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Usually the concept of deadly force is brought up in self-defense situations. I.e. a situation where you wound or kill someone by using deadly force. If you are charged with a crime; typically assault, homicide, murder, or manslaughter, you will claim that you acted in lawful self-defense. A person has the right to use force or even take a life to defend himself under certain circumstances. If a person acts in lawful self-defense, his actions are excused and he is not guilty of any crime. In other words, Self-defense is an affirmative defense to the crime. Once invoked, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you DID NOT act in self-defense.

Homicide is a legally neutral term. It is defined as the killing of a human being by another human being. It may be innocent or criminal. Criminal homicide is a homicide without justification or excuse. Murder is an unlawful killing with malice aforethought. Manslaughter is an unlawful killing without malice aforethought.

The following information comes from Michigan Jury Instructions and Michigan case law.

What does "DEADLY FORCE" mean in Michigan?

Answer:

Deadly force is that action known to create a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury.

When are you JUSTIFIED in using "deadly force"?

Answer:

The standard rule is that: at the time you acted, you must have honestly and reasonably believed that you were in danger of being killed, seriously injured or forcibly sexually penetrated.

The threat of being killed, seriously injured or forcibly sexually penetrated must be imminent (about to happen immediately) and within the ability of the attacker. The attacker must be actually capable of carrying through with the threat.

A future threat does not justify the use of deadly force. (e.g. "I'm going to get my gun and come back and kill you.")

A person is not justified in killing or inflicting great bodily injury upon another in order to protect himself from what appears to be slight or insignificant injury.

What does "honestly and reasonably believed" mean?

Answer:

You should consider all the circumstances surrounding the situation;

1)     the condition of the people involved, including their relative strength;

2)     whether the other person was armed with a dangerous weapon or had some other means of injuring the defendant,

3)     the nature of the other person's attack or threat, and

4)     Whether you knew about any previous violent acts or threats made by the other person. You may consider specific acts of violence or the person’s general reputation for cruelty or violence in determining whether you fear for your safety in a given situation.

It is a subjective test; some times called the "Reasonable Man" standard. To determine if a persons actions were appropriate or reasonable, a determination is made by judging whether a hypothetical "reasonable man" would act in a similar way under the same conditions. Depends on the make-up of the jury and jurisdiction,

Am I ever required to any use "lesser" force than "deadly force"?

Answer:

Yes, you may only use as much force as you think necessary at the time to protect yourself. When deciding whether the amount of force used seemed to be necessary, the law considers any other ways of protecting yourself and how the excitement of the moment affected the choice you made.

The degree or amount of force you can use in defending yourself must be reasonable — that is, proportional to the level of threat presented, Some describe this by saying you can only use Equal force.

You may not use excessive force. A person is only justified in using the degree of force that seems necessary at the time to protect himself from danger. You may only use the kind of force that was appropriate to the attack made and the circumstances as you saw it.

Q  (shooting to wound or disable?)  ( doesn't really matter, firing is use of deadly force)

Also, once the threat has ceased, so must stop your use of lethal force.

Can I use deadly force against a group of attackers?

Answer:

Yes, a person who is attacked by more than one person, or by one person and others helping and encouraging the attacker, has the right to act in self-defense against all of them. However, before using deadly force against one of the attackers, you must honestly and reasonably believe that you are in danger of being killed, seriously injured, or forcibly sexually penetrated by that particular person.

What about using deadly force in defense of my property or belongings?

Answer:

Absolutely not.  You may only use deadly force if you are in danger of being killed, seriously injured or raped. Some other states do allow using deadly force to protect property.

Must I retreat or try to run away before using deadly force?

Answer:

Yes. Generally, you have a duty to retreat. By law, a person must avoid using deadly force if he can safely do so. Duty to retreat means that you must attempt to physically escape or evade a confrontation if you can do so safely. You are not obligated to retreat if doing so will expose you to greater danger.

However, if you honestly and reasonably believe that it is immediately necessary to use deadly force to protect yourself from an imminent threat of death, serious injury or forcible sexual penetration, the law does not require you to retreat; you may stand your ground and use the amount of force you believe necessary to protect yourself.

Police officers do not have to retreat.

Must I retreat in my own home?

Answer:

No, there is an exception to the rule on retreating in your own home; it is called the Castle Doctrine. If assaulted in your own home, you do not have to try to retreat or get away. You may stand your ground and use the amount of force you believe necessary to protect yourself. Case law says you may use deadly force

to "repel" the assailant from your house or prevent his forcible entry. NOTE this contradicts the normal standard for use of deadly force that requires honest and reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.

(What about Roommates?)  When both attacker and attacked have an equal right to be in the home, there is also no duty to retreat if you are the non-aggressor.

The right to self-defense without retreat (the Castle Doctrine) extends to the curtilage of your home. Michigan courts say this only includes inhabited  outbuildings around your main dwelling; not your garage

Can I use deadly force in defense of someone else?

Answer:

Yes, a person has the right to use force or even take a life to defend someone else under certain circumstances. You may use deadly force in defense of another when you honestly and reasonably believed that the other person was in danger of being killed, seriously injured, or forcibly sexually penetrated.

What happens if I am wrong? Say, I witnessed an assault being filmed for a movie and I shoot the attacker?

Answer:

If your belief was honest and reasonable, you could act to defend another, even if it turns out later that you were wrong about how much danger that person was in. Although it may turn out that the appearances were false and that you were mistaken as to the extent of the real danger; you are judged by the circumstances as they appeared to you at the time of the act as long as it was reasonable, Lesson, don't be a butinski.

Does an aggressor have the right to use deadly force?

Answer:

Generally, one who is the aggressor in an encounter with another( i.e,one who brings about the difficulty with the other) may not avail himself of the defense of self-defense. Deadly force can only be used by an innocent victim of an attack.

But, you can not have caused or incited your assailant's attack. (i.e baiting is not allowed.) You can bait deer and bear in Michigan but not humans. "Hey I bet you can't bash my head in"

You cannot provoke a person into attacking you and then shoot him in self defense. Don't say "do you feel lucky" or "make my day".

Ordinarily, this is certainly a correct statement, since the aggressor's victim, defending himself against the aggressor, is using lawful, not unlawful, force; and the force defended against must be unlawful force, for self-defense.

Nevertheless, there are two situations in which an aggressor may justifiably defend himself.

An aggressor who in good faith, effectively withdraws from any further encounter with his victim (and to make an effective withdrawal he must notify the victim, or at least take reasonable steps to notify him) is restored to his right of self-defense.

A person who assaults someone else with fists or a weapon that is not deadly, insults someone with words, trespasses on someone else's property, or tries to take someone else's property in a nonviolent way, does not lose all right to self-defense by doing so. If someone else assaults him with deadly force, that person may lawfully act in his own self-defense.

A FEW OTHER COMMENTS:

Aftermath of a shooting

If you do shoot someone in self-defense, call the police and then put your gun away and keep it out of sight. When the police arrive they can't tell the ""good guys" from the "bad guys" and you don't want to get shot. All homicides will entail an investigation.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution provides certain rights, chief among them being that you have no obligation to talk to the police until you have consulted with your attorney. It also gives you the right to have your attorney present during all questioning.

You do not have to talk to the police and you may not want to make a statement until you have spoken with your lawyer. You may not be thinking clearly and may say something that can be used against you.

Don't contaminate the crime scene or allow others to do so.

Civil Suits

While a criminal charges can only be brought by the government, a civil suit can be brought by anyone. The standard of proof is different in a civil proceeding. It is lower. The outcome of each case is heavily dependent on the specific facts.

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