Self Defense and Manslaughter

When you feel that your life is in danger, you should defend yourself. But how far is too far? When is self defense wrong? These two stories may shed some light on the subject.

Recently, a man broke into a house in Denver and was in the room of a 3 year old. The little boy’s cousin came in and saw the man. After a struggle with the 36 year old intruder, the teenage boy ended up stabbing the man to death. What he stabbed him with hasn’t been released, but it is known that the teenager stabbed the man.

The teenager killed the man in self defense, which is understandable. Who among us wouldn’t kill a man who breaks into our home and presents himself as a threat? Because the killing was in self defense, the teenager will not face prosecution.

In contrast, nearly a year ago a 61 year old man was having drinks at his house with a neighbor from down the street. After having a few drinks, the neighbor pulled out a knife and started acting crazy with it. The neighbor ended up cutting the older man’s hand with the knife and the older man became scared for his own life. So he pulled out his gun and shot the man in the head in self defense.

Because they had been drinking, and because cocaine had been found in his neighbor’s system, the man was sentenced to 5 years in jail because his ability to judge whether he could defend himself was impaired.

The need for adequate self-defense is important. The appropriate response for the situation is key to the outcome.