NCJ Number
147537
Date Published
1991
Length
268 pages
Annotation
American attitudes toward violence are examined, with a central theme of "no duty to retreat."
Abstract
"No duty to retreat" indicates an American rejection of ancient English common law which obliges one who is assailed to attempt to retreat before killing in self-defense. America's cultural and legal adoption of "no duty to retreat" helps explain why its homicide rate has been so much higher than that of England during the past two centuries, and why it is the most violent of all the world's industrialized democracies. Chapter 1 traces the origins of "no duty to retreat." Chapter 2 focuses on the most potent symbol of this attitude: the gunfighter of the American Old West. Chapter 3 is a study of "no duty to retreat" in a conflict in California in the late 19th Century. Chapter 4 shows how the attitude has persisted to this day. Chapter 5 demonstrates how "no duty to retreat" manifests in foreign, military, and civil affairs. Finally, the author discusses whether "no duty to retreat" is not an atavistic attitude that will give way to notions of peace, civility, and tolerance. Endnotes, index