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0 pointshga12y ago0 comments

No, actually. Outside of Texas, the exception that proves the rule, you are not allowed to use lethal force to protect property.

As I understand Texas law (which I wouldn't surprise to find judicially nullified someday, like similar Oklahoma law), you are allowed to use lethal force on someone stealing your property after a verbal warning.

Which is in no way analogous to the point you're making. US law very much does not support "self-help" as its called to redress wrongs after the fact.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

jbooth12y ago· 2 in thread

I'm pretty sure the castle doctrine applies in most states?

Hell, 'stand your ground' applies in a decent plurality of states these days.

hgaOP12y ago

Weak Castle Doctrine, no duty to retreat in your home, exists in 46 states according to Wikipedia, which sounds about right. E.g. assume you have to retreat from your home in Massachusetts, no matter the current law, case law or circumstances.

Stand Your Ground in 22 states. As in no duty to retreat any place you have a right to be, which prevents second guessing from the calm and comfort of a courtroom. Or as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it in the 1921 US Supreme Court case Brown v. United States, "Detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife."

jbooth12y ago

"E.g. assume you have to retreat from your home in Massachusetts, no matter the current law, case law or circumstances."

Why?

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