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Justifying deadly force (Part 3)

Massad Ayoob, international trainer and lecturer on the use of lethal force, explains why the attacker must also possess opportunity:

Opportunity means that the aggressor not only possesses the power of deadly force, but is capable of immediately employing that power.

In the recent pharmacy robberies, the attackers possessed the ability to inflict crippling injury or death, because they possessed weapons. Then they invaded the pharmacies to rob them, giving them opportunity to successfully use the lethal capabilities of their guns to further their goals of robbery.

 

But Ayoob says that one more criteria is necessary in order to justify using deadly force in self-defense: jeopardy, or what Ayoob calls the “reasonable assumption of jeopardy.” After all, a law-abiding citizen with a concealed handgun possesses the ability to kill another by drawing his gun and shooting. They also have plenty of opportunity as they walk around in public. But their intentions are peaceful, placing nobody in jeopardy.

 

The elderly pharmacist Bill Wynn in San Antonio and Jerome Ersland in Oklahoma City, recovering from recent back surgery, had guns aimed at them by criminals who had announced their intentions to commit the violent act of robbery: They were in jeopardy.

 

Ayoob thinks that jeopardy is most often the deciding factor in justifying the use of lethal force in self-defense:

In order for a jury to believe that your customer's life was in jeopardy the assailant must possess the power to kill or cripple, be immediately capable of employing that power, and must act in such a manner that a reasonable and prudent person would assume that it was his intent to kill or cripple.

Because the pharmacy robbers had already declared their intentions to take money and property, and shown their intention to use force by pointing guns at the victims, any group of jurors would find it reasonable to conclude that the pharmacists were in jeopardy, justifying the defensive use of deadly force.

 

Police concluded that Dawn Christoff was justified in using deadly force against her drunk and violent husband, even though Dawn Christoff armed herself first, indicating her intent to use deadly force–if necessary–before she was actually in jeopardy. She acted lawfully and reasonably, preparing herself as her husband’s ability to inflict harm turned into opportunity as he armed himself, and finally became jeopardy as he pointed a loaded revolver at her. She didn’t use thegun until presented with the imminent threat of deadly force. The fact that she acted to save the lives of three children only places her actions beyond reproach from all but the most unreasoned, and unreasonable, enemies of the civil right of self-defense.

 

Law-abiding civilians should train to stop any threat to their lives, or the lives of others, but killing an attacker can potentially create psychological, social, and legal consequences that can impact your health, job, finances, and social standing. History shows a strong tendency of the criminal justice system to support the defensive use of deadly force, if the three factors of ability, opportunity, and jeopardy are readily discerned. While this is no substitute for proper training with qualified professionals, hopefully this series initiated the process of mental preparation needed before a violent encounter, so that when you are at risk, you won’t hesitate because you feel the need to stop and consider these issues. Know yourself now, in order to save yourself later.

 

Previous:        Justifying deadly force (Part 2)

                         Two pharmacy robberies, two different outcomes

                         Woman uses handgun to prevent mass murder

 

Dear readers: I will be away on business until next Thursday. Please look for my next article then.

 

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For in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding gun control, read Four Hundred Years of Gun Control: Why Isn’t It Working?, which deconstructs the gun control agenda and motivates more people to support our civil right of self-defense.