Quentin Wyche Will Face Trial for Murder of FIU Football Player, Judge Throws Out Self Defense Claim

Kendall Berry

​Quentin Wyche stands accused of murdering FIU football running back Kendall Berry after an on-campus brawl in 2010, but his lawyer had hoped to get him off the hook without even facing trial. Wyche's attorneys cited the controversial 2005 "Stand Your Ground" law signed by former Gov. Jeb Bush that let defendants who killed someone in self defense off. The judge in the case however has thrown out Wyche's request, and the former FIU student will now face a trial.

Several witnesses for the defense claimed that Berry, a popular 22-year-old member of the Golden Panthers, initiated the March 2010 fight. They claimed that Berry, surrounded by several friends, chased Wyche down. His lawyers claimed that Wyche ultimately fatally stabbed Berry with a pair of scissors in self defense.

Earlier in the day Wyche had gotten into an argument with Berry's girlfriend, and reportedly threw a cookie at her face.

The "Stand Your Ground" law says that anyone who is attacked in a place where he or she has reason to be is legally allowed to "meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony." Anyone who proves they meet the requirements is immune from prosecution. According to The Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Judge Milton Hirsch decided that Wyche's defense team failed to show that Wyche has enough reason to be fearful for his life, and that the Stand Your Ground law does not apply.