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Personal Narrative: Self-Defense As An Excuse For Murder

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In an unfortunate circumstance, a mentally handicapped 12-year-old boy was killed. He was shot in the leg, fell and hit his head on the corner of the dresser, which fractured his skull and caused his death. The shooter, Katie, is claiming self-defense as an excuse for the murder. The case should be examined further before any decision can be made as to if this excuse is a just one. On one hand, this boy was completely harmless. He was new to the neighborhood, and happened to mistake Katie’s apartment for his own. On top of that, his mental disability provides further information that can explain why a 12-year-old boy could make this error. Katie may have woke up feeling disoriented and couldn’t tell whether this figure was a child or a man, …show more content…
She had just woken up in the middle of the night, probably indeed feeling disorientated, to see a figure beside her bed. Who is to say that this figure wasn’t a burglar, a rapist, or a murderer threatening her life? Katie probably didn’t feel as though there were time to see if this figure was going to kill her or not. For this reason, she made the decision to shoot the intruder. Also, she did not shoot to kill, but instead shot the victim in the leg. The events that played out, him falling and striking his head on the corner of a dresser, which fractured his skull causing his death, may have happened because of the gunshot, but Katie herself didn’t cause his death. Furthermore, Katie was performing her right of standing her ground in her own home. Under different circumstances, Katie would’ve had to have attempted to retreat from the threat in order to claim self-defense. But according to the Castle Doctrine, if one is in their home, they have a right to defend themselves and do not have the duty to retreat. Katie had a right to defend herself inside of her own apartment. While the death of this mentally handicapped 12-year-old boy is a tragedy, Katie’s defense could absolutely argue for the self-defense excuse in this

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