Use of Deadly Force in Virginia

[aaronbagby]

I'm a resident of Norfolk, Va. I live in a somewhat rough area of town near the campus of Old Dominion University. There have been quite a few home invasions/murders in the area in the past few years. A friend of mine recently shared a cell in Norfolk City Jail with an inmate who was serving 18 months for shooting an invader in his own home. He didn't kill the intruder, but left him badly wounded with a shot to the face. He was originally charged with attempted murder, but the charge was lessened to malicious wounding. As much as I hate the idea of having to use lethal force, I hate the idea of imprisonment for it much more. Could anyone point me in the direction of useful information on the use of deadly force/justifiable homicide in Virginia? Anything is appreciated.

 

[hermannr]

Try here: http://www.vcdl.org/

 

[Fishing_Cabin]

aaronbagby,

Here is a link with various cases and should help you to understand what is legal, and what is not.

http://www.virginia1774.org/Page5.html

Here is also a PDF from vacdl.org.

http://www.vcdl.org/pdf/Virginia-self-defense-cases.pdf

Self-defense in Virginia is an affirmative defense, the absence of which is not an element of murder. In making this plea a defendant implicitly admits the killing was intentional and assumes the burden of introducing evidence of justification or excuse that raises a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors...

 

[Frank Ettin]

I've found UseofForce to be a good resource for understanding self defense law in general (not State specific).

And this is an interesting article by a lawyer (and primarily for lawyers) discuss how to present a self defense case. I've found that it can be useful in understanding how claiming self defense works in court.

...A friend of mine recently shared a cell in Norfolk City Jail with an inmate who was serving 18 months for shooting an invader in his own home....

And I bet there's a whole lot more to the story than that.