Defending Your Home
R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-8-8 — an occupant is presumed to have acted reasonably against a burglar, with no duty to retreat
When a person dies or is injured while committing one of the burglary and breaking and entering offenses, the owner, tenant or occupier of the place is rebuttably presumed, in any civil or criminal case, to have acted by reasonable means in self defense.
The presumption includes a reasonable belief that the intruder was about to inflict great bodily harm or death on the occupier or anyone else lawfully there.
No duty to retreat. An owner, tenant or occupier has no duty to retreat from a person committing one of those offenses.
A rebuttable presumption can be overcome by evidence, and outside the home the general law of self defense applies. A particular use of force is a question for a licensed Rhode Island attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-8-8 — Injury or death; Defense
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Rhode Island attorney.