Have you been charged with homicide? You may be worried that your life is over if you get convicted. If you acted in self-defense, you are likely looking for a lawyer to defend your rights based on your case being a justifiable homicide.
Please do not wait to call our Long Island criminal defense lawyer right away to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your case. Attorney Michael Matera would be honored to fight for your rights.
Please keep reading to learn more about how self-defense homicide cases work.
What is Justifiable Homicide?
If a case is ruled a justified homicide, it is considered a non-criminal ruling. When you are charged with homicide but acted in self-defense, it can be ruled justified if the evidence supports that claim.
Your homicide case could be ruled justifiable if it was done to stop a crime such as rape, murder, or armed robbery. Your defense must show that you believed you were at risk of losing your own life or were in a life-threatening situation.
If you acted out of revenge, for instance, you would not be able to claim that this was self-defense. Your homicide charge would also not be considered justified if you were in pursuit of the aggressor fleeing the scene of the crime.
These are tricky cases that require a great deal of experience to represent. We urge you to reach out to our Long Island criminal defense lawyer right away if you want to talk about the possibility of having your case ruled a justifiable homicide.
What is the Duty to Retreat?
NYS Senator Borrello introduced legislation in early 2022 to remove the ‘duty to retreat’ clause that limits one’s ability to act in self-defense, making it harder to prove that this was a justifiable homicide if you killed your aggressor.
This clause requires New Yorkers to retreat instead of acting in self-defense when they are faced with a violent threat. This clause is not applicable if they are in their home. Senator Borrello opposes this clause because he believes that citizens should be able to defend themselves and their loved ones regardless of where they face a violent aggressor.
This clause makes it harder to claim self-defense if someone kills a violent aggressor in self-defense because it essentially boils down to saying that if you are up against a threat, your first legal action should be to try to retreat before you use any methods of counterviolence.
Examples of Justifiable Homicide
The following are examples of cases that the court may rule justified homicides:
A local business owner noticed a man amid an armed robbery. The business owner shot the man from behind to stop the crime.
A fight broke out behind a bar. One woman pulled a knife. The responding police officer shot and killed the woman with the knife to prevent a murder.
A woman stabbed an attacker to death when he was trying to rape her after breaking into her home.
A young boy got hold of a baseball bat and beat his mother’s boyfriend to death when he saw the boyfriend physically attacking his mother.
Call Attorney Michael Matera for Your Confidential Consultation
You might be worried about your future if you were charged with homicide. Our Long Island criminal defense lawyer would be glad to meet wtih you for a confidential consultation to discuss your case. Reach out right away to schedule a talk if you have questions about justifiable homicide. Attorney Michael Matera can help you understand your charges and work to protect your rights.
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