Posted: May 19th, 2017

Suppose in the preceding question that the man, known as Phil, did not slug Burton but, instead, merely pushed back from the table and, reflecting on his now-reddened shirt and tie, shouted: “Damn you, Burton! You better watch it because I’m going to kill you.” Burton has since been informed that Phil reputedly has organized crime connections and carries a gun. This scares Burton a lot—particularly after somebody fired shots at his car last night. Today Burton obtained a gun and, this evening after dark, he plans to hide in the bushes outside Phil’s house and shoot him when comes home [MPC]

. Suppose in the preceding question that the man, known as Phil, did not slug Burton but, instead, merely pushed back from the table and, reflecting on his now-reddened shirt and tie, shouted: “Damn you, Burton! You better watch it because I’m going to kill you.” Burton has since been informed that Phil reputedly has organized crime connections and carries a gun. This scares Burton a lot—particularly after somebody fired shots at his car last night. Today Burton obtained a gun and, this evening after dark, he plans to hide in the bushes outside Phil’s house and shoot him when comes home [MPC]. a. This is a good plan. It avoids unnecessary personal risk and Burton will be able to claim self-defense. b. This is good plan except that, in order to claim selfdefense, Burton should openly confront Phil and get him to pull a gun first. Criminal Law – Professor Humbach Spring, 2011 Page 15. c. This is not a good plan. In order to claim self-defense, Burton must openly confront Phil and get him to shoot first. d. This is not a good plan. Even if Burton strongly believes in the necessity of his actions, his belief would not justify the use of lethal force in this way.