The state of Maryland follows the common law when it comes to self-defense: the amount of forced used when defending oneself and the duty to retreat. The definition of self-defense given by the common law is “The right of a person to protect oneself with reasonable force against another person who is threatening to inflict force upon one 's person.” Correspondingly, the duty to retreat is “The doctrine holding that a victim of a deadly assault must attempt to safely retreat before using deadly force in self-defense;” thus, Maryland does not have a stand your ground law. However, if one enters someone’s home or establishment, with the intent to harm them, they are allowed to defend it and do not need to retreat. In the State of Maryland one
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In the state of Maryland, in order to have one’s actions justified as self-defense, the victim must be able to prove that they had “reasonable grounds to believe himself in apparent imminent or immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm from his assailant or potential assailant,” and that the actions they took were a response to the danger they felt. Therefore, if an assailant hits me, I have the right to hit them back and if they say they are going to kill me, I then have the right to kill them in pursuit of saving my own life. Correspondingly, if my assailants punched me and I decide to just stab in the chest to kill them, I am in the wrong. My assailant showed no intentions of killing me; therefore, my stabbing of my assailant to kill them would be unreasonable and excessive.
After one defends themselves from an attack, they must then prove to the court that all their actions were justifiable acts of self-defense. If a victim is unable to prove their actions were a result of self-defense they can face criminal charges. Similarly, if the victim claims self-defense the courts must decide which form, so they can be found not guilty. The forms of self-defense are self-defense, defense of others, defense of habitation, and defense of property. Each form has factors that decide whether the victim meets the requirements or
In the state of Maryland, in order to have one’s actions justified as self-defense, the victim must be able to prove that they had “reasonable grounds to believe himself in apparent imminent or immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm from his assailant or potential assailant,” and that the actions they took were a response to the danger they felt. Therefore, if an assailant hits me, I have the right to hit them back and if they say they are going to kill me, I then have the right to kill them in pursuit of saving my own life. Correspondingly, if my assailants punched me and I decide to just stab in the chest to kill them, I am in the wrong. My assailant showed no intentions of killing me; therefore, my stabbing of my assailant to kill them would be unreasonable and excessive.
After one defends themselves from an attack, they must then prove to the court that all their actions were justifiable acts of self-defense. If a victim is unable to prove their actions were a result of self-defense they can face criminal charges. Similarly, if the victim claims self-defense the courts must decide which form, so they can be found not guilty. The forms of self-defense are self-defense, defense of others, defense of habitation, and defense of property. Each form has factors that decide whether the victim meets the requirements or