imported post
Wisconsin State Statute 939.48 -- Self Defense and the Defense of Others:
(1.) A person is privileged to threaten or intentionally use force against another
for the purpose of preventing or terminating what the person reasonably believes
to be an unlawful interference with his or her person by such other person. The
actor may intentionally use only such force or threat thereof as the actor reasonably believes is necessary to prevent or terminate the (unlawful) interference. The actor may not intentionally use force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm unless the actor reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or to herself.
(2.) Provocation affects the privilege of self-defense as follows: (a.) A person who engages in unlawful conduct of a type likely to provoke others to attack him or her and thereby does provoke an attack is not entitled to claim the privilege of self defense against such attack, except when the attack, which ensues, is of a type causing the person engaging in the unlawful conduct to reasonably believe that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm. In such a case, the person engaging in the unlawful conduct is privileged to act in self-defense, but the person is not privileged to resort to the use of force
intended or likely to cause death to the person's assailant, unless the person reasonably believes that he or she has exhausted every other reasonable means to escape from or otherwise avoid death or great bodily harm at the hands of his or her assailants. (b.) The privilege lost by provocation may be regained if the actor in good faith withdraws from the fight and givesadequate notice thereof to his or her assailant. (c.) A person who provokes an attack, whether by lawful or unlawful conduct, with intent to use such an attack as an excuse to cause death or great bodily harm to his or her assailant is not entitled to claim the privilege of self-defense.
(4.) A person is privileged to defend a third person from real or apparent unlawful
interference by another under the same conditions and by the same means as those under and by which the person in privileged to defend himself or herself from real or apparent unlawful interference, provided that the person reasonably believes that the facts are such that the third person would be privileged to act in self-defense and that the person's intervention is necessary for the protection of the third person.
Wisconsin State Statute 939.45 -- Privilege: The fact that the actor's conduct is privileged, although otherwise criminal, is a defense to prosecution for any crime based on that conduct. The defense of privilege can be claimed under any of the following circumstances:
(2.) When the actor's conduct is in defense of persons or property under any of the circumstances
described in 939.48 (Self-Defense and the Defense of others) or 939.49 ((Defense of Property and protection against retail theft): or
(3.) When the actor's conduct is in good faith and is an apparently authorized and reasonable fulfillment of any duties of a public office; or
(4.) When the actor's conduct is a reasonable accomplishment of a lawful arrest.
Interpretation: You have the right to defend yourself from an "interference" with your person, subject to certain conditions. An interference is generally an unwanted touch of some sort. The less the interference, the less right you have to fend it off. The interference must be actual or about to happen. Your evaluation of the situation and what to do about it must be reasonable. Of course you may have little time to weigh what's reasonable. Do what you need to do, but be mindful that someday 12 strangers (a jury) may be reviewing your conduct in hindsight, and they may disapprove of your choices.
Duty to retreat;
There is no duty to retreat, in and of itself. But if you had the opportunity to safely retreat, and recognized it, that becomes a factor in whether your response to an interference will be considered reasonable.
So the way ths reads to me; if someone brings a knife to you, you better defend yourself with a knife of equal size or less becuase a gun will most likely be considered excessive force and your going to be sitting at the wrong table in court.
I would rather be judged by a group of 12 then caried by a group of 6.
Does anyone remember an incident 20+ years ago in Racine or Kenosha where a crazed guy with a large sword was attacking people on a road, and a guy witnessed this on his way back from duck hunting, stopped, got his gun out of his trunk, shot the guyin defense of others and they arrested and succesfully prosecuted the guy that shot the nutjob. That is what I am afraid will happen If I ever need to unholster my weapon in WI