Self-defense laws in the US typically justify a person’s use of lethal force in public in situations where lethal force was necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm to themselves or another person. Traditionally, these laws have been clear that taking human life is not necessary, and is therefore not justified, if the person could have avoided using lethal violence by retreating, or simply stepping away from a confrontation. A person does not have a duty to retreat from a conflict before using force in their home, however (known as the Castle Doctrine).1
Stand your ground laws upend centuries of legal tradition, allowing a person to use deadly force in self-defense in public, even if that force can be safely avoided by retreating or when nonlethal force would suffice.
Texas Law
Texas has a stand your ground law which removes the duty to retreat before using deadly force if the person is in a place they have a right to be, is not engaged in criminal activity, and has not provoked his or her assailant.2
Texas also has a defense of property law which allows for the use of deadly force against a fleeing person in order to recover stolen property.3
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- American Bar Association, “National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws: Report and Recommendations,” (September 2015): 1.[↩]
- Tex. Penal Code § 9.31(e); Tex. Penal Code § 9.32 (c).[↩]
- Tex. Penal Code § 9.42-9.43. See also, e.g., Boget v. State, 74 S.W.3d 23, 3 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002); McFadden v. State, 541 S.W.3d 277, 289 (Tex.Ct.App. 2018).[↩]