What does "prevent great bodily harm" encompass?

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druryj

In Remembrance / Dec 27 2021
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mbok1947

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The disparity of force comment is on target. Is the victim female and the attacker male? Then most prosecutors are going to say deadly force was justified. Is the victim disabled in any way? Same. Is the victim say over 60 and the attacker a youth? Ditto. Is there say a 50 pound difference in favor of the attacker? Again, a disparity of force situation. In all those cases the threat goes well beyond getting one's fanny whipped to include possible internal injuries, skull fracture, etc.

The same principle comes into play when a prosecutor files a charge in an assault case. If there was a significant disparity of force and consequential injuries inflicted on the victim, the charge is likely to be boosted from a misdemeanor to a felony. I recall one case where a young fit attacker assaulted an older, drunk victim in a jail cell and began beating his head on the floor, inflicting some permanent brain damage. That went all the way to assault with intent to kill and resulted in major prison time. Had that same assault happened on the street and the victim used a weapon to inflict deadly force on the attacker, it would very likely have been ruled justified.

One caveat: although the stand your ground clause says there is no requirement to retreat, it does not help is the victim gets into a "I'm one? You're one too!" verbal exchange prior to the physical assault. Not having to retreat does not mean one should not just walk away before violence ensues if such action is practical.
 

Old rookie

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Most excellent, well-presented information that I believe is very helpful. Thank you.
I have always interpreted "duty to retreat" to mean that I don't have to run away if I can deal with it. Neither can I do anything to escalate the confrontation before the threat of imminent great harm.
Mouthing off to a freak who is trying to make up his feeble mind whether to knock you down or not is, to me, NEVER going to get any points with a jury or a prosecutor, even if I do survive.
Am I off track on this thinking?
 

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