I read it and it's pretty clear he had other choices he could have made. He's was a soldier and should have known better.
The brawl ballooned to anywhere between 30 to 40 people,
and Giles did his best to avoid getting caught in the fray. The prosecution’s own witnesses even recalled that the man who eventually ended up attacking Giles had already instigated many fights that night and was behaving in a violently erratic manner. Not only did several witnesses confirm that Giles was attempting to avoid the fights and mind his own business, but a state witness, who was also a friend of the man who attacked Giles, even alleged that she feared her violent friend may seriously injure or kill someone.
All of a sudden a large crowd rushed Giles and someone struck him to the ground, causing him to fire a shot that hit his attacker in the leg, but did not seriously injure him.
Giles was not only trained to fire a handgun by the U.S. military, but he was also trained to recognize threatening situations. He had a legal right to carry and conceal a firearm and defend himself against his aggressor, who later admitted in court that Giles did nothing to provoke the attack, following up with: “I wanted to badly hurt the next person I saw.”Despite having no criminal record or violent history, Giles was arrested, charged, and subsequently convicted to a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison. At sentencing, the judge admitted that he thought the punishment was far too severe in this case, but his hands were tied by the Florida laws.
So now Michael Giles, a U.S. military veteran, a son of parents who have both served over 40 years in the military, and an outstanding father, is now fighting for the rest of his life.
Giles completed tours in Iraq and Kuwait and fought bravely for his country, so it shouldn’t be too much to ask that you
sign a petition and fight for him now in his greatest hour of need
http://www.change.org/petitions/commute-the-25-year-mandatory-minimum-sentence-for-michael-giles
