I have been thinking about this a bit since the Zimmerman/Martin case came to light, and since getting my GWL:
Im sure more than a few of us on here have been in a fight before. I am lucky in that I have never been in a fight where I thought I might die as a result. Sure there have been times when I thought I would get hurt, and there have been times when I went into a fight knowing full well I would probably lose, but I have never been in a fight where at some point in the midst of fighting I thought, "You know, this is going pretty bad, I might not make it out alive."
So, this has me wondering if being in a fight, even as far as getting jumped by numerous people, would be grounds for deadly force.
GA law states that you can use deadly force to stop a forcible felony. A forcible felony is any felony act that would result is serious bodily harm or death. That is to say, it has to be a crime considered a felony in Georgia, and involving physically harmful actions.
Most normal street fights are not felonies. In GA we have four (or really six) types of assault and battery:
- Simple Assault (misdemeanor):
Attempting to commit a violent injury to another person, or putting someone in a situation where it is reasonable that they will receive a violent injury.
- Simple Assault (aggravated misdemeanor):
Same as above, except that the act "...is committed on public transportation or at a station for public transportation, if the assault would be considered âdomesticâ, or if the victim was over 65 years of age, a pregnant female, or an employee of the public school system assaulted while performing job duties or on school property."
- Aggravated Assault (felony):
Aggravated assault is committed if the assault is with an intention of robbing, raping, or murdering, or if the assault is committed with a weapon that could cause serious injury, or if a firearm is discharged from a vehicle towards a person(s).
- Simple Battery (misdemeanor):
Intentionally causing harm to another person or touching them in an insulting or provoking nature.
- Simple Battery (aggravated misdemeanor):
Same stipulations as aggravated simple assault
- Aggravated battery (felony):
Maliciously causing bodily harm to another person by depriving them of a member of their body, by rendering a member of their body useless, or by seriously disfiguring their body.
As you can see, if you are getting beat up on the street, unless you are seriously disfigured, lose a body part, lose the function of a body part, are being beat with a weapon, or are being robbed/raped/murdered in the process, it is not a felony. So, this begs the question of whether you would be legally able to defend yourself with deadly force (or even the threat of deadly force) if you were being beat up in a fist fight that you didnt instigate. Since the act of beating someone up with your fists is not a felony, there would be no forcible felony to contend with and therefore no probable cause for deadly force.
Just for the record, I avoid confrontation and random acts of toughness like the plague when I am carrying. Even if someone were to start trouble with me and start beating me up, I wouldnt pull a weapon unless absolutely necessary to defend my life or the full use of all my body parts.
Im sure more than a few of us on here have been in a fight before. I am lucky in that I have never been in a fight where I thought I might die as a result. Sure there have been times when I thought I would get hurt, and there have been times when I went into a fight knowing full well I would probably lose, but I have never been in a fight where at some point in the midst of fighting I thought, "You know, this is going pretty bad, I might not make it out alive."
So, this has me wondering if being in a fight, even as far as getting jumped by numerous people, would be grounds for deadly force.
GA law states that you can use deadly force to stop a forcible felony. A forcible felony is any felony act that would result is serious bodily harm or death. That is to say, it has to be a crime considered a felony in Georgia, and involving physically harmful actions.
Most normal street fights are not felonies. In GA we have four (or really six) types of assault and battery:
- Simple Assault (misdemeanor):
Attempting to commit a violent injury to another person, or putting someone in a situation where it is reasonable that they will receive a violent injury.
- Simple Assault (aggravated misdemeanor):
Same as above, except that the act "...is committed on public transportation or at a station for public transportation, if the assault would be considered âdomesticâ, or if the victim was over 65 years of age, a pregnant female, or an employee of the public school system assaulted while performing job duties or on school property."
- Aggravated Assault (felony):
Aggravated assault is committed if the assault is with an intention of robbing, raping, or murdering, or if the assault is committed with a weapon that could cause serious injury, or if a firearm is discharged from a vehicle towards a person(s).
- Simple Battery (misdemeanor):
Intentionally causing harm to another person or touching them in an insulting or provoking nature.
- Simple Battery (aggravated misdemeanor):
Same stipulations as aggravated simple assault
- Aggravated battery (felony):
Maliciously causing bodily harm to another person by depriving them of a member of their body, by rendering a member of their body useless, or by seriously disfiguring their body.
As you can see, if you are getting beat up on the street, unless you are seriously disfigured, lose a body part, lose the function of a body part, are being beat with a weapon, or are being robbed/raped/murdered in the process, it is not a felony. So, this begs the question of whether you would be legally able to defend yourself with deadly force (or even the threat of deadly force) if you were being beat up in a fist fight that you didnt instigate. Since the act of beating someone up with your fists is not a felony, there would be no forcible felony to contend with and therefore no probable cause for deadly force.
Just for the record, I avoid confrontation and random acts of toughness like the plague when I am carrying. Even if someone were to start trouble with me and start beating me up, I wouldnt pull a weapon unless absolutely necessary to defend my life or the full use of all my body parts.
