By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Governor Bob Riley signed into a law the so-called "deadly force" bill.
The bill gives new legal protections to people who kill intruders in their homes, businesses and vehicles. More specifically, it removes legal language that says a person should not use deadly force during a break in if they can "avoid using force with complete safety". The new law now allows a person to use deadly force to "defend themselves or a third person from what they believe to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by the other person". Senator Larry Means says he patterned the measure's language after a law enacted last year in Florida. Indiana, South Dakota and Mississippi recently passed similar laws.