DEADLY
FORCE

• In order for you to claim that you were reasonably in fear for your life (or the lives of others you had a right to protect), three conditions must be met:
  1. Ability: The assailant(s) must have the ability to inflict death or grave bodily injury.
     • This could be by means of a weapon, such as a knife, gun or club. This could also be by means of a weapon such as a brick, a scissors, a two-by-four, a bottle, etc.
     • This could be by means of a disparity of force, such as male versus female, much larger body size, special skills like being a professional fighter or by larger numbers (a group attack).
  2. Opportunity: The assailant(s) must have the opportunity to employ the ability.
     • A group threatening to beat the tar out of you, which is behind a ten-foot-high chain link fence, lacks the opportunity, even though they have the ability.
     • A man with a baseball bat yelling threats at you from across a busy four-lane street lacks the opportunity, even though he has the ability. When he starts crossing the street, the dynamic starts to change.
     • An average person 21 feet (seven yards) from you can cover that distance in less than two seconds, so a person threatening you with a knife, say eight yards away, with no obstacles between you, has both the ability and the opportunity.
  3. Jeopardy: The assailant must be behaving in such a manner that a reasonable person, knowing what you know at the time, would conclude that he is placing you in jeopardy. In some jurisdictions this is also known as intent.
     • A friend who takes out the latest addition to his knife collection to show to you has both ability and opportunity. What is lacking is the reasonable perception that he is placing you in jeopardy by showing you his latest acquisition.
     • As in the question of how far away is an assailant with a contact weapon still a threat, prior knowledge is a key element in judging your reasonableness. If you try to cite knowledge you didn't acquire until after the incident, it will not be allowed in court. Documented training can make the difference.
• Ability, opportunity and jeopardy form a tripod. If all three are not present simultaneously, you cannot prove justifiable use of force. However, there's more ...

The Mantle of Innocence

• I'm sure you've seen at least one Western movie where the evil gunfighter forces the innocent rancher to go for his gun. When the rancher is beaten to the draw, all the bad guy's buddies swear to the sheriff that the rancher went for his gun first.
• Hollywood script writers notwithstanding, the law generally will not tolerate this kind of behavior. If you go armed in society and seek arguments and fights, you may find a judge or jury ruling that you gave up your mantle of innocence. If this is their finding, you will not be judged to have acted in self-defense.
• Robert Heinlein's contention that an armed society is a polite society, like most truths, has two edges. If you choose to go armed, you'd better be polite, as well.

The Innocence of Others

• While the law generally allows you to use deadly force in defense of other innocent, human life, some jurisdictions may actually define whom you have a right to protect. Again, I am not an attorney, so get some legal advice.
• From a practical standpoint, undercover police officers have been known to have been mistaken for criminals, not only by their "prey," but also by good Samaritans. On more than one occasion, a good Samaritan, armed without the benefit of a license, has gotten into some deep trouble. In addition to legal issues, you may also face difficult ethical and moral questions about coming to the rescue of apparent victims who are not known to you.

A Little Knowledge ...

1. Obtain documented training which includes some reliable material on judicious use of deadly force. If this is not readily available to you, purchase and read Massad Ayoob's book Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self Defense or John Farnam's The Farnam Method of Defensive Handgunning, Second Edition, while you figure out how to obtain that training.
2. Study the specifics of the law in the jurisdictions where you live, work and travel. A good starting point is Andrew Branca's book The Law of Self-Defense: The Indispensable Guide for the Armed Citizen. County law libraries will generally assist you if you ask for help. Consult an attorney to help you interpret what you read. As with many things in life, the law is not always exactly what it appears on the surface.
3. If face-to-face training does not fit into your foreseeable future, consider purchasing some appropriate books on the topic and saving the dated receipts for the purchase. Then make some notes on your readings as evidence that you actually read the books. If you choose to rely on web pages like this, print them out and, again, makes some dated notes on what you've read. If you consult an attorney, you may also want to make some notes of the consultation.
4. The last step you can take to increase the evidentiary value of your notes is to photocopy them, then mail yourself the originals, by registered mail. When you receive the envelope keep it sealed and store it in a secure place.