Justifiable homicide

The concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, a justification, and an exculpation. In certain circumstances, homicide is justified when it prevents greater harm to innocents. A homicide can only be justified if there is sufficient evidence to prove that it was reasonable to believe that the offending party posed an imminent threat to the life or well-being of another, in self-defense. To rule a justifiable homicide, one must objectively prove to a trier of fact, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the victim intended to commit violence. A homicide in this instance is blameless and distinct from the less stringent criteria authorizing deadly force in stand your ground rulings.

Societies have investigated and punished acts of murder very differently over the development of criminal law. The Laws of Solon, in early Athenian law, stated that if an accused pleaded that he was justified in killing another, his case would be tried in a dedicated court called the Delphinion where, for example, it was considered justifiable homicide to kill an adulterer or burglar caught in the act. In 18th century English law, it was considered a justifiable homicide if a husband killed a man ravishing his wife (Blackstone, Wm. at p391). The legal term In flagrante delicto (Latin: "in blazing offence") is used to indicate that a criminal has been caught in the act of committing an offence.

In the process of decision making, when intentional killings should be treated as justifiable, lawmakers are balancing multiple interests. On the one hand, states usually allow citizens to protect themselves from harm. In modern times, this reflects a social contract where allegiance is rewarded by the provision of policing and other civil defense systems, and the apparatus of redress is a court system. In the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person, and many nations' policy allows for some degree of leniency for self-defense. In most cases where self-defense is substantiated through the legal system, reduced charges (i.e. felony reduced to misdemeanor), reduced prison sentences, or acquittal are the common rulings.

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