home defence

[richard pries]

if a person breaks into your house and hurts a person can you use deadly force if they are running away and not facing you. correction DEFENSE

[leftyo]

im no lawyer, but if they are running away and you use deadly force, your probably going to spend time behind bars. now personally id say the bad guy deserves whatever you do to them.

[Vern Humphrey]

"As he was tactically repositioning himself in an attempt to outflank me, he momentarily exposed himself, and I fired."

[TomSudz]

Our county Sheriff and DA just had an event to answer just such questions. I'm in PA so this doesn't mean squat outside of here, but other states may be close. We have "castle doctrine" and "stand your ground" here and it was explained thusly- To use either of these, you must believe either yourself or others are in mortal danger and the person threatening you or the others must have a lethal weapon. So, a person running away from you poses no danger and, therefore cannot be met with lethal force.

For those who are interested, here's a link to the article in the Citizens' Voice- http://citizensvoice.com/news/author...laws-1.2254698

You'll need to answer a question to see the article, but they normally also have the choice of "I prefer not to answer." I'm not sure how long articles remain.

[Major Tom]

Drag the S.O.B. back into your house.

[clintonhater]

Drag the S.O.B. back into your house.

Absolutely, but be sure to wrap his fingers around a butcher knife before rigor mortis sets in.

[dave]

I think it is safe to say that would be the law in all states.

[Mike]

if a person breaks into your house and hurts a person can you use deadly force if they are running away and not facing you. correction DEFENSE

Hi Richard, If he is running away from you he is no longer a threat. They did away with "fleeing felon" rights by law enforcement. That means the police could shoot a fleeing felon. The test now is was your life in danger? The state of crime scene detection is advanced. If you move a body or plant a weapon you will be caught, regards, Mike

[JB White]

If you move a body or plant a weapon you will be caught,

If you hadn't said that I would have. Forensics have come a long way since the 60's. Do something like that now and you'll be the demon before the jury.

[Vern Humphrey]

Hi Richard, If he is running away from you he is no longer a threat. They did away with "fleeing felon" rights by law enforcement. That means the police could shoot a fleeing felon. The test now is was your life in danger? The state of crime scene detection is advanced. If you move a body or plant a weapon you will be caught, regards, Mike

"Running away" and "fleeing" are two different things. An armed attacker who is moving is definitely a threat no matter WHICH direction he's moving -- how do you know he isn't moving to a better position, or attempting to flank you.

Now if he throws away his weapon and runs, that's another thing.