Is Imperfect Self-defense a partial defense to a charge of murder?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Vasquez, B230114, B240442 (Cal. App. 2012):
5. Imperfect self-defense is a "partial defense to a charge of murder that the defendant killed the victim while under the honest but mistaken belief that his conduct was necessary in self-defense. The basic rationale of the doctrine is that a genuine belief in the need to defend oneself, even if unreasonable, negates the 'malice aforethought' which is required for a conviction of murder. [Citation.]" (People v. Hayes (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 796, 801.)
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