My state recently passed a law called the "Castle Doctrine". It essentially states that if you cause harm (shoot) an intruder in your place of habitation (this may be temporary or permamnent) It is now up to the prosecution to prove that you did not act in self defense. Incredibly, it was the reverse of this prior to September 08. It used to be that you basically had to prove you were acting in self defense.
So much for "innocent until proven guilty".
As for close quarter encounters, you can't predict anything. The situation dictates your actions. A person that enters your home with no weapons but grabs a broom and come at you with it. Is he carrying a deadly weapon? Are you willing to shoot that person? you have a split second to decide this. The courts have months/years to decide your fate. Can you articulate that this now dead person was filled with rage and if he hit you with the broom he would have taken your knife or gun and killed you with it.
The fight or flight scenario works in a perfect world but it may come down to fight/fight.
So much of what we see in the media and on unreality tv makes things look cut and dried. In the real world it's not like that. You may come away from an encounter cut, beaten, bleeding or dead. The goal is to overcome the situation and survive no matter what.
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