What Is Self Defense In North Carolina’s Criminal Law?

There are two kinds of self-defense in criminal law. There is imperfect perfect self-defense and perfect  self defense.

Imperfect  self-defense, is defined as  an intentional killing committed with an unreasonable but honest belief that circumstances justified deadly force. Claiming to have used this kind of self-defense may lessen the charges and penalties but still does not absolve  someone from committing a crime.

Perfect self-defense happens when the defendant has a valid reason to protect their life but it involves no wrong-doing or violent crime on the part of the accused person. There are some key elements when considering perfect self-defense in North Carolina.

• The accused believed it was necessary to use force to save themselves from harm

• The accused's belief was reasonable in the situation as it appeared to them at the moment that they needed to defend themselves. 

• The accused was not the aggressor in the situation, they did not agitate nor did they aggressively and willingly enter into an altercation without legal excuse or provocation

• The accused  did not use excessive or deadly force. 

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