Duty to Retreat:
Self-Defense in Public Spaces

Rhode Island follows the common-law duty to retreat for self-defense claims involving deadly force in public spaces. Unlike states with Stand Your Ground statutes, Rhode Island requires a person to attempt to retreat through a known safe avenue before using deadly force, when the encounter occurs outside of a dwelling or building covered by the Castle Doctrine.^[1]

What the Duty Requires

The duty to retreat does not require a person to flee at all costs. It requires that the person avail themselves of a known, safe avenue of retreat before resorting to deadly force. If no safe retreat is available, or if retreating would expose the person to additional danger, the duty does not apply. The determination of whether a safe avenue of retreat existed is a question of fact for the jury, evaluated based on what the defendant knew or reasonably believed at the time of the encounter.

Non-Deadly Force

The duty to retreat applies specifically to the use of deadly force. A person may use reasonable non-deadly force in self-defense without first retreating. The distinction between deadly and non-deadly force is critical. Firing a loaded revolver is deadly force.

No Stand Your Ground in Rhode Island

Rhode Island has not enacted a Stand Your Ground law. Several states have eliminated the duty to retreat through legislation, permitting individuals to use deadly force anywhere they have a legal right to be without first attempting to flee. Rhode Island has not adopted such legislation.^[2] Outside the Castle Doctrine exception, a person must attempt to retreat before using deadly force if consciously aware of an open, safe and available escape route.

Interaction with the Castle Doctrine

The duty to retreat does not apply where the Castle Doctrine under Section 11-8-8 is triggered. That protection turns on the intruder committing a breaking-and-entering offense enumerated in Sections 11-8-2 through 11-8-6, not on location alone. Where such an offense is being committed, the owner, tenant, or occupier of the dwelling or building has no duty to retreat and may stand their ground. In public, under the common-law rule, a person must attempt to retreat before using deadly force if consciously aware of an open, safe and available escape route. This distinction makes the physical location of the encounter the single most important factor in evaluating a self-defense claim in Rhode Island.