Aguila Blanca
Staff
Please provide some citations.brickeyee said:Some states have case law that firmly cones down on the side of fists NOT being presumed lethal force.
The laws of just about every state provide that the use of deadly force in defense of yourself or a third party is justified if the actor (that's you) has a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury.
Anyone who claims that fists cannot cause serious bodily injury, and even death, simply hasn't been reading the newspapers. The law does not require that fists be defined as lethal force. The law requires only that you have a reasonable fear of being seriously injured by the assailant.
With that established, the scenario set out in the original question is deliberately constructed to make answering it as difficult as possible ... which is why my first response was, "It depends." The OP has stated that both assailant and victim are roughly equal in size and age. [No more discussions about why geriatric paraplegics can use guns when the rest of us can't.] The OP has stated that there is no exit. [No more suggestions to "Exit stage left."] It doesn't matter where the scene is set -- the parameter is that the only way out is through the bad guy, and he says you can't leave unless you fight him. And you don't want to fight.
NOW what do you do?
Personally, if I have a cell phone with a signal, I'm calling 9-1-1. If that results in the bad guy initiating an attack (or an approach signaling an attack), I'm going to shoot him. The law does NOT require that I submit to being assaulted before I am allowed to defend myself.