Use of Deadly Force Inside Dwelling Where Intruder Is Lawfully in the Dwelling. (Second of a Multi-part Series)
It is 5:00 o’clock in the morning in your and your significant other are awaken by the sound of broken glass
You grab your firearm from its locked container and retrieve the magazine which is in a separate container and load your weapon
You and your and your wife who is eight months pregnant other arise from the bed and she stands behind you firmly holding onto the back of your pajamas
You walk into the hallway and observe mother or father-in-law standing in the kitchen throwing your best china onto the floor.
All while yelling at you that they are going to beat you to a pulp
You stand there in amazement as they now approach you with raised fist and a look of hate
Your heart is beating faster than it has ever beaten before
All your eyes see is one large knife at which point you……………..
In general terms Massachusetts law provides There shall be no duty on said occupant to retreat from such person unlawfully in said dwelling.
For the purposes of the segment I have intentionally not included certain facts because you need to know before 5 AM in the morning what you are going to do in a particular situation
Massachusetts general law Chapter 278 Section 8A. Provides that: In the prosecution of a person who is an occupant of a dwelling charged with killing or injuring one who was unlawfully in said dwelling, it shall be a defense that the occupant was in his dwelling at the time of the offense and that he acted in the reasonable belief that the person unlawfully in said dwelling was about to inflict great bodily injury or death upon said occupant or upon another person lawfully in said dwelling, and that said occupant used reasonable means to defend himself or such other person lawfully in said dwelling. There shall be no duty on said occupant to retreat from such person unlawfully in said dwelling.
Nothing in G.L.c. 278, 8A, however, eliminates the duty on the part of the occupant of the dwelling to retreat from a confrontation with a person who is lawfully on the premises. See Commonwealth v. Lapointe, 402 Mass. 321, 329 (1988). The statute is not applicable, therefore, in circumstances where one is threatened or assaulted in one’s home by another who is an invited guest, and thus lawfully on the premises, even when that guest launches a life-threatening assault on the defendant. See Commonwealth v. Painten, 429 Mass. 536, 545-546 (1999) (castle law did not apply, even where victim [guest] threatened defendant with knife);Commonwealth v. Lapointe, supra (castle law did not apply where defendant had opened door to permit assailant to enter). The obvious purpose of the statute is to allow an occupant to defend against unlawful intruders and not to permit the use of deadly force against social guests whenever a verbal altercation threatens to escalate into a physical confrontation. On the other hand, the plain language of the statute includes someone who is “unlawfully in said dwelling,” and it is a familiar principle that a person who enters a dwelling lawfully, but refuses to leave when ordered to do so, becomes a trespasser. See G.L.c. 266, § 120. Commonwealth v. Peloquin, 437 Mass. 204, 208-09 (Mass. 2002)
What is your plan when you hear the breaking glass at 5 o’clock in the morning?
You need to know what you’re going to do before you hear that breaking glass
Among the best protection for your Second Amendment rights is to be a knowledgeable and responsible gun owner.
DISCLAIMER: This and other segments posted on this website are offered for informational and discussion purposes only and is not offered as legal advice.