can you shoot someone for entering your home.
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can you shoot someone for entering your home.
if a squatter moves into my home while I am out of town am I able to shoot them
for breaking and entering.
Asked on August 29, 2019 under Criminal Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
No, you cannot--not only because he is in your home. While your state does have a "castle doctrine" (as in, "a man's home is his castle") that affords more latitude to use deadly force in your home than outside it, it still requires that the intruder be obviously violent or aggressive, be threatening violence or harm, or be in the process of a committing a felony (a serious crime; e.g. robbery) *and* deadly force is reasonably believed to be necessary to stop him. If someone is simply squatting in your home when you get back and not offering any threat, violence, etc. and not in the process of *at that time* committing a felony, you cannot shoot them. If he is a peaceful squatter, you call the police.
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