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Senate Judiciary Committee rejects bill to remove Arkansas' duty to retreat after hours of testimony
Summary
After hours of committee questioning and more than a dozen public witnesses, the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to advance Senate Bill 484 — a sponsor‑backed change to Arkansas' self‑defense law that would prohibit triers of fact from considering whether a person failed to retreat.
Senate Bill 484 — the proposal from Sen. Ballinger to remove a statutory duty to retreat in Arkansas — drew multi‑hour debate, extensive public testimony and a firm split between the bill sponsor and law‑enforcement and prosecutorial witnesses. The committee voted on a motion to pass the bill as amended; the motion failed on a roll call vote, 3 yeas to 4 nays, and the bill did not move out of committee.
Ballinger, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure is largely a ‘‘clean‑up’’ to align Arkansas law with how prosecutors usually evaluate self‑defense claims. He told the committee the bill ‘‘makes it clear there’s no duty to retreat’’ and argued the change would put statute in step with practice in 31 other states and better protect victims who face imminent harm.
Opponents included elected prosecutors, state police and representatives of…
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