Self-Defense
Ala. Code § 13A-3-23 — no duty to retreat where a person has a right to be, and a pretrial hearing on immunity
A person may use physical force to defend themselves or a third person from what they reasonably believe is the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force, in the degree they reasonably believe is necessary.
Who handles this in Alabama: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Alabama directory.
- Deadly physical force is presumed justified against someone reasonably believed to be using or about to use unlawful deadly force.
- It is presumed justified against someone committing or about to commit kidnapping, first or second degree assault, burglary, robbery, forcible rape or forcible sodomy.
- It is presumed justified against someone unlawfully and forcefully entering a home, a business or an occupied vehicle, or trying to drag someone out of one.
No duty to retreat. A person justified in using force, including deadly force, who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is anywhere they have the right to be, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand their ground.
- Force is not justified for someone who provoked it intending to injure, or who started the fight and did not withdraw and say so.
- Hiding, altering or destroying the weapon afterward, rather than handing it over unaltered to law enforcement, creates a presumption that the force was not justified.
- Before trial, the defendant can ask for a hearing and, by proving justification by a preponderance of the evidence, be found immune from prosecution and have the charges dismissed.
Sources for this section (1)
- Ala. Code § 13A-3-23 — Use of Force in Defense of a Person
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Alabama attorney.