The Law: Sentences too light.

[FreakyLocz14]

But you still committed a crime in that sense, eliminating the "self-defense" factor.

I think most people just plain misunderstand what "self-defense" is in the eyes of the law. Self defense is when someone actually has a gun and threatens to shoot you, or is going to shoot you and you grab a weapon and you strike that person back. Your life would be put in grave danger, and as a result, you struck that person with any sort of projectile or a weapon of any kind to try to prevent yourself from losing your life.

If it's threatening you to inflict harm on someone else, it really depends on the extent, though to some extent it would be accessory to rape(if there is such thing), because you were with the criminal and you made the decision to rape the woman, but at the same time it really also depends on how the law would like to see things.

All in all, if people would threaten your life to ruin someone else's, I think that it's better that the only "self-defense" you would utilize in that situation is strike the person in question who's threatening you and try to knock him/her unconscious in some manner.

...I'm probably being too far off by this, but eh. My views.

It's actually up to the jury to decide if you should be excused for self-defense or not.

I've seen a man acquitted for domestic violence because the woman struck him first and he said he attempted to make a citizen's arrest for assault and he had to use force because she was resisting arrest and he had to overcome her resistance.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Exactly. The woman struck him first, AND the fact that she was resisting arrest made it reasonable that the man(assuming that he was a police officer, going by your description) was acquitted.

No he wasn't a police officer he was making a citizen's arrest.

 

[Beechlgz]

Look. My sister was raped as a kid. AND the guy that raped her did it again after getting off on the charges. So I know for a fact that once a rapist, always a rapist. THEY don't change.

Personally, if I was in charge, all convicted rapists would be castrated. It would certainly prevent the guy from doing it again.

I'm sorry your sister and others were raped and I can understand how that can generate very strong emotions about the topic. However...

1) That doesn't make my point invalid (I assume you were saying that as an argument against it) as I said that just because some people don't change doesn't mean they all won't. I wasn't talking about rape specifically, if it seemed to you like I was.
2) One case does not represent them all. Just because one rapist re-offended, doesn't mean they all will or want to.

 

[Guillermo]

I was referring to murder. I might not have worded it correctly. But it can still happen, though. Someone can put a gun up to your head and tell you to rape the next person that walks by or they'll shoot both you and the other person.

Maybe some sicko says "I'll kill you if you don't rape this woman"?

Technically that would be, uh, raping in self-defence >_>

Yeah, and um.. how many people have done that before?