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"Second-degree murder is typically murder with malicious intent but not premeditated." This lacks malicious intent. They DID commit manslaughter. However, ther

by foxyv 4y ago

"Second-degree murder is typically murder with malicious intent but not premeditated." This lacks malicious intent. They DID commit manslaughter. However, there are exceptions where manslaughter is permissible. Police are SUPPOSED to be held to these standards just as much as regular citizens. This is probably not the case, but many police officers have been hit with manslaughter charges in the past for bad shootings. The most recent notable one would be in San Antonio October 2022: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/12/1128306894/an-ex-police-officer-is-charged-after-shooting-a-teenager-eating-in-a-parking-lo https://www.npr.org/2022/10/12/1128306894/an-ex-police-offic... In order for manslaughter to be permissible, there has to be an imminent threat or death or great bodily harm that a reasonable person with the knowledge at the time of the manslaughter would believe to be probable. The police officers in this case will be able to meet every single one of those standards and then some. Edit Note: Yes, there is a problem where people use self-defense as a means to engage in murder without consequence. For instance: Kyle Rittenhouse. However, proving malicious intent is extremely difficult.

mindslight 4y ago
> This lacks malicious intent How does this lack malicious intent? They deliberately pointed a gun at a person, put their finger on the trigger, and pulled. The intent was to kill, and killing is a malicious action. The action was not otherwise justified because the victim holding a firearm was not illegal. Even if the victim had been pointing the gun at someone else, it would be unknown whether the victim was themselves only acting in self defense. > In order for manslaughter to be permissible, there has to be an imminent threat or death or great bodily harm that a reasonable person with the knowledge at the time of the manslaughter would believe to be probable This is obviously not the whole story. By your framing, someone who breaks into a house would be legally justified killing an occupant who appears to be defending themselves. For the original scenario, a reasonable person would not insert themselves into a situation and then shoot the first person they saw with a weapon. The Rittenhouse verdict was a sham motivated by politics, and doesn't change the shape of what ought to be. And what ought to be is that if you create/escalate a situation by adding yourself with a firearm, you had better be absolutely sure that your use of it is justified. And that goes regardless of whether or not you're being paid to insert yourself into situations.

by foxyv 4y ago

mindslight 4y ago

> This lacks malicious intent How does this lack malicious intent? They deliberately pointed a gun at a person, put their finger on the trigger, and pulled. The intent was to kill, and killing is a malicious action. The action was not otherwise justified because the victim holding a firearm was not illegal. Even if the victim had been pointing the gun at someone else, it would be unknown whether the victim was themselves only acting in self defense. > In order for manslaughter to be permissible, there has to be an imminent threat or death or great bodily harm that a reasonable person with the knowledge at the time of the manslaughter would believe to be probable This is obviously not the whole story. By your framing, someone who breaks into a house would be legally justified killing an occupant who appears to be defending themselves. For the original scenario, a reasonable person would not insert themselves into a situation and then shoot the first person they saw with a weapon. The Rittenhouse verdict was a sham motivated by politics, and doesn't change the shape of what ought to be. And what ought to be is that if you create/escalate a situation by adding yourself with a firearm, you had better be absolutely sure that your use of it is justified. And that goes regardless of whether or not you're being paid to insert yourself into situations.