Is there such a thing as a no self defense law

milyjohnson

milyjohnson

Well-Known Member
One of my supervisor's at work is being stalked by a guy she doesn't know. She bought a knife to protect herself from him in case he tried to attack her. When he did approach her, she pulled the knife out on him. When the police got involved, the officer told her that if she stabbed him, she would have been the one in trouble and not the attacker even though he approached her first. The officer told her that there is a no self defense law in New Jersey. I found it strange that even if he tried to kill her and she protected herself, she could be the one in trouble. I was wondering if this law exists anywhere else or just in New Jersey.
 
That's really interesting, I would also like to know where the law stands on this. I think there should definitely be an extent of personal accountability - like, I wouldn't expect it to be legal to pull a knife and injure just anybody because I had a bad feeling about them. But if there is legitimate harrassment happening, it's more than personal accountability and just a matter of being safe.
 
Only when you are attacked can self defense law come in to place.It is stupid that there is no self defense law.Actually Every country will have it.
Assuming a girl is being raped.She can kill that person in self defense,provided she can prove what happened there,lest it would surmount to murder.
There are self defense laws..FOR SURE..!!
 
milyjohnson said:
One of my supervisor's at work is being stalked by a guy she doesn't know. She bought a knife to protect herself from him in case he tried to attack her. When he did approach her, she pulled the knife out on him. When the police got involved, the officer told her that if she stabbed him, she would have been the one in trouble and not the attacker even though he approached her first. The officer told her that there is a no self defense law in New Jersey. I found it strange that even if he tried to kill her and she protected herself, she could be the one in trouble. I was wondering if this law exists anywhere else or just in New Jersey.
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What! A no self-defense law? Ok, that might be true. I know for sure that in most places you can't use your learnt self-defense techniques to do offensive harm to people who haven't attacked. I sure agree with the cops that the woman with the knife would have been in trouble..why? Because she should not be walking with a knife in the first place. I believe in defending one self though, in such a way as to escape out of harms way...not to completely kill the culprit. The culprit in this case didn't even hurt the woman. These things are circumstantial my friend.
 
I think a line should be drawn on this self defense. If you are being attacked, you should be allowed to defend yourself. It's crazy that you could be the one in trouble if someone is attacking you. I guess you're supposed to stand there and let a person do whatever they want just so they could get arrested. BTW, my supervisor ended up getting a restraining order against the guy so hopefully that will help her.
 
You can read it yourself if you will try to search in Google. The way I understand it, self-defense is allowed but not to kill someone immediately. If you were forced to kill him, you need to justify it on court that first, the offender is using or threatening to use deadly force in the presence of the person defending. Second, the defender will be exposed to substantial danger if he will not kill the defender. The second one is harder to prove. So, I think, self-defense is allowed but try as much as possible not to kill the other person.
 
I was under the impression that you could use a weapon against somebody in most countries if it was thought that your life would be in danger if you didn't. You do have to be careful though. You can't just use a weapon because you feel a little bit scared, or because somebody is near you, you do have to be completely certain that your life is actually in danger before you choose to do anything about it. Make sure you know where you stand in relation to the law, as you need to protect yourself as best you possibly can.
 
I think self-defense should be okay as long as you don't kill the person. I would hate to think that your attacker can get off for the crime just because you stopped them from trying to do harm to you. My supervisor asked the police officer if it would have been okay if her stalker attacked her and she said that the officer said it wouldn't have been okay, but if she used the knife on him, she would have been in trouble. I think that is so crazy.
 
I honestly think that there are no self defense laws anywhere, even to the places that claim to have them. There are lots of stories online where the victim was arrested and charged for killing or injuring the attacker. I guess the only way something is done to the attacker is if he/she kills the victim. There are also some people that claim self defense when they was really the attacker and have gotten away with murder.
 
I got in trouble years ago when a fight broke out between me and another person. Even though he started the fight and I was defending, it was proven that I went over board on the defense part. We were throwing blows but I opened a big gash on his forehead. When the Paramedics showed up it looked like a homicide scene with blood everywhere. I went to jail for that one.

The way it was explained to me at the time is the level at which you take the defense has to be at the same level as of the threat. If he had come after me with the intent to stab or shoot me, then yeah I could take his life. But a simple fist fight with that much blood looked really bad on my behalf.
 
Its always difficult to defend yourself when you are dealing with attackers. If you were a law enforcement officer that would be different since it would be more justifiable for you to have your gun with you. If you are a civilian then you cannot have lots of options. You can defend yourself but not kill the attacker even if they are shooting you. I am not sure what are the can do's when you have a valid CCW permit and you get into a situation that involves you having to defend yourself with your sidearm for California.
 
These cases are hell really because the stalkers can do this for months before the authorities can actually prove something and lock him up or put him away...
 
Gelsemium said:
These cases are hell really because the stalkers can do this for months before the authorities can actually prove something and lock him up or put him away...
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I know. That is the bad thing. My supervisor said that her stalker has been bothering her for a while, but she was still told that if she did anything to him, he would get away with it. It's really crazy that he would have to attack her while she did nothing in order for her to have him arrested.
 
milyjohnson said:
I know. That is the bad thing. My supervisor said that her stalker has been bothering her for a while, but she was still told that if she did anything to him, he would get away with it. It's really crazy that he would have to attack her while she did nothing in order for her to have him arrested.
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Damn, that is really bad. I can't imagine living knowing that someone is stalking me and can attack me anytime they want without me able to do anything.
Though, you could get a restraining order if you prove that the guy isn't living you alone. A restraining order is hard to get too but it's the best you can do.
 
I see no crime when the guy approached her. Self defense is only applicable when you are actually being harassed. These are common technicalities that some people dont understand.
 
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