What Is the Stand Your Ground Law? Its Connection to ‘The Perfect Neighbor'

The debate regarding controversial Stand Your Ground laws has once again hit a fever pitch following the release of The Perfect Neighbor.

The Netflix documentary, which premiered in October 2025, chronicles the events leading up to the killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens. The Perfect Neighbor uses body cam footage and audio from numerous 911 calls to document Owens’ history with her neighbor Susan Lorincz in Ocala, Florida. For years, Lorincz called the police on Owens and her family while Owens’ children played in the yard next to Lorincz’s property. (Owens was the mother of four kids: sons Isaac, Israel and Titus and daughter Afrika.)

In June 2023, one of Owens’ sons had an altercation with Lorincz after he went to retrieve his tablet from the yard. Lorincz threw the child’s device to the ground, swung a pair of roller skates at the kid’s foot and tossed an umbrella at another child. Owens’ son recounted the incident to his mother, who decided to confront Lorincz..

Owens knocked on Lorincz’s door multiple times, asking to speak with her with her son by her side. Lorincz called 911, claiming that she felt threatened. After calling the authorities, Lorincz shot through her front door and hit Owens in the chest.

Lorincz claimed she acted in self-defense but was arrested days later on charges of manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault. Lorincz pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty of manslaughter by a jury of her peers in August 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Keep scrolling to learn more about Stand Your Ground laws and how it’s connected to The Perfect Neighbor:

What Is the Stand Your Ground Law?

A Stand Your Ground law provides the right to self-defense by using deadly force when it is reasonably believed to be necessary against certain violent crimes. What makes Stand Your Ground different is that the duty to retreat, which is in most self-defense laws, is removed. (Duty to retreat is when a person attempts to avoid danger with complete safety by withdrawing from a potentially dangerous or deadly situation.)

What States Have Stand Your Ground Laws?

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming have adopted Stand Your Ground laws.

When Did Florida Enact its Stand Your Ground Law

In 2005, Florida was the first state to pass a Stand Your Ground law. In addition to removing the duty of retreat, Florida’s version of the legislation expanded upon the traditional castle doctrine, which allows self-defense by the use of any force necessary when a person is inside their home. In Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, the right is expanded to include public spaces.

Has the Stand Your Ground Law Been Mentioned Before?

While cases like the 2007 Joe Horn shooting controversy used castle doctrine as a defense in the past, Stand Your Ground got national attention in George Zimmerman’s 2012 trial for the murder of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a Black, unarmed teenager, in Sanford, Florida.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, but claimed he killed the child in self-defense, citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law. The case went to trial and a jury found Zimmerman not guilty.

In 2020, Georgia’s Stand Your Ground law gained national attention after Gregory and Travis McMichael shot and killed Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in a neighborhood and as William “Roddie” Bryan filmed the confrontation. Police initially determined that the men had acted legally, but after video of the murder went viral, the men were arrested and charged with felony murder.

A jury convicted Gregory, Travis and Bryan of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment. Travis was also found guilty of malice murder. Gregory and Travis were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus 20 years, while Bryan was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

The Stand Your Ground Law’s Connection to ‘The Perfect Neighbor’

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law gained national attention again following the murder of Owens. Lorincz claimed that she acted in self-defense when she shot Owens through her door. After an investigation, no evidence was found to substantiate Lorincz’s claims that Owens tried to break into her home or posed any imminent threat.