OCALA, Fla. — The family of Ajike Owens is calling on the state to change the Stand Your Ground law, and they’ve launched a fund to help with their fight.
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It comes just two days after Susan Lorincz was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her death.
Lorincz shot Owens in June of 2023 in their Marion County neighborhood.
Initially, Lorincz was not arrested because of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.
Watch: Ocala woman who shot and killed neighbor sentenced to 25 years
Owens’ mother told Channel 9 she is preparing a fight for change in that law, calling it a free pass to shoot and kill without regard for human life.
AJ, as her family and friends called her, was a 35-year-old mother of four young children, ages 3, 7, 9, and 12, when she was shot and killed steps away from her home in Ocala.
Lorincz told police she was in fear for her life – and under the state’s Stand Your Ground law – she had a right to protect herself.
Watch: Prosecutors use Susan Lorincz’s own words against her, rest case
It sparked yet another debate about this state’s controversial law.
AJ’s family held a news conference on Wednesday to explain how a newly created fund, “Standing in the Gap,” will help with efforts to fight for change in the state’s Stand Your Ground law.
However, the money raised will go beyond that, providing assistance to families who lose loved ones to racial violence.
Lorincz’s Stand Your Ground defense was dismissed when police determined Lorincz shot Owens while inside of her home, firing through a locked metal door after she called 911.
The two had an ongoing feud that stemmed, in part, from what neighbors described as a history of Lorincz harassing Owens’ children and using racial slurs.
The family attorney said this is just the latest example of why the law needs to be reviewed.
Owens’ family will have their first fundraising event for the fund during Art Basil in Miami next week.
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