The Brittany Smith Case Proves ‘Stand Your Ground’ Is for White Men Only
There’s arguably no cause more important to American conservatives than gun rights, and yet State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith persuasively argues that there are limits to such convictions, especially when it comes to women. The story of an Alabama single mother who attempted to defend herself against murder charges via the state’s Stand Your Ground law, director Ryan White’s true-crime documentary is a concise and compelling look at institutional misogyny, and the double standards endemic in both a legal system and a culture that affords only certain individuals the benefit of the doubt.
White’s last Netflix effort, 2017’s The Keepers, was a seven-part venture, whereas his latest contribution to the streaming platform (out now) runs a compact 40 minutes. Nonetheless, it’s as affecting as anything he’s done (including, most recently, the feature-length Good Night Oppy), picking up with Brittany Smith as she awaits a pretrial Stand Your Ground hearing.
In Alabama, that statute says that “the defendant does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his/her ground so long as he/she is justified in using deadly physical force and is not engaged in an illegal activity and is in a place where he/she has a right to be located.” In other words, if you’re in your home, not doing anything criminal, and are in grave danger, you can violently fight back in order to protect yourself and others.