General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'll never forget the look in their eyes, they were terrified of me... [View all]dkf
(37,305 posts)"You got me". Ludicrous.
But 2nd degree "depraved mind" seems a high bar from what I've been reading.
And yet self defense seems to trump 2nd or manslaughter. Say Z was racially prejudiced and threw the first punch. By my reading he still gets to claim self defense if he reasonably thought his life was in danger or he was in danger of serious bodily harm. That seems like a pretty low bar to me.
The problem is the law IMO. There is no protection for people who get into fights. Once they dominate offensively they are open targets. Rather strange law with strange interpretations.
This whole case turns things on its head from what I always thought about manslaughter in particular. I thought that was the punishment for an unintended death.