Del. Code 11, § 431 : Crimes And Criminal Procedure — Defenses To Criminal Liability — Duress as affirmative defense; defense unavailable in certain situations

2 Sep 2016

Current through 2016 Legislative Session, Act 399

(a) In any prosecution for an offense, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant engaged in the conduct charged to constitute the offense because the defendant was coerced to do so by the use of, or a threat to use, force against the defendant's person or the person of another, which a reasonable person in the defendant's situation would have been unable to resist.
(b) The defense provided by subsection (a) of this section is unavailable if the defendant intentionally or recklessly placed himself or herself in a situation in which it was probable that the defendant would be subjected to duress.
(c) It is not a defense that a woman acted on the command of her husband, unless she acted under such coercion as would establish a defense under this section. The presumption that a woman acting in the presence of her husband is coerced is abolished.
Del. C. § 431
11 Del. C. 1953, § 431; 58 Del. Laws, c. 497, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.;