HOUSTON – On Wednesday, a man was killed in a gunfight in Humble in front of another person’s house.
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This brings up the question of how stand-your-ground laws work, and what are the laws around self-defense work in Texas.
Formally known as the Castle Doctrine, the law states that if a person is attacked in their home, they do not have to retreat before they use self-defense, according to the Texas Luster Law Firm.
That basically means people should have the legal right to self-defense when in a private space and be able to protect themselves at their homes and feel safe.
Reasonable is an important word in this discussion
People cannot just use force on someone if they verbally insulted you. If it is reasonable to use force in a situation that jeopardizes your safety, then force may be justified.
The Castle Doctrine can be used if:
- Someone unlawfully enters or tries to force entry into your home, car, or workplace.
- The person tries to remove you from your home, workplace, or car.
- The person was carrying out or trying to carry out aggravated kidnapping, robbery, aggravated robbery, murder, sexual assault, or aggravated sexual assault.
What are the exceptions?
You cannot provoke an incident and use the Castle Doctrine to claim self-defense.
Someone cannot be actively taking part in criminal activity and try to use the Castle Doctrine. However, they may still be able to claim self-defense in an effort to try and reduce their punishment.