Are they 'registered' as deadly weapons? No.
Could it constitute 'Lethal Force' if, say, Evander Holyfield came up to me in a dark alley, and started throwing punches? Very Likely.
Would you get no-billed if you used lethal force to defend yourself in such a situation? That's for the grand jury to decide.
It sort of falls under the 'grey area' of lethal force. Pretty much, you have to prove that you knew, or were confident, that that person, or persons were capable of, and desiring to, kill you with their bare hands.
Recognizing them as a 'professional' fighter of some kind, or a verbal statement like 'we're going to kill you' would help justify using it in that sort of situation.
The way my instructor put it, a 3 on 1 could be considered lethal force, and a man using bare hands against a woman is almost ALWAYS considered 'lethal force'.
He said that there are 3 things that a jury looks at to justify lethal force at the exact time you apply it. The exact wording he used may have been different, but i think I've got the concept down:
Capability - Can they physically kill or severely wound you, or a third party, with a gun, weapons, hands, whatever.
Desirability - Do they want to??
Ability - Can they actually do it, right there. right then.
He said that you need all three, or at least a reasonable belief on your part that all 3 are present. Lack of any one of the three removes justification for lethal force.
Example A: A Crazed Evander Holyfield is arrested by police, and put in a cell. I'm walking by, he yells at me 'I'm going to kill you!!'
Capability - Can he kill me, with his bare hands? Probably
Desirability - He just said he wanted to
Ability - No, he's behind bars and cannot reach me.
Example B: A CHL Holder in a bank, doing daily business
Capability - He has a gun. Yes
Desirability - No
Ability - Yes
Example C: A Mugger Robs an old lady at gunpoint, grabs the purse, and starts to run away. A CHL holder gets to the lady just after this happens, and the mugger is running away.
Capability - Gun
Desirability - He is running away, so at that exact point in time, no.
Ability - Once again, Gun.
Example D: You steal a young kid's ice creme cone at a park. "You meanie! I'm going to kill you!!!"
Capability - Um. No
Desirability - He very well might want to.
Ability - No.
Example E: A Man walks up to you in a stop-n-rob, with a candy bar under his shirt pointing at you. "I Have a gun, and I'm going to kill you".
Capability - YES, or at least you BELIEVE SO, since you do not know it is really a candy bar, and not a gun.
Desirability - He just said so, lying or not
Ability - YES. To you, at that exact point in time, he has full ability to follow through.
Example C is the one that most people have the hardest time with. "But he robbed her at GUNPOINT!" they say. Yes, he did. And at the time he had her at gunpoint, lethal force would have been justified, but since he has since turned tail and left, it is no longer considered lethal force.
Now, an actual situation will never be as cut and dry as the above examples... we only wish that every person who pulls a gun would loudly announce that they plan to kill everyone. Makes no-bills quicker :)
That's how it was explained to me. Comments/criticism's welcome :)
