Gun experts explain when deadly force is justified under new gun laws

On Jan. 1, Missouri gun laws were expanded. The so-called “Castle Doctrine” was expanded to include babysitters or other guests who could protect themselves from deadly force. Missourians can now conceal/carry and in most places, they don’t have to have a permit or training to do so.

Monday night, Karl Henson shot several times at a man who attempted to rob him on Riva Ridge Road in northeast Columbia. According to police, the man grabbed the phone Henson intended to sell him during a transaction and started to run away. Court documents indicated Henson told police he though it was justified under “because of what happened with the new year on the law change.”

The officer who wrote the probable cause statement said Henson stated something along the lines of “the old law, you weren’t allowed to shoot somebody when their back was turned to you.”

Former prosecutor Bill Tackett said Missouri laws did change but what hasn’t changed is when you can use deadly force. He said it all boils down to reasonable belief, if you believe that you need to use deadly force to protect yourself, a third party or an unborn child from danger.

Tackett said Henson would have to prove in court that he reasonably believed the would-be robber was going to harm him.

“There’s no middle ground on that and that’s what a judge or a jury would look toward and determine whether or not someone used deadly force appropriately,” he said. “Here you’ve got someone running away and that doesn’t fit anywhere in the statute and that would not be a defense.”

Targetmaster’s Joe Gilbert said Henson didn’t have the justification to shoot the would-be robber and proper training can help someone understand when its appropriate, even though it’s no longer required under Missouri law.

“There are a lot of things that are covered and explained in training that go beyond just using a gun and beyond the statute. You’ve got to understand how you’re tried.” he said. “A person has to have the opportunity, the ability and the manifest intent to harm you and they have to have the ability to do great physical harm before you’re justified to use deadly force. Clearly, stealing a cell phone and running away, it met none of those criteria.”

Gilbert said deadly force is also justified if someone is stopping a forcible felony like rape or armed robbery. At this point, police and Henson’s testimony does not indicate the would-be robber was armed.