A South Florida criminal defense attorney can explain that murder is the most serious crime that a person in Florida can be charged with.  The taking of another human life is serious and obviously leads to a serious impact on the individual’s family and on society.  However, there are times when a death occurs without the requisite elements necessary to justify a murder conviction.  A South Florida criminal defense attorney can explain the following defenses to you:

Self-Defense

If you kill another person because you were protecting yourself or another family member, deadly force may be considered justifiable by the court.  A criminal defense lawyer can help develop a legal strategy based on the theory of self-defense if you resisted an attack, defended another person who was being attacked or you were protecting your property during the commission of a felony.  Self-defense cases can be quite complicated.  A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can explain the Stand Your Ground laws and other aspects of self-defense criminal defenses to see if this defense applies to your case.

Excusable Homicide

Murder in Florida is defined as the unlawful killing of another person.  A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can explain that there are times when a person may die because of another person’s actions but without it being considered murder.  For example, a person may die in an accident.  In other cases, someone may kill someone else but this may not be considered murder because of extenuating circumstances.  For example, a person may kill another person in the heat of passion.  While he or she may still be charged with a crime, such circumstances can reduce the criminal culpability associated with the crime so that the defendant is charged with a lesser crime.