Lionel Richie has urged politicians in Florida to revoke a "stand-your-ground" law following the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin last month (Feb12).
The 17-year-old African-American student was wearing a hoodie when he was gunned down in Sanford by George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer.
Zimmerman has not been arrested, with his lawyer claiming the 28 year old was acting under Florida's controversial stand-your-ground law which states a person may use deadly force in self-defence when there is reasonable belief of a threat.
Richie admits the incident left him shocked, and he's calling for an end to the "ridiculous" ruling.
He tells CNN talk show host Piers Morgan, "We're bringing back the Wild West. In other words, we have enough going on right now... fear, people don't trust, and all of a sudden now you put on top of that 'stand your ground', which means you're saying that in case you feel any fear at all, you can stand your ground and shoot someone else. I mean, if you have a gun, you can justifiably shoot someone and say, 'I was feeling fear'.
"It's ridiculous. And I think what we have to do is take nine steps back and go back to human. We have to use common sense here. And I'm telling you, as a parent you've got to look at this, I wouldn't want my kid on the street anymore. What is suspicious? What classification is that? Is that racial profiling? Suspicious. What does that really mean?
"Every kid I know in the world has a hoodie. You know? I mean... we walk in Beverly Hills every day. I mean, excuse me, every kid in Beverly Hills has a hoodie. You know? Are they going to be deemed suspicious and what is that going to really mean for this world that we live (in)? And of course in Florida I think that law should be thrown out without a shadow of a doubt."