quote:
Originally posted by Anubis
It depends on the crime, however if the person has commited murdur I think that Life Imprisonment is a decent punishment. However accedental man slaughter doesn't deserve life, however it could be said that normal man slaughter does warrent life; also killing in self defence (if proven) doesn't warrent life.
Again, it's hard to just give one sentence for taking a life, there's a lot more to each case than that..
Self defense is a legitimate "complete defense". Complete defenses (If the prosecution cannot disprove them; i.e the burden of proff is on the prosecution) result in the aquital of the accused. Therefore if accepted by the court, a defense of self defense will result in a not quilty verdict being returned.
As for manslaughter, many jurasdictions in the western world place a legislative maximum on the sentence for manslaughter. In Australia for example, the maximum penalty is 25 years. A judge usually cannot impose a life sentence for manslaughter.