable effect in terms of death rates.

In terms of homicide, what we show is that there is about an 8%

increase in the homicide rate caused by these laws and if we were to break

that down, that breaks down to about 600 additional homicides per year

across the 21 states that adopted these laws over the time period.

I wanted to find out how such an extreme law came about.

The story starts back in storm lashed Florida with the man

who first proposed the Stand Your Ground bill which

passed into law unopposed in 2005.

We had just gone through five hurricanes in Florida

and it had created a lot of disruption,

a lot of broken up housing

and communities that were in disarray.

A lot of looting that was occurring. Many people felt vulnerable.

The bill was co-written by the National Rifle Association.

It's the most powerful pro-gun lobby in America with

nearly 4,000,000 members and a budget of up to 300 million.

Some of that money is spent on ads like this.

In Florida, I want law-abiding citizens to know that

if they're doing the right thing, if they're doing nothing wrong,

and they come under attack, that we are going to stand with them.

I truly believe that the statute has helped make us as a safer state.

The Sunshine State became the gunshine state

and it was just the beginning.

The Stand Your Ground legislation first introduced in Florida

has been adopted by more than 20 states across America.

The driving force has been private business, lobbyists and state

legislators who behind closed doors create what they call model bills.

A key organisation pushing these model bills through state

lawmakers, where they're supported by both Republicans and Democrats,

is based here on the 11th floor

of this non-descript building in Washington.

It's the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Otherwise known as ALEC,

an umbrella group promoting a conservative pro-business agenda.

ALEC is really a corporate bill mill, largely funded by corporations.

98% of its funding comes from corporations

and sources other than legislators.

Through ALEC, corporations are given equal say

and equal vote on model changes to our laws.

# I'm just a bill Yes I'm only a bill

# And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill

-# Well it's a long, long... #

-CRASHING

This cartoon was created by critics of ALEC to expose the unhealthy

relationship between legislators, the NRA and corporations.

See, it works like this nowadays.

Once the politicians have been wined and dined, little campaign

contribution here, a good time there, the politicians, ahem, legislators,

head back to their capitals or Congress

and fast track as many of these bills as they can.

ALEC has an overall budget of 7 million

and over 2,000 members or sponsors, including some of the UK's

biggest corporations, BP, AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

All three companies told Panorama they have had

no involvement in supporting the Stand Your Ground law.

British corporations and other corporations are underwriting

ALEC's overall agenda and so while they may not be designating

money for this particular bill in Florida, or other bills,

what they're doing is making this agenda possible.

Their money helps support ALEC's overall operations,

its propaganda machine, and its efforts to get these bills

pushed in state houses across the country.

By now, you know that I get to help vigilante types kill unarmed people.

And the best part is, it's perfectly legal!

ALEC's push of these unforgiving laws has been

described as a licence to kill.

Thanks to my friends at the NRA and ALEC who write the laws and then

feed them to politicians all over the country, if you feel threatened

by a punk packing dangerous Skittles, shoot, shoot, shoot!

GUNSHOT

Critics say the power of money is accelerating the spread of bad law

and undermining American democracy.

We've reached a point in this state

and in this country where legislators and congressmen

and congresswomen aren't the ones writing their bills any more,

the corporations or these think-tanks are, and that's a scary thought.

Even scarier still, if they don't even know what's in them.

In some regards,

democracy is increasingly in this country for sale.

During my time in America, yet another shooting hit the headlines.

This time in New York, where a gunman was shot

dead by the police after killing a work colleague.

There's mounting pressure for the presidential candidates

to tackle extreme gun violence.

TV: Hurricane Centre - Isaac continues to move sort of parallel to

the North Coast of Cuba.

I travelled to the Republican Convention in storm-hit Tampa

to see if it was on the agenda.

You'd think that the Trayvon Martin case

and the Colorado massacre as well as other recent shootings

in America would firmly place gun control on the political agenda.

But it's just one issue they're not discussing here.

Some political commentators covering the presidential race know

only too well why the candidates duck the issue.

They're afraid, they're afraid to lose voters.

It's the rare politician in America, even liberal politicians,

who will vocally support increased gun control.

Usually the only ones who would do that are African-American

politicians in urban districts where violence is so high

that people know the price they pay for the easy access to guns.

The number one cause of death of black teenagers in America

is gun homicide.

Yet Barack Obama, the great wordsmith,

has been surprisingly quiet on this issue.

Alongside the gun lobby,

the Republican presidential candidate has spoken

not for more gun control, but in support of the NRA and gun owners.

We need a president who will stand up for the rights of hunters

and sportsmen and those who seek to protect their homes

and their families. President Obama has not. I will.

Under threat of a boycott of their products by opponents

of the Stand Your Ground law,

more than 40 global corporations including Walmart, Coca-Cola

and Amazon have bowed out

of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

After the Trayvon Martin shooting, the mainstream media started

paying closer attention to what ALEC was, so since that bright

light of the media started shining on ALEC, public-facing companies

have indicated that they do not want to be associated with ALEC.

The NRA and ALEC declined our request for an interview,

but ALEC told us it had no current policies relating

to Stand Your Ground. It's disbanded the task force that spread

the legislation across America.

Here at the Tallahassee State Capitol in Florida,

back where it all started, the local governor

and the United States Commission on Civil Rights are to review

the impact of the Stand Your Ground law.

My client wants to make a statement.

George Zimmerman's lawyer says the now-toxic law will not be

a part of his defence.

What I'm going to have is a self defence immunity hearing,

because we are not going to say that George Zimmerman took

the benefit of the Stand Your Ground statute

and stood his ground against Trayvon Martin without retreating.

What we're going to say, and I think what the evidence will support,

is that George Zimmerman didn't have an opportunity to retreat

because he was on the ground.

GOSPEL SINGING

Eight months since Trayvon Martin died,

at the local church in Tallahassee,

his family have come to focus the fight to overturn Stand Your Ground.

As the presidential elections approach,

there's a growing anger at a democratic

and lawmaking process over which this community feel powerless.

We cannot have law that speaks to the gunsmoke mentality.

ALL: Amen!

Your son's death cannot be in vain.

ALL: Amen!

We'll do our best to look at the Stand Your Ground law.

Because we don't need another Trayvon Martin.

ALL: Amen!

APPLAUSE

The thing we're seeking most is justice for all. Equal justice.

We cannot look at this and say that it's OK to kill

brown, black, children, and everything is going to be OK.

It's not OK. We just are hoping for justice.

The Stand Your Ground laws, Trayvon Martin case

and other recent shootings here in America will not

be on the mind of the president voted into the White House.

Guns are a part of American culture.

And American people believe in standing their ground.

But the question surrounding the use of deadly force may be

a problem the new president can no longer ignore.

George Zimmerman is free on bail and will come to trial early next year.

Whatever the outcome, it will not reduce gun ownership.

There are about 300 million legally owned firearms in the states.

-GUNSHOT

-That's nearly enough to arm every man, woman and child in America.

Next week in Gambling Nation,

we ask, is the proliferation of gambling

bringing misery to increasing numbers of problem gamblers

and are these machines a cause of crime and disorder?