Quote (thundercock @ Nov 22 2021 05:05pm)
I think there are cases where it can apply. For instance, if someone abducted you and you end up killing your kidnapper, I think that's a legitimate form of self-defense (even if it's weeks later).
I think terms of the actual law, there would be this technical aspect that you could still be legally required to try to escape without killing your captor if that was an option. Take an example like Jayme Closs in Minnesota. A random weirdo saw her once and decided to kidnap her, walked into her home and blasted her parents with a shotgun and drove away holding her captive for 88 days. She eventually broke free because basically all he did to keep her locked up was put her under a bed and pile objects around it, so she pushed her way out and walked out to a stranger's home and called police. Now lets say that instead she had broken free, and decided to stay in his cabin and find his shotgun, lay in wait for him and murder him when he comes home. Under the letter of Minnesota law, she'd be guilty of 1st degree murder. We already had a laying-in-wait attempted self-defense case that resulted in a murder conviction around the same time. The law would clearly distinguish between 'killing in vengeance when you could have escaped bloodlessly' and 'laying in wait to murder someone'
Of course, this still boils down to what you can actually get a jury to convict on. Jurors are so biased around here that extremely clear-cut self-defense cases still get convicted, and I bet a clear-cut case of murder like the above would be set free. Jury nullification and juries disregarding the law to convict someone outweigh any technical argument. Look at the case of Allen Scarsella.