The recent shooting of teenager Ralph Yarl has renewed the nation’s interest in self-defense laws, also referred to as "Stand Your Ground" and the "castle doctrine."
Revised in 2016, Missouri’s "Stand Your Ground" law says a person can use physical force “to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself, herself or a third person.”
“You do not have to retreat in an instance in which you feel someone may use force against you,” Joshuah Peter, a partner at Solomon & Peter Law Offices, said on Up To Date Monday.
Peter said it’s the "castle doctrine" that specifically applies to the Yarl case. That’s because Lester shot Yarl on his own property.
“The 'castle doctrine' made it to where you actually have a right to protect your house or your vehicle," he explained. "If you are in your home, and you have a reasonable belief that someone is breaking into your home or that they have unlawfully entered, then you have a right to use deadly force."
Peter said it will be up to the jury to decide if Lester had reasonable belief that Yarl was trying to break into his house, which Yarl said he was not.
Lester pleaded “not guilty” at the Clay County Courthouse last week to two felony charges of first degree assault and armed criminal action.
- Joshuah Peter, defense attorney and partner at Solomon & Peter Law Offices
