Self Defense: How Much Force Is Too Much Force?

A courageous 12-year-old Oklahoma girl was home alone when an intruder, Stacy Jones, came to her house, rang the doorbell, and pounded on her door.  When she didn’t open the door, he apparently went around the back of the house and kicked in the back door.  At that time, this brave girl, in her frightened state, called her mother.  Her mother told her to get the family gun and hide in the closet.  While she was hiding out in the closet, the suspect allegedly went to open the closet door at which point she fired the gun through the door, injuring him.

Thankfully, the young girl was able to defend herself.  The intruder survived the shot but sustained enough injuries to keep him away from the girl.  He was sent to the Bryan County jail.

How much force can you use to defend yourself?

If faced with a situation where you need to defend yourself from unlawful force, you may either use deadly force or non-deadly force.  Of course, the type of force that may be used depends on the situation.

You may use non-deadly force when it is reasonably necessary to protect yourself from unlawful force.  You may use deadly force in self-defense if you are “confronted with unlawful force and are threatened with imminent death or great bodily harm.”

A minority of states requires that the victim of a deadly attack first retreat prior to using deadly force in self-defense.  However, in a majority of states, the victim does not have to retreat first.

Can you use deadly force to defend your home?

No.  While solely defending your property, you may never use to deadly force.

You can learn more about self-defense by watching informational videos .  Simply type the words “Self Defense” in the search area provided on the upper right-hand corner of the page.

You have a right to self-defense and when necessary you should use it.  Do you think this young girl did the right thing by shooting the intruder?  Should she have called 911 and waited for the police to come to her aid instead?