Section 14.15 Duress, Coercion, or Compulsion

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

h. (§14.15) Duress, Coercion, or Compulsion

If the defendant is forced to do a criminal act “by the use of, or threatened imminent use of, unlawful physical force upon him or a third person, which force or threatened force a person of reasonable firmness . . . would have been unable to resist,” the defendant is acting under duress and may not be guilty of that offense. Section 562.071.1, RSMo 2000. SeeJohnson v. United States, 291 F.2d 150 (8^th Cir. 1961), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 880 (1961). The fear must be well-founded, and there must be no reasonable opportunity to escape the compulsion. Section 562.071.2 eliminates duress or compulsion as a defense in murder cases and also in situations “when the defendant recklessly places himself” in the position. State v. Davis, 559 S.W.2d 602 (Mo. App. W.D. 1977), holds that the...