38
votes
Accepted
Would it be legal according to the laws of war if Ukrainian forces killed Putin in Moscow?
Yes
Providing the attack was otherwise made in accordance with the rules of war, enemy civilian leaders who are directly responsible for the prosecution of the conflict (so, the Minister of Defence, ...
- 192k
30
votes
Accepted
Does murdering the President of the United States differ, as a crime, from regular murder?
Murdering a sitting President is singled out as a separate federal crime from murder, in general, which is another crime that could be brought in such a case. See 18 U.S.C. § 1751.
This is notable ...
- 186k
27
votes
If a person is dressed up as non-human, and is killed by someone who sincerely believes the victim was not human, who is responsible?
Laws on self-defense vary greatly from nation to nation. Generally, one cannot hunt down a hypothetical threat but one can defend against an actual threat or even a mistakenly assumed actual threat ...
- 13.2k
23
votes
Accepted
Is homicide by misadventure illegal?
“homicide by misadventure." . . . is when somebody accidentally
kills somebody else while engaged in a legal activity and without any
intent to cause harm.
There is a criminal offense sometimes ...
- 186k
18
votes
Accepted
Is it legal in California to use lethal force to stop ANY felony from being committed?
No. The language in question dates from when "felony" denoted a much more serious class of crimes than it does today; traditionally, "felony" essentially meant "capital crime.&...
- 23.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Which state has jurisdiction in a case of a murder in an airplane?
It depends.
International aviation law is tricky. One effort to set some standards down was the Tokyo Convention, also known as the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed On Board ...
- 2,961
9
votes
If a 12 year old child uses his mother's car without her consent
Depending on the country (not mentioned), the mother may be at fault for not keeping the car out of the hands of her son, but on the other hand, it seems quite impossible to 100% prevent a determined ...
- 31.8k
8
votes
Jumping out of the burning building
The crime often called "involuntary manslaughter", or simply manslaughter in the second degree, is
when, with criminal negligence, he or she causes the death of another
person
The standards for "...
- 206k
8
votes
If a person is dressed up as non-human, and is killed by someone who sincerely believes the victim was not human, who is responsible?
Something like this?
Darren organised a situation where he knew a fight or flight situation was likely - it is his responsibility to ensure the safety of all involved. This would also include a ...
- 278
7
votes
Which state has jurisdiction in a case of a murder in an airplane?
Whether a state has jurisdiction over a crime or not is determined exclusively by the laws of that state, including any treaties the state has signed. It is entirely possible for multiple countries to ...
- 23.4k
7
votes
What would have happened to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in real life?
The consequences for the US are perhaps better addressed at Politics; if you're really interested in those consequences, you can re-post this question there.
For the police officer shooting a ...
- 34k
6
votes
Can I sue the government because a minor on probation committed homicide?
State governments (and state courts, employees, etc., as part of that government) are generally immune from lawsuits for all liability. See Governmental Tort Liability : 2017 Tennessee Code : Justia.
...
- 18.7k
6
votes
Accepted
How is this not attempted murder?
It's important to keep in mind that charges don't really tell us much about what crimes actually occurred. Sometimes cops file charges that aren't justified; sometimes they don't file charges that ...
- 55.8k
6
votes
Accepted
How might a defense attorney use the fact that the accused was coerced? Examples from the movie Se7en
In the first case, under US law, you are not considered guilty in most cases where you are forced to commit a crime under duress (gun to your head would certainly qualify). Murder is a rare exception ...
- 22.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there an offence when you kill to prevent a murder?
Murder
Which is the unlawful taking of a life with intent to do so.
However, the doctrine of self-defence can make killing lawful:
A person may use such force as is reasonable in the ...
- 192k
6
votes
Accepted
Can someone be liable if they make someone so angry they die?
No.
There could be a remote possibility if Alice knew of Bob's severe heart condition (but even then, no reasonable person would expect someone to get a heart attack out of disagreement over personal ...
- 24.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Could a state legalize murder?
Yes, it Could
A state can repeal or modify its laws against any particular crime, or just decline, as a matter of policy, to enforce such laws. It is in my view quite unlikely that a state would do ...
- 112k
6
votes
Could a state legalize murder?
With some limited exceptions, yes.
Decriminalization
Could a state decriminalize killing other people in all cases?
Probably, although if it only partially decriminalized killing other people, and ...
- 186k
5
votes
Is it legal in California to use lethal force to stop ANY felony from being committed?
Not at all. First, the statute does not make it legal, nor does it mean that you can justifiably kill someone to prevent a felony. Rather, it is merely negates the clear and present danger, or direct ...
- 11.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Negligent or Reckless homicide?
This assumes there is a difference under the law between reckless and negligent homicide (which does not exist everywhere). In Washington state there is a distinction between 1st and 2nd degree ...
- 206k
5
votes
Accepted
If two gunmen are in a standoff, can either of them kill the other and claim self defense in the USA?
Rules about self-defense in the US vary from state to state, but generally a person can raise a defense that they legally used deadly self-defense if they had a reasonable fear of death or grievous ...
- 4,696
5
votes
Is it ever not legal to cause harm to escape non-institutionalised harm?
There is pretty much never a right to retaliate against harm to oneself, even blatantly unlawful harm.
There is a right to defend oneself and others. One can use force to stop someone from ...
- 112k
5
votes
Accepted
Why isn't voluntary manslaughter punished equally to murder?
The distinction is a question of culpability, not just the harm caused.
The law, at least in the criminal law context, is not fundamentally consequentialist in its philosophy. The end consequence of ...
- 186k
5
votes
Accepted
Would it be legal for a bystander to use force to prevent an abortion in Texas?
No. Under Texas Penal Code Title 2 Subchapter A, one of three three conditions must be true to use the defense-of-others defense, that the person against whom force is used unlawfully and with force ...
- 206k
4
votes
How does the US legal system treat car accidents with pedestrian casualties?
Assuming that this wasn't a planned murder or assault, the most serious charge would be vehicular homicide. In the US, this is governed by state law, but states are not radically different in whether ...
- 206k
4
votes
Why isn't voluntary manslaughter punished equally to murder?
For the same reason that double parking isn't
They are different offences for which the community, through its political and legal systems, have decided deserve different punishment under the law.
...
- 192k
4
votes
How does "mistake of fact" apply as defense in the Amber Guyger Case?
Amber Guyger was convicted of murder under Texas Penal Code section 19.02:
A person commits the offense of murder if the person 1) intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual or 2) ...
- 55.8k
4
votes
Is it illegal in Germany to pretend being sentenced for committing homicide?
§145d StGB makes it illegal to pretend that a crime did happen or will happen, but only if one deceives the police or a similar agency. It is also a crime to deceive about the participants of a crime.
...
- 13.2k
4
votes
Could a state legalize murder?
Yes. Absent a state constitutional provision to the contrary, which is unlikely, a state legislature could legalize murder; and of course a state could also amend its own constitution to remove even ...
- 41
3
votes
How does "mistake of fact" apply as defense in the Amber Guyger Case?
Hypothetical case
I am going to answer about the general principles of Mistake of Fact and use as an example a simplified hypothetical case similar to the Amber Guyger case as reported in online news ...
- 112k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible