imported post
You can be beaten to death. A weapon does not have to be pulled out by the attacker to justify using lethal force to protect yourself. The prosecutors comments about "This was a fight, not an incident where the defendant was in reasonable fear of death, and yet he reacts with deadly force," are typical PR bullshit to support her case.
This may, or may not, be self-defense. But the fact that theman that died had not actually visibly brought a weapon in the fight doesn't mean that he and his friend were not equipped to kill Mr. Royals.
Regarding the concept of "duty to retreat" in Virginia, it's not techinically accurate to say that there is noduty to retreat in this state. If you did not contribute to the situation, you do not have a duty to retreat. However, if you did contribute to the encounter escalating (e.g., you started arguing and yelling with a guy and then he pulls a knife), then you are required to retreat to the maximum extent possible. If you own a copy of "Virginia Gun Laws", it's pretty easy to find the court precendent that establishes that. Mine is at home unfortunately.
Also, regarding civil cases, and castle doctrine, some of us brought that up with one of our State Senators on Lobby Day in 2008. He had explained that castle doctrine isn't necessary in Virginia like in other states. There are two types of criteria for liability. Some states have relative liability, which would diminish anypayouts based on how much of the fault was yours. Virginia is a "strict liability" state, so the person suing can't win if he is at fault for what happened. So, on one hand,you can file a lawsuit for just about anything. But if you shoot and kill a man that broke into your home, his family has no real chance of a lawsuit going any farther than the initial steps.
