Experts take shots at deadly force bills

Current law makes expansion unnecessary in Tenn., they say

By Chris Conley, Commercial Appeal
February 16, 2007

Proposed legislation expanding the right to use deadly force in self-defense against carjackers and other attackers isn't needed, law enforcement experts say.

Tennessee law already gives citizens the right if they have a reasonable fear of harm from a carjacker, rapist, burglar or any violent assailant.

"The law is already on the books," said Sgt. Vince Higgins, spokesman for the Memphis Police Department.

And while some states require citizens to try to avoid a confrontation before using deadly force, Tennessee does not.

The issue emerged this week with a bill proposed by Rep. Ulysses Jones and Sen. Reginald Tate, both D-Memphis, that would allow people in motor vehicles to kill attackers, both inside and outside their vehicles, if they are in fear for their lives and safety.

"It's time to give citizens the opportunity to protect themselves. Right now, we're at the mercy of what I call 'scum,'" Jones said Tuesday.

He did not return a reporter's telephone calls to his office Thursday.

Tom Givens, chief instructor and owner of RangeMaster, said of the legislation, "It wouldn't change anything."

In addition to training citizens to use a gun properly, Givens and his instructors inform their students of their self-defense rights and the limits on those rights.

The bill presented by Jones and Tate appears to extend to one's vehicle a section of the law, which says you are presumed to be in fear of your life when someone breaks into your residence.

"It doesn't matter if you are in your home, in your car, or in your swimming pool," prosecutor Tom Henderson said.

Furthermore, even if you are packing a gun without a permit and shoot someone, you cannot be prosecuted on the gun charge if the shooting is ruled justified.

Henderson is often called upon to determine whether a shooting is self-defense, or if the shooter needs to be prosecuted.

The burden is on the police and prosecutors to show the person did not act in self-defense.

Memphis Shelby Crime Commission president and CEO Michael Heidingsfield, a supporter of "no retreat" laws, warns "the language has to be tailored to make sure it doesn't become the Wild West."

Much of what is being proposed is an effort to establish the widest possible boundaries for citizens, said state Sen. Roy Herron D-Dresden, who presented one of the bills.

"We want to give every law-abiding citizen every possible defense to protect himself," he said, "to put the lines as far out as we can."

Herron said his bill on deadly force is a vehicle for reform, and is not in its final form. Bills had to be filed this week to make a deadline.

He said he will be talking to the state attorney general, local police chiefs and prosecutors.

The rights of the citizen under attack are inherent in the current laws, but are not delineated, said state Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who has a pending bill.

"We are trying to spell it out," he said, "to make it clear what your rights are. It gives folks more confidence."

Crime is a big issue in his district, and seemingly everywhere, Norris said. "It's more pervasive than in the past. There's more disregard for human life."

"It lays it out for the layman," said Millington Police Chief Rick Jewell. "People often are ignorant of what the law is."

However, anyone who has a carry permit undergoes training that spells out the law.

"If they have been through a carrying class, they know," said Bartlett Police Chief Mark Hopper.