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Old July 17, 2005, 02:21 PM   #23
FrankDrebin
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Join Date: May 21, 2004
Posts: 1,101
Quote:
I don't think it is a question of semantics, or even a question of legality. It's a question of life and death. If you are carrying a gun and succumb in a fist fight, the other party may very well take your gun and blow your brains out with it. It has happened before, and it can happen again.
Is it LIKELY, or even REASONABLE to think you should kill someone in a fist fight because they might get the gun that YOU brought to the fight? I don't think it is. Just because it's happened before doesn't make it reasonable. Lots of people are killed after being punched in the nose when they fall and hit their head on the ground. Does that mean you should kill someone who you think MIGHT punch you in the nose because other people have died after being punched in the nose?

I believe this is the law in Michigan:

Quote:
M Civ JI 174.11 Felonious and Intentional Killing: Self-Defense—Definition
The killing was in self-defense if, at the time of the act, all of the following existed:

[Name of respondent] honestly and reasonably believed that [he / she] was in danger of being killed or receiving serious bodily harm.
Respondent honestly and reasonably believed that the use of force was immediately necessary to defend [himself / herself] from this danger.
Respondent used only the amount of force that appeared to [him / her] necessary at the time to defend [himself / herself] from this danger.
And I believe this is the definition of "serious injury".

Quote:
“Serious injury” means permanent, serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health, or serious impairment of a bodily function of a person.
As I said before, if I were on the jury of a guy charged with a shooting, and it involved a 30 year old guy in reasonable shape who shot and killed an unarmed 30 year-old guy in a run of the mill bar fight because he was afraid of being punched in the face, and he came out of the whole thing without a mark on him, and said in court "I shot him because I was afraid he'd hit me and take my gun and shoot me while I was incapacitated", there's a good chance that the most he could hope for was a hung jury. Because I might very well be voting "guilty".
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