Juvenile Crime Hypothetical deadly force situation

Avery Linn

New Member
Jurisdiction
Illinois
Hello all! I'm not sure if this is the right forum/thread to post this, but I just need some help for a book I'm currently writing. Already did a ton of research but still can't quite grasp the process of arrest (if it would even happen) in a situation like this.

Character A has a friend, character B, over at their house. Let's just say character C is A's father. A is sexually assaulted by C, and B intervenes. C then tries to kill B in a fit of rage and A panics and kills their father. What would happen when the police arrive? Would they be arrested on the spot? Character A is a minor but B is not if that matters.

How would this play out? Would any or all of the characters be arrested, or if given enough evidence at the scene, will they be let go free of charge?
 
In what state do you envision this? Does your book have a primary setting? Because state law could very much affect this.
 
Already did a ton of research

Did you?

Did you read 720 ILCS 5/7-1 Justifiable Use of Force?

(720 ILCS 5/7-1) (from Ch. 38, par. 7-1)
Sec. 7-1. Use of force in defense of person.
(a) A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such other's imminent use of unlawful force. However, he is justified in the use of force which is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm only if he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or another, or the commission of a forcible felony.
(b) In no case shall any act involving the use of force justified under this Section give rise to any claim or liability brought by or on behalf of any person acting within the definition of "aggressor" set forth in Section 7-4 of this Article, or the estate, spouse, or other family member of such a person, against the person or estate of the person using such justified force, unless the use of force involves willful or wanton misconduct.
(Source: P.A. 93-832, eff. 7-28-04.)


As for anybody getting arrested at the scene, that would be up to the procedures and practices of local law enforcement which you can probably find out with a little more research or a few phone calls, possibly one of them to a criminal defense attorney.

OTOH, you are writing fiction, you can write it in any way that makes sense to the story line.
 
Deadly force being used is ONLY used when someone life is in danger.... You don't give enough information to determine if using deadly force is going to fly. Sadly, people try to use deadly force when its a fist fight. A person can retreat from a fist fight...… We are seeing this being played out in the recent shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.
 
Character A is a minor

The age of the minor is very important.
In the scenario you describe, assuming the circumstances support the defense of others angle, the child would not likely be arrested. However, where is the other parent? If absent, the child would likely be taken by social services.

Character B has nothing to worry about.
 
What would happen when the police arrive?

Any number of thousands of things could happen. Depends primarily on what the police observe when they arrive on the scene.

Would they be arrested on the spot?

A might be arrested.
B might be arrested.
Both A and B might be arrested.
Neither A nor B might be arrested.

How would this play out?

It will play out exactly as you write it.

Character B has nothing to worry about.

I disagree. Given the almost non-existent factual setup provided by the OP, I could easily write any number of scenarios in which B is arrested, charged, tried and convicted.
 
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