Gibson et al. v. Commonwealth (1931)

Gibson et al. v. Commonwealth (1931)

"It is the tradition that a Kentuckian never runs. He does not have to."

John M. Harlan
34 SW 2d 936

The noted Kentucky jurist, John M. Harlan, wrote for the Supreme Court in Beard v. United States, 158 U. S. 550 S. Ct. 962, 967, 39 L. Ed. 1086:

"The defendant was where he had the right to be, when the deceased advanced upon him in a threatening matter, and with a deadly weapon; and if the accused did not provoke the assault, and had at the time reasonable grounds to believe, and in good faith believed, that the deceased intended to take his life, or do him great bodily harm, he was not obliged to retreat, nor to consider whether he could safely retreat, but was entitled to stand his ground, and meet any attack made upon him with a deadly weapon, in such way and with such force as, under all the circumstances, he, at the moment, honestly believed, and had reasonable grounds to believe, were necessary to save his own life, or to protect himself from great bodily injury."