Quote Originally Posted by MMI View Post
Can't find that case, but what's your opinion about this one?
In this case I would probably have to agree with the court. There is little evidence of self-defense in the story as posted. The swordsman, though still on his property, had to come out of his house to confront his "attacker" and appears to have been just as provocative as his victim. They were both wrong, but Kelly is still alive. That's manslaughter, at least.

... Although I've just discovered this one, which I understand is a leading case here regarding the use of weapons in self defence. This interesting fact here is that the intruders were armed with guns, while the victim-turned-killer had only a sword, but a lethal weapon neverthless....
This one's a little more ambiguous, but it does appear that the sword wielder went too far. If he had killed his attacker with a single stroke I would have to say it was justified. But having sliced him several times, presumably after he'd been disabled, puts a different light on things. Again, barring evidence to the contrary, he went too far.

What's unusual, though, is that it's usually the guy who brings a knife (or sword) to a gunfight that winds up dead. I guess British criminals just aren't as proficient with guns as their American counterparts.
Maybe that's a good thing!