Professor: State law allows self-defense, but there are limitations

South Carolina residents have the right to defend themselves, including with the use of lethal force, when they are in their home, business or vehicle.

A 2006 law called the Protection of Persons and Property Act solidified, and in some cases expanded, South Carolina's castle (or stand your ground) doctrine, said Kenneth Gaines, an associate law professor at the University of South Carolina.

The 2006 law removed any duty to retreat and allows people to defend themselves if they believe that they can prevent physical harm or the commission of a violent crime, Gaines said.

The property owner is required to have "clean hands," meaning the person can't have been involved in any crime at the time of the shooting, he said.

The self-defense rules could be cited in relation to a Saturday shooting in Anderson County.

Debra Sheridan, 51, has told investigators that she shot Jerry Wayne Sanders Jr., 37, of Pickens County Saturday night in self-defense when he was on her property, according to a report from an Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputy. Sanders died as a result of the shooting.

Sheridan has not been charged in the case.

Ivan Toney, a Greenville lawyer who has previously represented Sheridan, said Monday that he is talking to her about the shooting.

Anderson County Sheriff's Office investigators plan to meet with 10th Judicial Circuit prosecutors this week to discuss the details and whether self-defense applies. Solicitor David Wagner said he would not discuss details of the ongoing investigation.

Gaines said there would be two serious legal challenges for Sheridan, given the details of the shooting that are known so far. The first is that Sanders was shot outside, not inside, a home.

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"If somebody is outside of their home they will have a harder time showing stand your ground would apply," he said.

That applies even on someone's property with fences, Gaines said.

Secondly, if Sanders had previously been welcome on the property as a renter or resident, that too will make it tougher to make a case for self-defense under the castle doctrine, Gaines said. Sheridan told investigators Sanders had been a resident on the property until she recently kicked him off, authorities said.

That prior relationship to the property, even if the invitation to be there had been revoked, will remain a legal hurdle, Gaines said.

The castle doctrine has helped broaden rights of homeowners to use lethal force by eliminating any obligation to retreat before using force, and that would help Sheridan's case for self-defense, Gaines said.

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