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You are seriously misstating the legal standard for use of deadly force. In order for someone to lawfully use deadly force in self defense, they have to possess
by wl 11y ago
You are seriously misstating the legal standard for use of deadly force. In order for someone to lawfully use deadly force in self defense, they have to possess a reasonable belief that there is an imminent threat of death or gross bodily injury. As in, someone is already using deadly force or is threatening to. In certain circumstances and jurisdictions, there are additional requirements such as the duty to retreat. And there are rules like the fleeing felon rule that only apply in rare circumstances. But in no American jurisdiction is it sufficient justification to use deadly force merely because someone feels like a life is threatened.
- bitwize 11y agoDifferent rules apply to cops than to you.
- aswanson 11y agoImminent and reasonable reduce to feeling rather easily. As an exercise, could you cite cases where reasonable and imminent were found to not be justified in case law?
- wl 11y agoLook at any murder trial where self-defense is raised and fails. Blackstone wrote about this even. It's very old, well settled law. If you must have a somewhat recent, high profile example, you may be interested in this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jordan_Davis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Jordan_Davis
- aswanson 11y agoGive me the stats on where lethal force is used on an unarmed citizen and a wrongful death/manslaughter conviction is levied against an officer.