The law isnt very black and white as many of you know. I live in Florida and I'm not sure what the self defense laws are. I thought if you used a weapon in self defense you could be charged with aggravtaed battery, which I believe carries a two year mandatory sentence. Anybody know?
2007-03-29 08:08:34 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
If you lived in Texas you wouldn't need to worry about it.
2007-03-29 08:18:52 · answer #1 · answered by Craig 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The law doesn't have to be black or white. It simply states if somone is attacking you, you can only use sufficient amount of equal force to defend yourself. The key words are SUFFICIENT and DEFEND. Everything you do after your first defensive strike is what is going to be against you. If you continue to hit someone with a stick after you had ample time to get away, then you are no longer defending yourself.
It is a different story if they have a deadly weapon. Then you can use whatever means necessary to stop someone from threatening your life.
2007-03-29 11:46:17 · answer #2 · answered by lovemytc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generally, you can only use sufficient force necessary to defend yourself against the attack, given what the attacker is using.
So, a 5'2" 120# person defending against a 6'4" 250# attacker would be allowed to use more in the way of physical weapons (sticks, etc) than someone of comparable size.
But the limit is also based on type of attack. If the attacker is bare-handed vs. using a stick/bat vs. using a kife vs. a gun, the defender is able to use more serious force to defend against the deadlier threats.
Using excessive force, like a 6' person using a club or knife to defend against a 5'2" person who is bare-handed, would potentially be punishable as battery. If the court found that the level of force used was clearly excessive relative to the threat.
2007-03-29 08:15:35 · answer #3 · answered by coragryph 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about florida, but in california you can kill a person in self defense using anything you want to just as long as you are on your own property.
2007-04-01 16:45:14 · answer #4 · answered by luciousgreeneyedlady 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You had better have an independent witness or some kind of evidence showing that he in fact was the primary aggressor in the situation.
If you have it covered, then use whatever you need to defend yourself.
2007-03-29 10:13:47 · answer #5 · answered by California Street Cop 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who carries a lamp around with them?
2007-03-30 10:06:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋