Assumptions:
1) A “home invasion” is the act of a criminal entering an occupied dwelling.
2) “Self-defense” is the LEGAL use of force (up to and including deadly force) to protect yourself or other innocent persons. I’ll be going by Massachusetts law for two reasons: 1) It’s what I’m familiar with 2) Rhode Island is a silly place, filled with silly people, governed by silly laws.
Massachusetts jury instructions on self-defense are located at:
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/courts- ... efense.pdf
Page 6 of 23 covers the “castle doctrine” which alleviates the duty to retreat. It does not alleviate ANY other requirement of lawful self defense
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1) Layers of Defense:
a. 1st layer – deterrence. “If you don’t want to get eaten, don’t look like lunch.” A house which is well lit , visible from the street, appears to have alarms, strong doors etc. is less attractive than the isolated house with non-functioning lights and sliding glass doors.
b. 2nd layer – access controls. This all boils down to keeping people out… for a while. All homes can be forcibly entered. This cannot be stopped. Good locks in solid doors in solid frames buy you time. Sliding glass doors are a home invasion express entrance to any criminal who has discovered rocks.
c. 3rd layer – situational awareness. Contrary to popular belief, humans are oblivious to most of what goes on around us. Being hyper vigilant is exhausting and cannot be maintained long term. Alarms allow us to alert to potential danger.
d. 4th layer – help. AKA, call for men with guns, AKA call the cops. They bring friends and are just dripping in qualified immunity… you are not.
e. Last layer – physical defense, flight or surrender. Once they have crashed through the outer layers, this is the last one. The bad people have demonstrated resolve in kicking in doors, ignoring alarms, and disregarded your shouts of “the police are on the way.” The laws of self-defense *might* now come into play. Surrender to determined criminals and hope for the best doesn’t seem to grand of an idea.
2) Elements in justifiable self-defense (Lawful use of force)
a. Innocence – You cannot have started or incited the attack.
b. Reasonable Apprehension - You can articulate how the appearance actions or speech of your assailant would make a “reasonable man” (as defined by case law) fear that they were about to come under attack that would cause death or grave bodily injury.
i. Disparity of force
c. Duty to Retreat – you MUST attempt to SAFELY avoid use of force
i. Castle Doctrine lessens this duty.
d. Reasonable Force - deadly force cannot be used to counter non-deadly force (except in cases where the disparity of force [size, skill, or number of assailants ] exists). The severity of an unarmed attack determines deadly vs. non deadly unarmed force (a slap in the face vice slamming the head into an object).
e. Imminence – Unless force is used RIGHT NOW, will result in the innocent party’s death or grave bodily injury.
3) Willingness to use violence
a. Your opponent gets the first vote. If they have entered your home forcibly, not run when they realize the dwelling Is occupied… they are intent on causing you harm.
b. You get a vote. You can trust your family’s safety to the benevolence of the gents mentioned in 3a; I don’t feel that is a good plan. Does your family’s worth exceed your aversion to using violence? Everyone’s answer is different. This is a HUGE component of self-defense, armed or otherwise. Attempting to make this determination while facing unknown men in your home is unwise; it needs to be thoughtfully considered well in advance.
c. You get 2 votes (you’re special!). Training. Training is the best a law abiding citizen can get to practicing self-defense. Bad people practice by hurting people, good people don’t. Owning a firearm / bat / knife and assuming the needed skills will materialize is like buying a piano and considering yourself prepared to play in an orchestra. Good training will cement your skills, great training will shatter your preconceptions.
d. You get 3 votes (You’re a democrat?) Determination. You will likely be injured. There is a high possibility that your injury will be grave. You aren’t superman, and people are annoyingly resilient. Predetermine your goals. Be realistic. If your goal is ensure the safety of your spouse and children, realize what that leaves out and if you can accept that cost.
4) I have no four