is there a law on defense?

[mikey0086]

what if any, is the law or parameters of being in the right of shooting a hostel intruder or assailant on the street?
don't get me wrong, i'm not going looking for a reason to shoot anybody, i just want to make sure i dont end up in jail if by chance in the future i have to go that route

[sgser]

what if any, is the law or parameters of being in the right of shooting a hostel intruder or assailant on the street?
don't get me wrong, i'm not going looking for a reason to shoot anybody, i just want to make sure i dont end up in jail if by chance in the future i have to go that route

Great question and I hope you get plain English answers rather than opinions and a printout of the applicable statutes.

One answer might just be, "you may use deadly force to protect yourself if you feel your life may be endangered."

I'm looking for straightforward answers myself.

[normanvin]

Great question and I hope you get plain English answers rather than opinions and a printout of the applicable statutes.

One answer might just be, "you may use deadly force to protect yourself if you feel your life may be endangered."

I'm looking for straightforward answers myself.

I don't think it does not gets much planer than that.

[Exbiker]

Unless it has changed there is no law in Pa that let`s you stand your ground. If you have the opportunity to retreat or flee and that doesn`t leave somebody else vulnerable you have an obligation to do so.

[normanvin]

Unless it has changed there is no law in Pa that let`s you stand your ground. If you have the opportunity to retreat or flee and that doesn`t leave somebody else vulnerable you have an obligation to do so.

You know what You are right.

[soup]

AFAIK you do not have to retreat/flee while in your home, correct?

[cadence2arms]

AFAIK you do not have to retreat/flee while in your home, correct?

The way I understand you don't have to try to flee in your home or permanent place of business.

[adymond]

Don't know where this came from, but this is the way I see it "It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by six." If I feel in mortal danger I am going to shoot. If I am feeling that way I sure as hell am not going to be comfortable with turning my back on the person or persons responsible to flee and backing up slowly only works on animals. Just my opinion. I am not a lawyer so don't take my response as anything other than opinion.

[TonyF]

what if any, is the law or parameters of being in the right of shooting a hostel intruder or assailant on the street?
don't get me wrong, i'm not going looking for a reason to shoot anybody, i just want to make sure i dont end up in jail if by chance in the future i have to go that route

Lethal force can only be used if you or another is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death.

Fairly simple, huh? Unfortunately though it appears straightforward on the surface, it isn't.

The fly in the ointment is "when" to make the decision that the criteria of imminent death or serious bodily harm is satisfied.

Lethal force encounters are fluid and dynamic. If the threat tries to de-escalate and you proceed to apply deadly force, you just became the aggressor and your assailant just became the victim. The point being that circumstances can change in the blink of an eye.

And there probably will be eye and ear witnesses, some of whom may only have taken notice after "the tables have turned". IOW, some witnesses may only have seen the threat try to de-escalate and you continuing to press on with deadly force.

The standard is "what a reasonable person would have done".

I don't know that an unequivocal answer is possible because again, it depends on the circumstances. The best advice is to retain an attorney and pay him to research the laws governing deadly force and educate you.

[sgser]

So, there you have it: You still don’t know what to do.

The problem, as I see it is, if accosted, you have no idea of the ultimate intent of your attacker. All too often we hear of people being severely beaten, stabbed or shot even if you go along with the demands being made. (There are all kinds of YouTube videos around showing clerks being shot after handing over the money) It almost seems as though they just want to kill you for no reason at all.

Being in “imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death” sounds like good advice but how can you know? YOU CAN”T. Even in your abode it is questionable what you can do. “What if” someone enters your home, tells you that you are not in danger if you just stay out of the way, takes what he wants and leaves.

Do you engage that person? Can you hold him at gun point until the police arrive? In one thread, in this forum, a scrap yard owner did just that only to be told, by them, that he couldn’t shoot them so they left.


TonyF, above, lays it out in all its glory. But, when decisions have to be made in a split second, who has time to review all the ramifications?

There is only one answer to all of this: Change the laws for self defense. If someone attacks you, for no justifiable reason, you should have the right to defend yourself with no recriminations, even if it means using deadly force. Why should the law provide any layer of protection for an attacker?

Why, you might ask, does it?