HF 5059

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/20/2024 11:23am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; amending the authorization for the intentional taking of
the life of another by a person other than a peace officer; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2022, section 609.065.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 609.065, is amended to read:

609.065 JUSTIFIABLE TAKING OF LIFE.

new text begin (a) new text end The intentional taking of the life of another is not authorized by section 609.06,
except when necessary in resisting or preventing an offense which the actor reasonably
believes exposes the actor or another to great bodily harm or death, or preventing the
commission of a felony in the actor's place of abode.

new text begin (b) To present a defense under this section in a criminal case involving death of the
victim or an attempt to kill the victim, the defense has the burden of presenting evidence
of the following elements of a sufficient threat to justify the taking of a life, any of which
may then be disproven by the state beyond a reasonable doubt to rebut the defense:
new text end

new text begin (1) the absence of aggression or provocation on the part of the defendant;
new text end

new text begin (2) the defendant's actual and honest belief that he or she was in imminent danger of
death or great bodily injury;
new text end

new text begin (3) the existence of reasonable grounds for that belief; and
new text end

new text begin (4) the absence of a reasonable possibility of retreat to avoid the danger, unless in one's
own home.
new text end

new text begin (c) In criminal cases where there is a history of prior physical abuse with the defendant
as the recipient of abuse and the victim as the abuser, that history of physical abuse can be
put before and considered by the trier of fact for the purposes of evaluating whether or not
the threat presented created an imminent danger of death or great bodily injury and whether
or not the defendant displayed aggression or provocation.
new text end