Standing Your Ground-Unarmed
Stand Your Ground-The Deadly Unarmed Combatant
Several years ago…I spoke to a Brazilian Jiujitsu class about the law. With my white belt around my waist, I did my best to answer their questions.
Of course, the question was asked: “When can I kill someone?”
My answer, “When you reasonably believe deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.” But then, I paused…and in a flash, the following went through my mind...
The word...imminent. The threat must be imminent. That makes things different when in a hand to hand combat situation. Because unlike a gun, it takes time to kill with your hands. Especially with a larger opponent.
If a 300lb man runs at you in a dark alley with an object in his hand. He is yelling, “I am going to kill you.” You shoot him. There isn’t a huge imminency problem.
But things are different in a hand to hand situation. Things are different in real life.
Same facts as above, but you are unarmed.
Instead of arming yourself, you have spent a couple years going to Gracie Martial Arts (4470 SE Federal Hwy). As the 300lb man closes the distance, you disarm him and take him to the ground breaking his arm. The man struggles and gets on top of you attempting to crush you with his body weight (but he can’t because of your training). After about 2 minutes, the 300lb man is exhausted from his failed attack. You transition to his back and apply a perfect rear-naked choke.
After 4-6 seconds the 300lb man is out cold. You see the object he was going to hit you with is slightly out of his reach, but if he comes to...all bets are off. You continue to apply the choke. In 30 seconds to 2 minutes he is brain dead and he dies in the alley.
Here we could have a problem with imminency. Even though you were allowed to use deadly force and had no duty to retreat, a question whether the threat had passed at the time of the application of deadly force remains.
Remember: the prosecutor deciding whether to file a murder charge on you may have never been in a fight. He or she may have no idea how dangerous an unarmed encounter really is. They have never felt the suffocating panic of being under a person trying to do them harm. The prosecutor might determine there is no imminent threat posed by the 300lb man after the 4-6 seconds of a rear-naked choke. He was already out cold.
So, interestingly enough, the law seems to prefer a gun over hand to hand combat (however, take a look at the upcoming blog entry on guns; 10-20-life is no joke).
It may take minutes to kill with your hands where a gun would’ve been instant. Where immanency is concerned, a gun (or not killing the 300lb man) could change the outcome of a criminal case.
This is all hypothetical. I use it only to demonstrate the type of technicality that is present in defending a criminal case.
Life is not hypothetical.
“When can I kill someone?”
You probably shouldn’t.
But if you do...talk to a lawyer. Call Me.