Evaluation of Self-Defence

• It's a longstanding principle that a person is entitled to use reasonable force in self-defence, or in defence of another.
• s76 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 put self-defence into an Act of Parliament.
• Criminal Law Act 1967 allows reasonable force to be used in the prevention of a crime.
• Questioning if self-defence is necessary is a question for the jury. "Did the defendant subjectively believe they needed to use force in self-defence?"
• R v Hussain: Could not use self-defence because when they used force, the initial attack was over. This was a fair decision because the law should not condone revenge attacks.
• The possibility of escape should also be considered, s76(6A) Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
• In householder cases, force is often seen as necessary to protect the person's family.
• Self-defence has always been favourable to defendants. A defendant can still rely on the defence even if they made a mistake about what was going on and if they believed force was necessary at the time.
• R v Gladstone Williams: Attacked a police officer because he was genuinely under the impression the man was attacking someone.
• The only exception to the mistaken need for self-defence is the D's mistaken belief due to voluntary intoxication. Some argue the treatment of intoxicated mistakes in self-defence are too harsh, but it is not in the public interest for people to get drunk in order to escape liability.
• When at trial, the defendant's characteristics must be ignored by the jury. But this can include mental health issues.

  Martin.
• Ignoring possible mental health conditions means that the law is failing to protect the vulnerable victims.
• To decide if the force was reasonable, the circumstances must be considered and the judge must be aware that in the heat of the moment, defendant's are not expected to know how much force to use.
• If the defendant uses "excessive force" then the defence will fail. There is no "halfway house".

  R v Clegg]
• Self-defence is a all or nothing defence and it criticised as being too harsh on the defendant. Many say it would be preferable for the D to have a partial defence to murder if they have used excessive force in self-defence.
• Media portrays self-defence as unduly harsh however case law paints a fairer picture. It shows a well considered law which allows us to use fatal force in terrifying moments where we are called upon to defend ourselves and others.