New York Self Defense Laws HW 3.11.19

In New York, The law allows for people use self defense in a physical form to defend themselves if they believe “it is necessary to defend himself, herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person” this applies to all cases except where the person who wants to use self defense as a justification is the initial aggressor. This is different than Florida law where even if you are the person who started the fight/altercation and then believe that your life is in danger you can kill a person or defend yourself. The person in New York can use deadly physical force if he or she believes that their life is in danger because the aggressor is about to use deadly force. The law also seems to try and preserve life at all costs by saying that if the person has the chance to retreat they must try and do that, saying that killing is the last option. The actor doesn’t have to retreat if they are in their own home, are a police officer or if they believe the other person is going to commit another violent crime such as kidnapping or rape.