Thus , for instance , a defendant may have been threatened by a man holding a toy gun and responded by assaulting or harming the man . If a " reasonable man " would also have believed that the toy gun was a real threat and have responded with fear as well , the defendant ’ s actions will likely be considered self-defense .
When a criminal defendant ’ s response does not meet the reasonable-person standard , but the defendant did truly fear a threat of harm , this is called imperfect self-defense .
Imperfect self-defense will not act as a complete defense to the crime that is charged , but many states will allow it as a defense that lessens the charges brought against the defendant or any possible punishment he or she may face .
Proportional Force
As an additional element , self-defense and defense of others also require that the force used is proportional to the threat faced . This is very important in the context of deadly force . A criminal defendant may not use deadly force to respond to a threat that was not itself deadly .
Thus , for example , if a defendant is faced with the threat of being punched in the face during an argument , he cannot respond by stabbing the other individual . This would not constitute selfdefense . However , if the defendant believes he is about to be shot and shoots back , this may be considered proportional force .
Some states provide two important caveats to this principle . The first is the " duty to retreat ."
" Imperfect self-defense will not act as a complete defense to the crime that is charged , but many states will allow it as a defense that lessens the charges brought against the defendant or any possible punishment he or she may face ."
Under the duty to retreat , many states require that a defendant make an attempt to avoid the use of deadly force by leaving a threatening situation if possible . In these states , only after an attempt to retreat from the violent situation may a defendant use deadly force .
Second , some states have " stand your ground " laws , which are somewhat like an exception to the duty to retreat requirement . Stand your ground laws provide that when an individual is attacked in his or her home , there is no duty to retreat , and reasonable force can be used .