Anyone can face the need to protect their life and health, as well as their loved ones. Permitted self-defense measures depend on the severity of the situation and the presence of a threat to life. In previous articles about self-defense, we talked about such topics as:

• exceeding the necessary self-defense;
• frequently asked questions about self-defense;
• self-defense: myths and reality.
  

EXCEEDING THE NECESARY DEFENSE: EXAPMLES IN JUDICIAL PRACTICE

When considering cases of self-defense, the court may take the side of the person who attacked you. To get an acquittal, you must prove that your actions were necessary, or that your life was in danger.

in this article, we will describe several trials that resulted in both acquittals and convictions.

Example 1. The verdict of the Sibaysky city court of the Republic of Bashkortostan dated October 13, 2016 in the case N 1-70/2016, the accused was acquitted due to the absence of elements of a crime in his actions. The court took into account the circumstances of self-defense: during the conflict, a fight broke out between the accused and two men. The opponents threatened the accused with murder and inflicted injuries that were classified as moderate harm to health. The accused began to lose consciousness from suffocation, stab wounds and injuries inflicted by two opponents. The accused defended himself with a knife: the opponent died on the spot from injuries.

Example 2. Decree of the Presidium of Sverdlovsk regional court from 22 July 2015 in the case of N 44u-126/2015 for lack of evidence acquitted convicted under part 4 of article 111 of the criminal code. The court found that the accused was in a state of necessary defense, and found that there was no corpus delicti. During the conflict between the spouses, the husband beat his wife for a long time, including hitting her in the head, and also inflicted light wounds with a knife. After the conflict ended, the woman inflicted wounds on her husband with a kitchen knife, which caused blood loss and caused his death. The court recognized her actions as necessary self-defense, taking into account the circumstances of self-defense, previous appeals of the woman on the fact of beatings, as well as the fact of her husband's criminal record.

Example 3. The court acquitted the accused in the case N 34-APU17-1SP on the charge of exceeding the necessary defense, the appeal was dismissed. Circumstances of self-defense: the hunting inspector stopped the car to check the documents and hunting tickets of the driver and passenger. After being refused, the inspector got into his car, but the passenger approached him, forced him out of the car, while the driver walked towards him, pointing a double-barrelled rifle at him and threatening to take his life. The inspector demanded to stop, fired two warning shots, and when this had no effect, shot the driver in the chest and in the neck of the passenger. The court recognized that there was a threat to the life of the inspector and his son, who was in the car with him, and the inspector's actions fit the definition of necessary defense.

Example 4. According to the verdict of the Bureysky district court of the Amur region of October 2, 2014, the accused was convicted under the article on exceeding the necessary defense. Between K. and P. after drinking alcohol, there was a quarrel, as a result of which K. stabbed P. in the chest area, as a result of which P. died on the spot. The reason for the conflict was that P. got into K.'s car without permission and tried to start it. When he got out of the car, K. tried to take the keys from P. P. struck him in the face, in response to K. hit him first with his fist, and then with a knife. The court took into account the nature and degree of danger of the deceased's actions, and did not consider the actions of the accused justified.

Details of each story, as well as other examples of court decisions in the case of exceeding the necessary defense, can be found in the source: http://sudrf.kodeks.ru/rospravo/document/560576009

Conclusions

If the attack is dangerous to your life and health, you have the right for self-defense. To further protect yourself from a conviction in court, choose a suitable self-defense weapon. A powerful stun gun is a non–lethal weapon that does not pose a threat to the life of the target, while at the same time effectively stopping the offense. Do not use prohibited self-defense weapons.