- Joined
- Jan 7, 2021
We already have the precedent that you're allowed to shoot people who take a swing at you, that is what stand your ground means.
At a glance, Tennessee case law doesn't bode well for the general idea of using deadly force in defense of oneself against an unarmed assailant who's not actively killing you. Tennessee v. BensonThe idea that you have to let someone just tee off on you before retaliating with "equal or proportionate measure" is just absurd if you think about it even for a second, it only takes one punch to knock someone out and for their head to hit concrete, killing them.
"After the State's proof, counsel for the defendant moved for judgment of acquittal, which the trial court denied. At that time, the defense also submitted that there was already a basis to justify giving a self-defense instruction to the jury. Defense counsel asserted that the State's proof showed that the victim had been the first aggressor, which caused a chain reaction leading to her being shot. The State, however, argued that simply because the victim may have been the first one to throw a punch did not necessarily justify the defendant shooting her five times. The trial court agreed with the State, finding that to use deadly force against the victim, the defendant must have had a reasonable belief of death or serious bodily injury caused by the victim. Regarding the allegation that the victim was the first aggressor, the trial court noted that Tennessee case law generally holds that self-defense is not available to a defendant who provoked or consented to the danger. The trial court found that, even taking the defendant's statement to the police as wholly true, there was no question that the victim was unarmed at the time she was killed, and there was no indication that the victim ever threatened or attempted to use unlawful deadly force against the defendant or caused or threatened to cause serious bodily injury to the defendant. The trial court further concluded that getting punched in the nose is not “serious bodily injury.” Therefore, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to submit a self-defense instruction to the jury by finding that self-defense had not yet been “fairly raised” by the proof."
It's late, I'll do a more thorough look on Lexis tomorrow for Tennessee cases like this, but this line of reasoning was ultimately upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court. I'm aware of the "eggshell skull" theory you're referencing but as far as I'm aware that's not the sort of argument the courts tend to go for, and it's ultimately case law that denotes what the law is in practice.