Commonwealth v. Shaffer
367 Mass. 508, 326 N.E. 2d 880, 1975 Mass. LEXIS 866 (1975)
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Rule of Law:
A person assaulted in their own home has a duty to retreat and must exhaust all reasonable and proper means to avoid combat before using deadly force in self-defense. The location of the assault in one's home is a major factor for the jury to consider but does not create an exception to this duty.
Facts:
- The defendant, Jeanne Shaffer, lived in her home with her two children and her fiancé, the victim.
- The victim had a history of inflicting severe beatings on Shaffer and had previously threatened to kill her and her children.
- During an argument, the victim threatened Shaffer, stating, 'I’ll take care of you right now,' prompting her to flee to the basement where her children were.
- The victim went to the top of the basement stairs and threatened, 'If you don’t come up these stairs, I’ll come down and kill you and the kids.'
- Shaffer retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from a wall rack and loaded it.
- When the victim began to descend the stairs, Shaffer fired a single fatal shot.
- Approximately five minutes elapsed from the time Shaffer went to the basement until the shooting occurred.
Procedural Posture:
- Jeanne Shaffer was indicted for murder and tried in the Massachusetts Superior Court.
- At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial judge directed a verdict on the murder charges, submitting the case to the jury solely on the charge of manslaughter.
- The jury convicted Shaffer of manslaughter.
- Shaffer, as appellant, appealed her conviction to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
- The Appeals Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.
- Shaffer, as appellant, applied for and was granted further appellate review by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
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Issue:
Does a person assaulted in their own home have a duty to retreat before using deadly force in self--defense under Massachusetts law?
Opinions:
Majority - Tauro, C.J.
Yes. Under Massachusetts law, a person does have a duty to retreat when assaulted in their own home, provided they can do so safely, before resorting to the use of deadly force. The court explicitly declines to adopt the majority 'castle doctrine' rule, which holds that there is no duty to retreat in one's own home. Instead, it reaffirms its long-standing principle that the right to use deadly force arises from necessity and is only available after one has availed themselves of all reasonable and proper means to avoid combat. The court reasons that this rule gives due recognition to the value of human life. While the location of an assault in one's home is an element of 'major importance' for the jury to consider, it does not create an unlimited right to react with deadly force. In this case, the jury could have reasonably found that Shaffer had ample opportunity to escape or call for help and was not in imminent danger, thus making her use of deadly force not necessary.
Analysis:
This decision solidifies Massachusetts' minority position on the 'duty to retreat,' expressly rejecting the widely adopted 'castle doctrine.' It establishes that while a person's home is a critical factor in a self-defense analysis, it does not create an automatic right to stand one's ground against an assailant. The ruling reinforces a totality-of-the-circumstances test, requiring a jury to weigh the location of the assault against other factors like the imminence of the threat and the availability of safe escape routes. This precedent places a significant burden on defendants in Massachusetts claiming self-defense in their own homes to demonstrate they had no other reasonable option but to use deadly force.
