They had carjackings back then? I can't imagine that holding up as "true self-defense" with any reasonable jury. Doesn't going back to your car to grab a gun and chasing after the guys negate any thought of self defense? He was driving to the game and he pulled over because he saw a few guys on the side of the road waving for help. But ya, a 1913 carjacking would be interesting to see. As far as his self-defense claim goes, you are justified in meeting force with similar force. If someone uses deadly force on you, then you can use it on them. They knifed him, so he beat one of them to death. That's fair. In most states now you have a duty to retreat, except in your home. Meaning that if you fend off your attacker and can get away successfully, then you have a duty to do so. Some states have a duty to retreat even in your home, and some states have NO duty to retreat, no matter where you are attacked. It is more than likely that almost a hundred years ago, most states were still working under the common law, which has no duty to retreat. So Ty would have been acting appropriately within his self-defense claim by chasing one of them down. Furthermore, even if there was a duty to retreat, it's unlikely that he would have been convicted back then. The thugs apparently first went after Ty's wife, which is what really set him off. Given the tendency toward vigilantism being "ok" back then, especially as it pertains to the protection of one's wife and children, i can't imagine a jury convicting him.