Force in Self-Defense, Essay Example

Self defense can be described as an inherent right that an individual can use to justify use of force to protect himself against any unlawful attack as a response to situations that appear threatening to own safety. According to the law in Texas, one of the situations where a person is justified to use force against another is when he believes, to a degree beyond reasonable doubt, that the force he is using is immediately vital for own protection from other’s use/attempted use of unlawful force. The condition is that the force being used should be reasonable. The use of reasonable force implies that one only uses appropriate force as opposed to excessive force in a given situation.

Deadly force is simply an extended degree of force and can only be termed as reasonable when applied in countering an immediate threat to death or great bodily harm. Deadly force can exceptionally be used and considered valid in situations involving attempt of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping. It is prohibited to use deadly force in situations involving non-deadly force. However, deadly force can also be used if a lesser extend of injury can be established or in a case where lesser degree of force calls for an effective defense.