Valerie Bauerlein

If you want to get caught up on the story of the Scott Spivey case, start by listening to episode one of Camp Swamp Road.

The full series is linked in the show notes.

Since I started my reporting on the Scott Spivey case, I've been a part of a larger team at the Wall Street Journal who've been diving deep into standard ground laws across the country.

30 states now have these laws, which give people broader rights to use deadly force, even in public places, when they're in fear for their life.

Since these laws have been enacted, many more killings have been labeled as justifiable homicides.

We've been exploring the effect these laws have had.

What purpose do they serve?

And could there be unintended consequences?

Who gets labeled as the victim?

And who do you believe when the other side is dead?

In this episode, we have some updates on the Scott Spivey case.

But before that, we're going to Florida, the state where Stand Your Ground laws were born.

And we're focusing on Jacksonville.

Compared to other places with populations above half a million people, the Jacksonville area has the largest share of homicides classified as justifiable killings by civilians.

One Jacksonville case caught the attention of my colleagues.

In September 2023, a teenager named Killeen Fedrick was shot and killed.

Authorities eventually deemed the case a justifiable homicide, committed by a man acting in self-defense.

But unlike in the Scott Spivey case, no one actually claimed self-defense.

The police cleared the Fedrick case, even though no killer came forward at all.

I'm Valerie Borlein, and this is Camp Swamp Road, a series from The Journal.