Running head: Self-defense vs.

Excessive Force 1

Self-defense vs. Excessive force

Courtney Wise

Arizona State University

Self-defense vs. Excessive Force 2

Abstract

My project 2 will be centered around the argument of whether it is permissible for a person protecting
his or her home to shoot an intruder in “self-defense”, or does such an act constitute “excessive force”.
Online, self-defense was defined as “the defense of one’s person of interests, especially through the use
of physical force, which is permitted in certain cases as an answer to a charge of violent crime.” The
definition is simple enough, but it raises many questions when applied to actual situations. I think this is
an important topic for our country as of now due to an increase of crime recently. It is beneficial for the
people of our society to know what is considered self-defense and what could be seen as an excessive
force, ultimately getting them in trouble with the law. I think self-defense is nowhere near a black and
white topic and that’s what makes it so difficult to justify. I do believe a person’s home should be their
safe place, somewhere others can not intrude unless given permission. Thus being said, if someone
unwanted has entered your safe place and has put you in a state of danger then you should have the
right to shoot the intruder to secure the safety of yourself and/or loved ones.

Keywords: guns, self-defense, force

Self-defense vs. Excessive Force 3

SER CHARTS

Citation (APA style):

Everything You Should Know about Self Defense in AZ. (2016, October 20). Retrieved March 14, 2018,
from https://tobinlawoffice.com/2016/03/self-defense-laws-in-the-state-of-arizona-when-is-assault-or-
physical-force-justified/

Summary: Provide a thorough summary of your source. Type the author’s main claim(s) and
identify the supporting evidence. Your summary should also include the author’s objective—to inform, to
persuade, evaluate, etc.

This source is from the Tobin Law Office. It was created for the purpose of informing Americans,
especially those in Arizona, what the laws are in our state regarding self-defense. As per the law, in
Arizona, people are sometimes allowed to use or threaten physical force when confronted with unlawful
physical force, or when preventing certain serious crimes. Self- defense is only justified and only applied
though when it’s reasonable, proportional, and immediately necessary.

Evaluation: Determine both how convincing and how useful the source is for your research on the issue.
Your evaluation should explain how you have decided to use the author’s main claims [in your paper].

I think the website created by the Tobin Law Office on self-defense is extremely useful and convincing
for my research. I have decided to use information on the law “ARS 13-405” put in place by the state of
Arizona to give better understanding to the definition of self-defense and explain what actions could be
seen as an excessive force rather than self-defense.

Reflection: Explain what you learned (specifically) about your topic after you completed your research.

Before reading this article, I did not know self-defense laws vary depending on what state you live in. I
now know Arizona holds law “ARS 13-405”. Under this law, a person is justified in threatening or using
physical force to protect others to the extent that the other person would be allowed to defend himself,
and the force or threat used must be reasonable, proportional, and immediately necessary.
Self-defense vs. Excessive Force 4

Citation (APA style):

Wing, E. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.aware.org/resources/women-guns-

articles/12-lyn-bates/122-when-can-you-shoot-part-1

Summary: Provide a thorough summary of your source. Type the author’s main claim(s) and
identify the supporting evidence. Your summary should also include the author’s objective—to inform, to
persuade, evaluate, etc.

This source is an article written by Lyn Bates. Based on her opinion and ethical views, she answers the
question a lot of us may be asking ourselves during a time of threat, “When can I shoot, and when can’t
I?” She thinks it would do no good to answer that question with a long list of rules/guidelines that people
would then have to go through in their head before making the decision to shoot or not. There is not
enough time to go through a list of rules during a time under attack to make sure you would be in the right
before you shoot. Thus being said, Lyn thinks the answer to this question comes down to one simple rule:
you are justified in using legal force against another human being if, and only if, there is immediate and
unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm to an innocent person. I think this article was quite
personable as it gave a lot of opinions and its purpose was to persuade the audience of her opinions.

Evaluation: Determine both how convincing and how useful the source is for your research on the issue.
Your evaluation should explain how you have decided to use the author’s main claims [in your paper].

I think this source was useful in the way that it gave several situational scenarios to better give people an
idea of when would be the right time to shoot someone for self-defense and when it would not be okay. I
like that this article mentioned it is not a good idea to have a long list of rules behind when you can and
cannot shoot someone because that causes a person to overthink in the moment and could cost their life
because they are scared to shoot in order to protect themselves. I plan on using some of the situational
scenarios in my paper to support when it would be okay to shoot and when it is not.

Reflection: Explain what you learned (specifically) about your topic after you completed your research.

Through reading this article, I learned that to be completely justified in using your gun against someone
else, you need to be “innocent”. Innocent meaning, you cannot provoke someone to attack you and then
shoot them as self-defense when the situation was caused due to provoking someone.
Self-defense vs. Excessive Force 5

Citation (APA style):

May I Shoot an Intruder? (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2018, from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-
charges/may-i-shoot-an-intruder.htm

Summary: Provide a thorough summary of your source. Type the author’s main claim(s) and
identify the supporting evidence. Your summary should also include the author’s objective—to inform, to
persuade, evaluate, etc.

This article gives information on the “duty to retreat” and “stand your ground” laws, one having you try
to flee from the scene before taking action (duty to retreat) and the other allows someone to claim self-
defense, even if they made no attempt to flee (stand your ground). The article also mentions that because
self-defense cases are not clean cut, a criminal defense attorney is who would be contacted to help defend
a case if need be. The purpose of giving this information and the creation of this article was to inform.

Evaluation: Determine both how convincing and how useful the source is for your research on the issue.
Your evaluation should explain how you have decided to use the author’s main claims [in your paper].

I do not think this source was very useful for my research on the issue. It was very simple and did not
make a lot of claims or give support to the points being made. I think I will use the stand your ground and
duty to retreat laws in my paper to explain what some states would prefer you do before taking action, if
anything at all.

Reflection: Explain what you learned (specifically) about your topic after you completed your research.

From this source, I learned that if I or anyone is ever in a self-defense case that needs to be defended then
I would talk to a criminal defense attorney. Before reading this, I was not sure who dealt with cases like
this. I also learned about the stand your ground law and duty to retreat law as mentioned above which I
had not heard of before and did not know these laws vary by state.
Self-defense vs. Excessive Force 6

Citation (APA style):

LoRusso, L. J. (2017, November 29). Self-Defense Realities: Justified vs. Excessive Force. Retrieved
March 15, 2018, from https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2015/11/self-defense-realities-justified-vs-
excessive-force/

Summary: Provide a thorough summary of your source. Type the author’s main claim(s) and
identify the supporting evidence. Your summary should also include the author’s objective—to inform, to
persuade, evaluate, etc.

The purpose of this source is to inform. It mentions that the lawful use of force is firmly established in the
United States. The concept that a person can protect himself in his home, is known as the Castle Doctrine,
but it is not limited to the home. The article also states that there are just two kinds of force known as,
deadly and non-lethal. How does the law determine whether the force used was reasonable or excessive?
It is said in the article that when a person is injured at the hands of another, the law begins with an
analysis that a crime has occurred. Then, it is the person using the force’s responsibility to show that their
actions were justified.

Evaluation: Determine both how convincing and how useful the source is for your research on the issue.
Your evaluation should explain how you have decided to use the author’s main claims [in your paper].

I think this article was very convincing and useful for my research on self-defense. I think it gave a great
amount of detail within its examples of situations and it also gave several definitions such as force, along
with explaining laws that were put in place regarding self-defense. In my paper, I will discuss that any act
of self-defense has to be justified. In this article it gives the definition of justification so that people know
what that entails. I will use the definition given in this article to further explain what someone must do to
justify their actions.

Reflection: Explain what you learned (specifically) about your topic after you completed your research.

After reading this article, I learned that the Castle Doctrine covers more than just the home. I also learned
about the two different kinds of forces and what that entails as mentioned above.