Can You go to Prison for Self Defense?

Every American has the fundamental right to defend themselves. This is pretty common knowledge. But the term “self-defense” in a legal context doesn’t necessarily apply in every case of unwarranted aggression. When do you have the right to “self-defense?” When someone is badly injured or loses their life and the aggressor claims self-defense, who decides… Continue reading Can You go to Prison for Self Defense?

Every American has the fundamental right to defend themselves. This is pretty common knowledge. But the term “self-defense” in a legal context doesn’t necessarily apply in every case of unwarranted aggression.

When do you have the right to “self-defense?” When someone is badly injured or loses their life and the aggressor claims self-defense, who decides if they’re telling the truth? And what about the answer to today’s topic: Can you go to prison for self-defense? Keep reading because you’re about to find out the answers to these questions.

In today’s blog post I will cover the following topics:

• When you have the right to self-defense
• You can go to jail or prison for self-defense
• Famous cases of self-defense

When you have the right to self-defense

The vast majority of us have never dealt with unwarranted acts of violence, and most Americans don’t have any experience with the criminal justice system. So, it’s safe to say that most of us don’t really know when we have the right to self defense.

If someone is running toward you with a knife or pointing a gun, you may be justified in using proportionate force to contain the threat, deter your aggressor, and preserve your own wellbeing. The specific situation you are in plays a huge role in determining whether or not an aggressive act is self-defense.

Manslaughter and murder cases are sometimes associated with a claim of self-defense, and this can alter a criminal case. If the person accused is proven to have used reasonable self defense, then they are not criminally culpable for the homicide.

In general, you have the right to defend yourself if you believe you are in immediate danger. If there is an imminent threat – either verbal or physical – your right to self-defense is protected. The defense is also justified when verbal threats are accompanied by physical threats. But once the threat is over, your right to self defense ends, too.

According to legal experts, there’s also the right to self-defense in cases of reasonable fear. In other words, if someone acts in the same way the victim did in a situation, then the use of self-defense is acceptable. 

Reasonable fear also means that if anyone else would have acted the same way, then the use of force is considered self-defense. However, determining these circumstances can be difficult.

In cases of equivalent response, self-defense is also justified. Basically, that means that the use of self-defense in question matched the threat level faced. You can only use necessary force to stop a threat. If self-defense causes more harm than the threat would have caused, then claims of self-defense won’t fly.

In some states, you have the right to stand your ground or you have a duty to retreat. In “Stand Your Ground” states, you can claim self-defense even if you didn’t try to get out of this situation. In “Duty to Retreat” states, you must try and flee the perceived threat before using force to defend yourself. 

In many states, you also have the right to self defense in your home if someone unlawfully enters. This is known as “Castle Doctrine,” which allows you to defend your home and property with lethal force, if necessary.

You can go to jail or prison for self defense

Just because you claim self-defense, that doesn’t mean you won’t face any kind of criminal penalty. Answering the question “can you go to prison for self-defense?” is extremely difficult because every case is different.

If a person uses self-defense because they were afraid of imminent danger, they usually have to prove that threat in a court of law. Of course, this means that you’ll be charged with a crime and must argue self-defense in your case.

Sometimes, it is blatantly obvious that self-defense was used, so the prosecuting attorney won’t file charges. But as a rule, the self-defense argument will play out in court. This means, a jury will have to decide if you acted in self-defense, or if you committed assault, manslaughter, or murder.

If you harm another person – no matter the circumstance – you could end up serving time in jail or prison. It all depends on the laws in your state, the charges brought against you, the specific circumstances of the case, the prosecutor you are facing, the attorney you have defending you, and the jury.

Famous Cases of Self Defense

One of the most recent famous cases of self defense was in 2012, when George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. Ultimately, Zimmerman was acquitted by the jury. But it will forever be debated whether or not he was actually defending himself or if he committed murder. 

In 2009, John Hopkins chemistry student John Pontolillo killed an unarmed intruder with a samurai sword, but prosecutors ruled the killing “justified.” He didn’t have to face charges after telling police that he feared for his life. 

In the 1940s, there was the famous case of Lena Baker, a poor African-American woman who lived in Cuthbert, Georgia. She worked for a white man named Ernest Knight, who was abusive and often held her against her will.

On April 30, 1944, Knight locked Baker up inside the grist mill that he owned and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint. Baker was able to grab his pistol and shoot him in the head before she escaped. But, despite her claims of self-defense, she was charged with capital murder.

Baker was found guilty by an all-white, all-male jury and sentenced to death. On February 23, 1945, Lena Baker became the first and only woman in Georgia state history to be executed when she was taken to the electric chair at Reidsville State Prison.

Decades later, her family took her case to the Georgia Board of Pardon and Parole in an attempt to clear her name. In 2005, they determined that Baker acted in self defense and that the execution was unjustified. She was granted a posthumous pardon.

Should people who kill someone in self-defense go to prison? Let us know in the comments below.

Sources:

Can you go to jail for self defense?

https://jsberrylaw.com/blog/can-you-go-to-jail-for-self-defense/#:~:text=Every%20person%20has%20a%20fundamental%20right%20to%20defend%20themselves.&text=This%20means%20you%20could%20end,the%20violent%20acts%20in%20question

Will I Still Go To Jail If My Homicide Case Involved Self-Defense?

https://www.attorneys.com/homicide/will-i-still-go-to-jail-if-my-homicide-case-involved-self-defense

If You Kill Someone in Self-Defense Will You Go to Jail?

https://therickmanlawfirm.com/manslaughter-defense-attorney-in-tampa/if-you-kill-someone-in-self-defense-will-you-go-to-jail/

When Is It Self-Defense and When Is It Manslaughter?

https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/when-is-it-self-defense-and-when-is-it-manslaughter-40325

Top 10 Self Defense Killings

https://www.baltimoresun.com/bs-mtblog-2010-03-top_10_selfdefense_killings-story.html

10 Shocking Controversial Self Defense Cases

https://listverse.com/2014/02/16/10-shocking-controversial-self-defense-cases/