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2021 Delaware Code
Title 11 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Chapter 4. Defenses to Criminal Liability
§ 469. Justification — Person unlawfully in dwelling.
Universal Citation: 11 DE Code § 469. (2021)
§ 469. Justification — Person unlawfully in dwelling. 63 Del. Laws, c. 276, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1;
In the prosecution of an occupant of a dwelling charged with killing or injuring an intruder who was unlawfully in said dwelling, it shall be a defense that the occupant was in the occupant's own dwelling at the time of the offense, and:
(1) The encounter between the occupant and intruder was sudden and unexpected, compelling the occupant to act instantly; or
(2) The occupant reasonably believed that 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 to do so.
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