In self-defense, deadly force may be used only when...

• A. When there is a chance of injury but no real threat
• B. In any self-defense scenario
• C. Only if the defender is armed
• D. Only when facing an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that deadly force in self-defense is only justified when there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm. In self-defense law, the use of deadly force must be necessary and proportionate to the danger you reasonably believe you face, and the threat must be immediate rather than speculative. This means you can act to protect yourself only if you reasonably fear that death or serious injury is about to occur, and you have no practical, safe alternatives to avoid the harm. Importantly, you don’t have to be armed to justify deadly force—unarmed defenders can also face an imminent deadly threat.

So the statement that deadly force is permissible only when there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury best captures the essential limit on using deadly force.