March 10, 2008
Self Defense Statute Adds Car Invasion and Other Properties
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The West Virginia Legislature has extended civil and criminal immunity to individuals who use proportionate force on an intruder or attacker. The bill passed on the final day of the regular legislative session extends protection for victims beyond their residence or in defending themselves.
Previously, the state law provided immunity for property owners who use reasonable or proportionate force upon an intruder. The new amendment adds motor vehicles “or any location where another has the right to be” to the list of protected locations. Individuals entering such spaces for the purpose of engaging in criminal conduct assume the risk for their injury or death from a property owner or their agent resisting the commission of a criminal act.
The statute constitutes a “full and complete defense to any action of law based upon the use of such [reasonable and proportionate] force to “protect one’s self, his or her property or the property of another.”
However, the legislation specifically prohibits a “hazardous or dangerous condition on the property designed to prevent criminal conduct or cause injury to a person engaging in a criminal act.”
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Self Defense Statute Adds Car Invasion and Other Properties
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – The West Virginia Legislature has extended civil and criminal immunity to individuals who use proportionate force on an intruder or attacker. The bill passed on the final day of the regular legislative session extends protection for victims beyond their residence or in defending themselves.
Previously, the state law provided immunity for property owners who use reasonable or proportionate force upon an intruder. The new amendment adds motor vehicles “or any location where another has the right to be” to the list of protected locations. Individuals entering such spaces for the purpose of engaging in criminal conduct assume the risk for their injury or death from a property owner or their agent resisting the commission of a criminal act.
The statute constitutes a “full and complete defense to any action of law based upon the use of such [reasonable and proportionate] force to “protect one’s self, his or her property or the property of another.”
However, the legislation specifically prohibits a “hazardous or dangerous condition on the property designed to prevent criminal conduct or cause injury to a person engaging in a criminal act.”
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