Maine law differs from 'stand your ground'

[jpak]

http://www.pressherald.com/news/maine-law-differs-from-stand-your-ground_2012-04-02.html

FARMINGTON — People frequently ask Andrew Robinson, a prosecutor in Franklin County, about Maine's self-defense laws.

<snip>

"Most of the case law makes it clear that the self-defense (law) is a shield and not a sword and intended to use the minimum amount of force to avoid the harm," Billings said.

Maine's self-defense laws, which require a person to try to avoid confrontations under most circumstances, differ from the "stand your ground" law in Florida and other states, he said.

In Maine, the laws say that if someone can retreat safely they are not authorized to use deadly force, unless they are inside their home and meet the criteria for that scenario, Billings said. Florida's stand your ground law says a person has no duty to retreat.

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No vigilante for you in the Pine Tree State

yup

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. excellent article

could do without your editorializing comments. thanks.

[Hoyt]

2. Makes a lot more sense than Florida type SYG laws.

[gejohnston]

3. please look up the word vigilante

and please avoid newspeak. Zimmerman was not a vigilante no matter how you look at it. Murderer maybe, but not vigilante.

[MarianJack]

4. As a Mainer, I say...

...Thank God!

PEACE!

[PavePusher]

5. Everyone should have to work through a flow-chart before engaging in defensive actions.

It'll save lives!!1!11!

[ManiacJoe]

6. See the law, not the newspaper.

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec108.html

Note the key wording:

C. However, a person is not justified in using deadly force as provided in paragraph A if:
...
(3) The person knows that the person or a 3rd person can, with complete safety:
(a) Retreat from the encounter, except that the person or the 3rd person is not required to retreat if the person or the 3rd person is in the person's dwelling place and was not the initial aggressor;

This is all but equivalent of the SYG laws since the ability to retreat with complete safety is almost never possible.

[Kennah]

7. +10

Florida's self-defense laws make it difficult to justify using deadly force under circumstances being argued in Florida.