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Self-Defense vs Imperfect Self-Defense:  What's the Difference?

2/27/2015

6 Comments

 
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Most people understand the basic concept of self-defense.  If someone is attacking you, you get to defend yourself.  You generally cannot be charged or convicted of a crime for protecting yourself. 

If someone attacks you with deadly force, you can use deadly force in response.  If someone attacks you with non-deadly force, you can only use non-deadly force to defend yourself.  If you go beyond the amount of force necessary to defend yourself, you can be charged with a crime.  Also, if you start a fight with the intent to later use deadly force, you cannot then claim self-defense.

This is called reasonable self-defense or complete self-defense or perfect self-defense, and it is a complete defense to a crime.  If you kill in self-defense, that is a justifiable homicide - the killing was justified by the victim's deadly attack of you.

So, what is imperfect self-defense?  Imperfect self-defense is when you kill in what you honestly believe is the need to protect yourself with deadly force, but your belief is unreasonable.  In that case, you can be convicted of voluntary manslaughter, not murder.  But because your belief in the need for self-defense was unreasonable, this is not a complete defense, like reasonable self-defense. 

An example of imperfect self-defense would be if someone pointed a bright blue water gun at you, and you honestly believed it was a real gun and that the person was about to shoot you.  If you killed that person in response, your belief in the need for self-defense would have been honest but unreasonable.  Because your belief was unreasonable, you would be guilty of voluntary manslaughter under a theory of imperfect self-defense.

If, however, the person's toy gun was a realistic-looking toy, your belief would probably be considered reasonable, and your action in killing that person would be justified as self-defense. 

Of course, there could be other circumstances - such as who the other person was, how they were acting, or how dark it was - that might make your belief in either of these scenarios more or less reasonable.

For more on this topic, check out my article on the difference between murder and manslaughter.

Also, make sure to sign up for your FREE Writer's Guide revealing the Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery, and Legal Drama. 

6 Comments
Lindsay Murdered Elise
1/18/2016 04:04:43 pm

Elise Gingerich, Formerly Of Seattle, Washington, Killed Herself In Fall Of 2014, Because Of BULLY Producer Lindsay Show.

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7/14/2016 09:59:01 pm

Nice article and you are sharing a wonderful information to the readers. I would like to thank you for sharing this good article.

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3/14/2019 03:20:33 pm

hat is imperfect self-defense? Imperfect self-defense is when you kill in what you honestly believe is the need to protect yourself with deadly force, but your belief is unreasonable. In that case, you can be convicted of voluntary manslaughter, not murder. But because your belief in the need for self-defense was unreasonable, this is not a complete defense, like reasonable self-defense.

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am dao gia link
3/14/2019 03:55:44 pm

An example of imperfect self-defense would be if someone pointed a bright blue water gun at you, and you honestly believed it was a real gun and that the person was about to shoot you. If you killed that person in response, your belief in the need for self-defense would have been honest but unreasonable. Because your belief was unreasonable, you would be guilty of voluntary manslaughter under a theory of imperfect self-defense.

Reply
Shaylee Packer link
1/15/2020 05:05:19 am

I didn't realize that if someone attacks you, you can only respond with something the same level of force. Being in a situation like that would be so scary. I wonder if there are any classes near by I could take to prepare myself. I will have to keep this in mind if I ever find myself in this situation.

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Mia Evans link
4/11/2022 11:38:34 pm

It's interesting to know that we can only use deadly and non-deadly forces depending on the attack that we are about to receive in certain situations. With that in mind, I should book a self-defense course that would be able to teach me both things. It will be for my protection now that I will be living on my own in a different city far from my family for my goal of being more independent this year.

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    Author

    Blythe Leszkay is a successful and experienced criminal attorney, criminal law professor, and consultant to writers and filmmakers.  See About Me.  This blog is intended to answer common criminal law questions, dispel misconceptions, and explain misunderstood criminal law concepts.  It is also a place to discuss any crime or law related topics of interest.  Contact me for a free initial consultation on your film or writing project.

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