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ahbagelxo t1_j0u37jx wrote

Reply to comment by guest0112 in Stand your ground vs Duty to retreat by LaunderMachine

I believe even in your own home you are obligated to perform "duty to retreat" first, which I do think is pretty insane. I feel like at the point that someone has entered your house illegally, they clearly have an intent to harm in some way, and you should be able to defend yourself proactively.

Edit: apparently this has changed! Which is great to know!

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Coomb t1_j0v1ygy wrote

It hasn't changed. Maryland derives the duty to retreat from the common law. But the common law has also held since at least the early 17th century that a man's home is his castle (i.e. his place of safest refuge -- meaning there's nowhere else he can retreat to) and that there is therefore no duty to retreat before a use of deadly force which would otherwise be justifiable. This was established explicitly by the Court of Appeals in 1963 (Crawford v. State, 231 Md. 354, 361, 190 A.2d 538, 541 (1963)) but was the law in Maryland before that date because Maryland inherited the common law from its colonial government.

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mrm0324 t1_j0ua14j wrote

I don’t think you have a duty to retreat in your own home.

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anne_hollydaye t1_j0ub04h wrote

Thankfully, this law changed to a modified castle law.

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ahbagelxo t1_j0ub5q5 wrote

I'm glad to be wrong about this! Thank you for the info!

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