Understanding Ohio’s ‘stand your ground’ law

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -In the past week in the U.S., there have been three cases where people were shot because of a simple mistake, and in some cases the people who did the shooting are claiming they had a right to under stand your ground laws.

In one case, a Kansas City teenager was shot for ringing the doorbell of the wrong house while looking to pick-up his brothers.

In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got in the wrong car she thought was there to pick her up.

In New York, a woman was shot while in a car turning around in a driveway.

In 2022, Ohio became one of 28 states to enact what’s know as a “stand your ground” law.

While complicated, the law takes away the legal requirement that people try to retreat from a situation before using deadly force.

Here is exactly how the law is written in Section 2901.09 of the Ohio revised code:

“For purposes of any section of the Revised Code that sets forth a criminal offense, a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person’s residence if that person is in a place in which the person lawfully has a right to be.

A trier of fact shall not consider the possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether or not a person who used force in self-defense, defense of another, or defense of that person’s residence reasonably believed that the force was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety.”

Jared Klebanow, a defense attorney in Cleveland held a live chat with Cleveland 19 on exactly what stand your ground means in Ohio.

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