Ocala woman who killed husband protected under ‘stand your ground,' officials say

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County woman who shot and killed her abusive husband in March will not be prosecuted because of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law,” officials said.

Michelle Dinkins-Penland shot her husband, Mark Penland, on March 22 while he was attacking her 14-year-old son, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators discovered that Penland had a history of violence against the boy and at one point threatened his life and broke several of the boy’s ribs.

On the night of the shooting, the boy had invited a friend to the family’s Southeast 16th Terrace home in Ocala for a birthday celebration, deputies said.

Later in the evening, Penland attacked the boy and told Dinkins-Penland that he was going to kill her son, investigators said.

Dinkins-Penland, who had a valid Florida concealed weapons permit and .38-caliber revolver, shot Penland twice, the sheriff’s office said.

The 14-year-old called 911, and Dinkins-Penland tried to help Penland, but he died the next day at the hospital.

Prosecutors decided that Dinkins-Penland did not break the law by using deadly force, “based on a reasonable fear that her life, her mother’s life and certainly her son’s life were in danger.”

Officials forwarded information about the case to the Florida Department of Children and Families to ensure the 14-year-old’s future protection.

Cox Media Group