Which defense requires proof that force or a threat of force compelled the crime?

Which defense requires proof that force or a threat of force compelled the crime?

• A. Entrapment
• B. Necessity
• C. Self-defense
• D. Duress

Answer: (D)

Duress is the defense that applies when a person commits a crime because they were forced to by a threat or use of force. The key idea is that the defendant’s will was overborne by an immediate threat of serious harm, and there was no reasonable way to avoid committing the offense. To defend this way, the defendant must show that the force or threat actually compelled the crime and that they had no safe alternative to escape the situation. This doesn’t fit the other common defenses. Entrapment involves police persuading someone to commit a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed, not being coerced by a threat. Necessity is about choosing the lesser of two evils to prevent a greater harm, not about coercion by someone’s threats. Self-defense covers protecting oneself or others from imminent unlawful harm with reasonable force, rather than acting under pressure to commit a crime.

Duress is the defense that applies when a person commits a crime because they were forced to by a threat or use of force. The key idea is that the defendant’s will was overborne by an immediate threat of serious harm, and there was no reasonable way to avoid committing the offense. To defend this way, the defendant must show that the force or threat actually compelled the crime and that they had no safe alternative to escape the situation.

This doesn’t fit the other common defenses. Entrapment involves police persuading someone to commit a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed, not being coerced by a threat. Necessity is about choosing the lesser of two evils to prevent a greater harm, not about coercion by someone’s threats. Self-defense covers protecting oneself or others from imminent unlawful harm with reasonable force, rather than acting under pressure to commit a crime.