Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 11, Part 6.

This bill establishes certain considerations in regard to force used by a person who is the victim of human trafficking. Under present law, a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is in a place where the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat: (1) Before threatening or using force against another person when and to the degree the person reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force; or (2) Before threatening or using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, if: (A) The person has a reasonable belief that there is an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury; (B) The danger creating the belief of imminent death or serious bodily injury is real, or honestly believed to be real at the time; and (C) The belief of danger is founded upon reasonable grounds. Under present law, any person using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury is presumed to have held a reasonable belief of imminent death or serious bodily injury to self, family, or another member of the household when force is used on an intruder who unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence, business, or vehicle. This presumption applies when the person using defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry had occurred as well. The above presumption does not apply if the person using force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, business, residence or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity. This bill adds, in regard to the above-described present law provisions, that a person is "not engaged in unlawful activity or in a place where the person does not have a right to be" if the person is engaged in the activity or in the place due to the person's status as a victim of human trafficking. This bill requires the person to prove the person's status as a victim of human trafficking by clear and convincing evidence and such evidence may be established through testimony. ON MARCH 22, 2021, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 188 FOR HOUSE BILL 17, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 188, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 replaces the required element for self-defense that the person "not be engaged in unlawful activity" with the required element that the person "not be engaged in conduct that would constitute a felony or Class A misdemeanor,” thereby making the justification for the threat or use of force in self-defense conditional upon the person not being engaged in activity that would constitute a felony or a Class A misdemeanor, rather than any unlawful activity.