PHOENIX — Two shootings within days of each other have put 'Stand Your Ground' laws into the national spotlight.
In Kansas City, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot twice by an 84-year-old homeowner. Police said Yarl was picking up his younger siblings when he mistakenly went to the wrong house and rang the doorbell. Police then said the homeowner shot Yarl in the head and arm.
Then in Upstate New York, just two days after Yarl was shot, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was killed in a similar situation. Authorities there say she and a group of friends mistakenly turned into someone's driveway. Once they realized they were at the wrong address and turned around, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said the homeowner shot at their car and killed Gillis.
Both shooters in each of these cases have been charged.
When asked about these situations, Chandler criminal defense attorney Marc Victor and the President of U.S. LawShield Kirk Evans both said the defendants are going to have a hard time proving they were acting in self-defense.
Both said additional information regarding these situations may change that, but from how the cases look now, it appears both suspects were not in an immediate substantial risk of death or serious physical injury.
"Those are the requirements before you can use deadly physical force," Victor said.
A common misconception Evans brought up has to deal with people trespassing.
"You're permitted to use deadly force if someone is unlawfully trying to get into your house, but not if they're just on your property," Evans said.
When it comes to home break-ins, homeowners can use deadly force because they are given a "legal presumption" that they reasonably believed the burglar is there to inflict serious bodily injury and deadly force, Evans said.
In Arizona, the homeowner can also use deadly force if they are preventing, arson inside a home, armed burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault and other heinous crimes.
However, that presumption can be rebutted in court. Given the example of a burglar running away with your TV, you are no longer in immediate danger and the self-defense shooting will likely not be justified.
Another common misconception Victor believes people hold is the 'immediacy' aspect of self-defense shootings, meaning you have to feel your life is in danger and act immediately.
"In other words, it can't be in five minutes. It's got to be right this second," Victor said.
Evans added to that point: "You are no longer in fear of your life, when you shoot someone running away with your TV."
There's also the 'reasonable' aspect when it comes to self-defense, Victor said. While the person who uses deadly force to take down a potential suspect may feel like their life was in immediate danger, they would still have to prove to a jury that they were not being erratic.
"Did the defendant act reasonably? If the answer is yes, that's not guilty. If the answer is no, that's probably a long prison sentence," Victor said.
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