SELF DEFENSE IN LOUISIANA RESULTING IN DEATH

According to Louisiana state law, a homicide is justifiable in Louisiana when committed in self-defense by one who reasonably believes that he/she is in imminent danger of losing their life or receiving great bodily harm and that the killing is necessary to save themself from that danger.  The circumstances must be sufficient to excite the fear of a reasonable person that there would be serious danger to their own life or person if they attempted to prevent the felony without the killing.

A homicide can be committed by a person lawfully inside a dwelling, a place of business, or a motor vehicle when the conflict began, against a person who is attempting to make an unlawful entry into the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle, or who has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle, and the person committing the homicide reasonably believes that the use of deadly force is necessary to prevent the entry or to compel the intruder to leave the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle.

There shall be a presumption that a person lawfully inside a dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle held a reasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent unlawful entry thereto, or to compel an unlawful intruder to leave the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle when the conflict began, if both of the following occur:

(1)  The person against whom deadly force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering or had unlawfully and forcibly entered the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle and

(2)  The person who used deadly force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry was occurring or had occurred.

A person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and who is in a place where he or she has a right to be shall have no duty to retreat before using deadly force and may stand his or her ground and meet force with force.

No judge or jury shall be permitted to consider the possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether or not the person who used deadly force had a reasonable belief that deadly force was reasonable and apparently necessary to prevent a violent or forcible felony involving life or great bodily harm or to prevent the unlawful entry.

Of course if you have watched the recent murder trials on television from other states, you can see that these self defense cases are fact based and should be examined on a case by case basis.