"You see he's got a gun pointed at you when you open the door. Are you within your rights to shoot/kill them?"
While self defense laws differ from state to state, the vast majority allow an individual to use force to defend themselves from "unlawful" force used by others. The use of deadly force is generally justified if you feel you, or someone else, is in threat of death or serious bodily harm. Deadly force can be used until the threat is eliminated, which does'nt mean "killed", however, if death results, it may be proved justifiable given the situation. This is where people can get into trouble, depending on their state laws, and how they applied deadly force.
You would be justified to defend yourself with deadly force in this situation, but you would be obligated to stop using deadly force once the carjacker is no longer a threat. Granted, that could very well mean that he ended up dead as a result of the deadly force applied, but that is not the only possible outcome.
Say you shoot him twice, and he drops his gun, falls to the ground and clutches his stomach. At this point, many courts would say that the carjacker is no longer a threat, and deadly force is no longer needed or authorized, and any further use of deadly force could go against the shooter.
Likewise, if an intruder in your house shoots at you, turns around and runs out the door, you may be liable if you shoot him in the back on the way out because it can be said that the criminal is no longer a threat since he is attempting to flee... Crazy, but it has happened.
Where does a threat begin and end? What action would constitute a feeling of potential loss of life or limb? You can't legislate that. The answers are different for everybody and every situation. That's where the lawyers come in, for better or worse.
Education is a must if you ever intend to use deadly force to defend yourself or others. You have got to be familiar with your state laws so that you can not only do the morally right thing, but the legally right thing if that time ever comes.
While self defense laws differ from state to state, the vast majority allow an individual to use force to defend themselves from "unlawful" force used by others. The use of deadly force is generally justified if you feel you, or someone else, is in threat of death or serious bodily harm. Deadly force can be used until the threat is eliminated, which does'nt mean "killed", however, if death results, it may be proved justifiable given the situation. This is where people can get into trouble, depending on their state laws, and how they applied deadly force.
You would be justified to defend yourself with deadly force in this situation, but you would be obligated to stop using deadly force once the carjacker is no longer a threat. Granted, that could very well mean that he ended up dead as a result of the deadly force applied, but that is not the only possible outcome.
Say you shoot him twice, and he drops his gun, falls to the ground and clutches his stomach. At this point, many courts would say that the carjacker is no longer a threat, and deadly force is no longer needed or authorized, and any further use of deadly force could go against the shooter.
Likewise, if an intruder in your house shoots at you, turns around and runs out the door, you may be liable if you shoot him in the back on the way out because it can be said that the criminal is no longer a threat since he is attempting to flee... Crazy, but it has happened.
Where does a threat begin and end? What action would constitute a feeling of potential loss of life or limb? You can't legislate that. The answers are different for everybody and every situation. That's where the lawyers come in, for better or worse.
Education is a must if you ever intend to use deadly force to defend yourself or others. You have got to be familiar with your state laws so that you can not only do the morally right thing, but the legally right thing if that time ever comes.