Justifiable Homicide

The legal definition of justifiable homicide is “the killing of one person by another that is committed without malice or criminal intent.” If justifiable homicide is committed, it is not a criminal offense the defendant is guilty of. If a homicide occurs while defending others it may be considered a justifiable homicide, as well as, in defense of yourself, otherwise known as self-defense, while in the line of duty, or if you are in the midst of preventing a serious crime from occurring. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is considered a justifiable homicide. Stopping a prisoner from getting away, by any means possible, including deadly force, is often considered a justifiable homicide.

According to the federal statistics, the instances of justifiable homicide dropped twenty-nine percent from 1992 to 2002. The statistics also show that more justifiable homicide acts are committed by police officers, not private citizens. There are different circumstances when it comes to a police officer committing justifiable homicide as opposed to a private citizen committing it.

If a felon is killed during while he/she is committing a serious crime, that can be considered justifiable homicide, regardless if the homicide is committed by a citizen or police officer. The majority of justifiable homicides that involve police officers are due to attack. The police officer must defend him/herself any way they can, even if it’s by use of deadly force. Most private citizens who commit justifiable homicide is because they have come upon a crime already in progress.

Killing in self-defense is also considered a justifiable homicide. If someone believes that he/she is in immediate danger of suffering great injury or losing their own life by another person, whatever self-defense method they use to keep themselves safe and alive, even if it results in the death of the other person, may be considered justifiable homicide. For it to be considered self-defense you need to show ‘general duty to retreat’ if the person is able to. Louisiana does not have ‘duty to retreat’ , however, the duty to retreat may not be required if the killing took place in the defendants place of business or home residence.

A person can commit justifiable homicide in order to protect another person, especially if that other person is a family member or is defending one’s residence. Some states have a law in place that makes it justifiable homicide if a person who is in their vehicle, or place of residence or business believes that another person is trying to, or is unlawfully entering. If the person thinks that deadly force is needed in order to prevent entry or force the intruder to flee, it may be considered justifiable homicide. In this case, duty to retreat may or may not apply.

Last Updated ( Friday, 05 September 2008 10:53 )

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