Self-Defense Laws in Delaware

Delaware has a duty to retreat in public. The use of deadly force in self-protection is not justifiable if the defendant knows that the necessity of using deadly force can be avoided with complete safety by retreating (or by surrendering property to a person claiming it, or by complying with a demand to refrain from an act the defendant is not legally required to do). The defendant is not obliged to retreat in or from the defendant's dwelling, and is not obliged to retreat in or from the defendant's place of work unless the defendant was the initial aggressor. Deadly force is also not justifiable if the defendant, with the purpose of causing death or serious physical injury, provoked the use of force in the same encounter.

No duty to retreat in or from one's dwelling, and no duty to retreat in or from one's place of work unless the person was the initial aggressor (§ 464(e)). When an occupant of a dwelling is prosecuted for killing or injuring an intruder who was unlawfully in the dwelling, it is a defense that the occupant was in the occupant's own dwelling and: (1) the encounter was sudden and unexpected, compelling the occupant to act instantly; or (2) the occupant reasonably believed the intruder would inflict personal injury upon the occupant or others in the dwelling; or (3) the occupant demanded that the intruder disarm or surrender and the intruder refused (§ 469). Deadly force to protect property is justifiable only in limited cases, including against a person attempting to dispossess the defendant of the defendant's dwelling without a claim of right (§ 466(c)). Civil immunity: a person who used force for the protection of property and has not been convicted of any crime connected with that use of force is not liable for damages to the one against whom the force was used (§ 466(d)).