We concur with Justice White’s interpretation of Tennessee State law. However, we propose that more restrictive standards should be used by policemen when dealing with imminently dangerous circumstances.The necessity standard that White proposes for governing the use of lethal force strikes the right balance in regulating violence. He insists that the police act reasonably by evaluating whether the felon’s interest in life outweighs the state’s interest in seizing the felon by lethal force. Because we honor the supreme value of human life, lethal force should only be used when there is a reasonable belief that the felon poses a significant threat to the policeman or society.More restrictive standards of policing will minimize discretion and prevent unnecessary violence. The decision to impose death on a criminal should be left to the discretion of the judges rather than the police. A slight error in the judgement of the policeman can impose a death penalty on someone who does not deserve it. Furthermore, policemen can be driven to use lethal force because of personal biases and reluctance or incapability to seize the felon through non-violent methods.White’s standard is less restrictive than the standard governing self-defense and the death penalty. The doctrine of self-defense requires the presence of the four conditions- imminence, necessity, proportionality and no intent to punish- whereas White’s standard only requires necessity for the use of lethal force. White’s standard should be less restrictive than the standard of self-defense because the police have legitimate authority to use violence to maintain order and safety in society. Law asks us to be better than we would otherwise be. Hence the victim of self-defense is required to follow a very high standard before using any sort of violence. The standard of self-defense would be too rigid for the police to follow as it hinders them ...
