Jacksonville leads the nation in justifiable homicides — that’s the conclusion of a new Wall Street Journal analysis, which found from 2021 to 2024 a larger share of homicides in Duval County were classified as “justified” compared to all other major cities and counties.

But the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office are pushing back on those findings.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

“Obviously someone has to be number one any time you have a ranking of things and how exactly they got there, I think that’s kind of the question,” criminal defense attorney Chris Carson said.

Carson explained because the Wall Street Journal’s article doesn’t include its findings in other comparable municipalities, it’s hard to draw conclusions.

“Us versus, say Orlando or Tampa or Miami or any other big city it’s hard to know without actually knowing what those numbers are. You know, again, are we a significant outlier or are we just like little bit more?” Carson said.

In a statement, JSO challenged the accuracy of the Wall Street Journal’s findings.

“This story relied on outside data which doesn’t cover all law enforcement agencies without context or disclosure,” a JSO spokesperson told Action News Jax in an emailed statement.

The State Attorney’s Office also pushed back on the article’s findings.

“Every case is dictated by the facts, the evidence, and the law. When the evidence meets the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, our prosecutors file charges,” said a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office in an emailed statement. ”Any insinuation from any party opining that filing decisions are made — or, in this case, not made — in an effort to influence crime data is unaware, uneducated, or uninformed about how our office operates.”

Based on JSO’s publicly available homicide stats, 14.4 percent of homicides were classified as “justified” between the years 2022 and 2025.

Total homicides have dropped by more than 50 percent over that time frame.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

So too has the number of justified homicides.

Meanwhile, the share of justifiable homicides has remained fairly steady year after year, peaking at 15.2 percent in 2022 and hitting a four-year low this year with only 12.5 percent of homicides classified as justifiable.

“Simply put, the Wall Street Journal’s attempt to portray Jacksonville as a city quick to justify homicides to lower crime numbers is wrong,” JSO’s spokesperson wrote.

While it’s hard to say whether Jacksonville is a true statistical outlier, Carson noted a unique change to the state’s Stand Your Ground law in 2017 could explain why, at least in Florida, more homicides are classified as justified.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

That change places the burden on prosecutors to show a killing was not justified, while other states typically put the burden on the accused to prove a killing was justified.

“My experience with that law is that many times if it’s kind of a close call, it can put the state up against it in a sense because what they have to do is prove it to a very significant burden in fact that it was not justified,” Carson said.

JSO and the State Attorney’s Office both had lengthy rebuttals to the article and the specific case highlighted in it.

You can read their full statements below:

JSO STATEMENT:

“In the Wall Street Journal’s recent article, several critical facts were omitted significantly altering the narrative presented. Unfortunately, it appears the reporters had their conclusion decided before they took time to fully understand the cases. In the primary case on which the article focused, the investigation found that the young man killed was actively committing an armed robbery at the time of the incident. He was wearing a mask, armed with a handgun and shot at the drug dealer first while attempting to rob him. The man returned fire in response.

“While surveillance shows there were witnesses, no one has come forward or cooperated. Investigators’ hearts go out to the family of the young man who died, but detectives are obligated to follow the facts and law wherever they lead.

“These details were thoroughly documented in the investigative files and made available to the reporters. JSO spent numerous hours and resources gathering details to answer the questions presented, only to have them omitted in the final story. Framing matters. Leaving out these key facts created a misleading impression and removed the legal context that explains why an arrest has not been made on the homicide. Decisions to rule a case “self-defense” or “legal homicide” are not made lightly nor without complete evidentiary review. This case the WSJ focused on is still an open case with the State Attorney’s Office. JSO investigates every homicide thoroughly. Each case is reviewed based on evidence, Florida law, and the totality of circumstances. This is not done based on emotions. JSO continues to be transparent with homicide investigations, to include listing cases ruled justifiable on the public website, http://JaxSheriff.org. This article relies heavily on commentary from individuals who were not part of the cases in question. These outside opinions are just that: opinions. The truth of the matter is that this story relied on outside data which doesn’t cover all law enforcement agencies without context or disclosure. There is a lack of context to prove the authors’ point, without acknowledging that laws differ from state to state and that police and prosecutors must act within their state’s laws. JSO continues to work hard daily alongside partners to reduce the number of all homicides.

“Simply put, the Wall Street Journal’s attempt to portray Jacksonville as a city quick to justify homicides to lower crime numbers is wrong.”

STATE ATTORNEY’S STATEMENT:

“Every case is dictated by the facts, the evidence, and the law. When the evidence meets the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, our prosecutors file charges. Any insinuation from any party opining that filing decisions are made — or, in this case, not made — in an effort to influence crime data is unaware, uneducated, or uninformed about how our office operates. This office has never shied away from prosecuting difficult cases, including those where defendants present self-defense claims. Two examples in recent weeks: the State of Florida v. Cory Hall, and the State of Florida v. Christopher Kreighbaum — the State succeeded in Stand Your Ground hearings on both, however, defense counsel for both men maintained a self-defense claim at trial. In Kreighbaum, the jury found him guilty of murder; in Hall, the jury found him not guilty. In the 2023 incident the Wall Street Journal focused on, the homicide case remains open at the State level. Like most large, populated jurisdictions, homicides fluctuate on a year-to-year basis for myriad reasons, most of which fall outside the scope of a prosecutor’s office. Our office has a mission to reduce crime through the prosecution of violent offenders.”

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.