In Florida, there exists a authorized precept that removes the obligation to retreat earlier than utilizing power in self-defense. This precept applies in anywhere the place an individual has a authorized proper to be. If a person fairly believes that utilizing power, together with lethal power, is important to forestall imminent dying or nice bodily hurt to themselves or one other, or to forestall the approaching fee of a forcible felony, they’re justified in utilizing such power. This successfully implies that, below sure situations, an individual can “stand their floor” and defend themselves with out first making an attempt to flee the state of affairs.
This authorized idea has altered the panorama of self-defense legal guidelines throughout the state. Proponents argue it empowers people to guard themselves successfully, stopping them from turning into victims of violent crime. They counsel it deters potential attackers, understanding that potential victims are legally permitted to make use of power in self-defense with out the prerequisite of retreat. The origins of this legislation hint again to efforts to develop the standard self-defense doctrine, shifting the emphasis from an obligation to retreat to a proper of self-preservation.
