The Jones case demonstrates the faults of laws that permit people who are in public places to use deadly force in self-defense with no duty to retreat, said Laura Cutilletta, legal director for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Americans for Responsible Solutions, the gun violence prevention group co-founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

According to Arizona law, “a person has no duty to retreat before threatening or using deadly physical force...if the person is in a place where the person may legally be and is not engaged in an unlawful act.”

Jones’ defense attorneys referred to the statute to justify his actions.

Cutilletta said longstanding common law doctrine holds that a person does not have a duty to retreat if he or she is attacked while at home. Only more recently have laws come about that state that when it comes to self-defense, the duty to retreat before using deadly force does not apply in public places, either, Cutilletta said.

If someone can safely retreat when they are in a public place, then that should be the standard before they use deadly force, she said.

As for the Arizona law that allowed Jones to have a gun locked in his car in the NAU parking lot, Cutilletta said her organization believes that statute should be revisited.