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Is Homicide Ever Justified Essay

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Is homicide ever justified? Ordinarily no, but in certain circumstances committing a homicide can be excused due to insanity or be justified because the situation called for self-defense or the defense of others. As with many aspects of the law, there can be ambiguity present about whether or not a crime meets the criteria of an excuse or justification, as we have seen in the State v. Norman 378 S.E.2d 8 (1989) case. At issue in the case is whether the danger that the defendant, Judy Ann Laws Norman, felt was imminent in order to justify the homicide she committed when she shot her husband. I believe Norman’s actions were justified when she shot her husband given the extensive instances of domestic abuse that her husband inflicted on her over the course of the last…show more content…
Does the store clerk go to prison for manslaughter? Let’s break this situation down into its smaller parts to better understand why this hypothetical situation is clear-cut self-defense. The threat was imminent and present as soon as the perpetrator threatened the clerk and the threat continued to exist throughout the entire situation until the perpetrator was killed. The perception of the threat was reasonable since any reasonable person would feel in danger if someone brandished a gun at them. Finally, the store clerk was entitled to use deadly force to defend himself since the perpetrator was using deadly force as leverage in the situation. In conclusion, the situation contains all of the elements of self-defense and the store clerk cannot face legal repercussions for the death of the perpetrator. In my analysis of the homicide that took place in the State v. Norman 378 S.E.2d 8 (1989) case, I find that the situation that occurred is analogous to the store clerk versus the
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