2011-2012 Bill 1415: Use of Deadly Force - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 119th Session, 2011-2012 3 4 S. 1415 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 General Bill 9 Sponsors: Senator Ford 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\swb\5259htc12.docx 11 Companion/Similar bill(s): 5072 12 13 Introduced in the Senate on April 10, 2012 14 Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary 15 16 Summary: Use of deadly force 17 18 19 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 20 21 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 22 4/10/2012 Senate Introduced and read first time ( Senate Journalpage 11) 23 4/10/2012 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary ( Senate Journalpage 11) 24 4/20/2012 Senate Referred to Subcommittee: Campsen (ch), Ford, S.Martin 25 26 27 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 28 29 4/10/2012 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND SECTION 1611440, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH 12 CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE USE OF DEADLY 13 FORCE AGAINST ANOTHER PERSON WHO UNLAWFULLY 14 ENTERS A RESIDENCE, OCCUPIED VEHICLE, OR PLACE 15 OF BUSINESS, SO AS TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO 16 THE AUTHORIZED USE OF DEADLY FORCE IN ANOTHER 17 LOCATION, INCLUDING A PLACE OF BUSINESS. 18 19 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 20 Carolina: 21 22 SECTION 1. Section 1611440 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 23 379 of 2006, is amended to read: 24 25 “Section 1611440. (A) A person is presumed to have a 26 reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to 27 himself or another person when using deadly force that is intended 28 or likely to cause death or great bodily injury to another person if 29 the person: 30 (1) against whom the deadly force is used is in the process of 31 unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcibly 32 entered a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if he 33 removes or is attempting to remove another person against his will 34 from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and 35 (2) who uses deadly force knows or has reason to believe 36 that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act is 37 occurring or has occurred. 38 (B) The presumption provided in subsection (A) does not apply 39 if the person: 40 (1) against whom the deadly force is used has the right to be 41 in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or occupied

[1415] 2 1 vehicle including, but not limited to, an owner, lessee, or 2 titleholder; or 3 (2) sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is 4 otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship, 5 of the person against whom the deadly force is used; or 6 (3) who uses deadly force is engaged in an unlawful activity 7 or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further 8 an unlawful activity; or 9 (4) against whom the deadly force is used is a law 10 enforcement officer who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, 11 residence, or occupied vehicle in the performance of his official 12 duties, and he identifies himself in accordance with applicable law 13 or the person using force knows or reasonably should have known 14 that the person entering or attempting to enter is a law enforcement 15 officer. 16 (C) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and 17 who is attacked in another place where he has a right to be, 18 including, but not limited to, his place of business, has no duty to 19 retreat and has the right to stand his ground and meet force with 20 force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believes it is 21 necessary to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or 22 another person or to prevent the commission of a violent crime as 23 defined in Section 16160. 24 (D) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to 25 enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is 26 presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act 27 involving force or a violent crime as defined in Section 16160. 28 (E)(D) A person who by force enters or attempts to enter a 29 dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle in violation of an order of 30 protection, restraining order, or condition of bond is presumed to 31 be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act regardless of 32 whether the person is a resident of the dwelling, residence, or 33 occupied vehicle including, but not limited to, an owner, lessee, or 34 titleholder.” 35 36 SECTION 2. The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, 37 whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not 38 affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, 39 or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or 40 liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the 41 repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide. After 42 the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this 43 act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect

[1415] 3 1 for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil 2 action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing 3 as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of 4 rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood 5 under the repealed or amended laws. 6 7 SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the 8 Governor. 9 XX 10

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