Once a death occurs... it brings up the issue of excessive self-defense.

And excessive self-defense can only mitigate criminal responsibility; the criminal responsibility that should be borne must still be assumed.

"Doesn't that mean you still have to go to jail?"

Everyone's mood sank again upon hearing this.

The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.

When a homicide occurs, it seems impossible to avoid a charge of excessive defense. Although they were from the countryside, they had heard about many court cases online, all involving excessive defense leading to death, followed by sentencing and the like.

"Actually, in criminal law, aside from legitimate self-defense... there is also a special kind of defense situation."

Qin Mu looked at the crowd and mentioned a legal provision few of them had ever heard of.

"Unlimited Right of Defense?"

The crowd showed confusion and incomprehension upon hearing this. Even Song Tiancheng, Zhang Qingyuan, and Li Weiguo were baffled. During their time with Qin Mu, they prided themselves on having learned a fair amount of law, yet they had never encountered this Unlimited Right of Defense.

Qin Mu smiled and began to explain, "It's normal that you haven't heard of it. This is mainly because this legal provision has existed largely in name only for a long time."

The Unlimited Right of Defense was established a long time ago.

But...

In most real cases, the verdict is excessive defense. Only a dozen or so cases have ever been judged as involving the exercise of the Unlimited Right of Defense.

The most famous case involved a man attempting to enter a dormitory room to commit sexual assault, but he was fiercely resisted by an adult woman.

In the struggle, the adult woman successfully killed the man while defending herself.

Ultimately, the court ruled that the woman had exercised her Unlimited Right of Defense, bore no criminal responsibility, and was not liable for civil damages.

However...

In actual judicial practice, very few courts are willing to take responsibility and make such courageous judgments. For such incidents, the preferred approach is often to pass judgment according to a standard, pre-existing template. This typically involves imposing a prison sentence of no more than three years, suspended, along with civil compensation.

While this means the individual doesn't actually go to jail, a criminal record is still established.

This compromising method of sentencing attempts to strike a balance, often unsatisfactorily.

"The criminal law clearly stipulates that the Unlimited Right of Defense refers to defensive actions taken against ongoing violent crimes—such as violent assault, murder, robbery, kidnapping, and other acts that seriously endanger personal safety—which result in injury or death to the aggressor. Such defensive actions do not constitute excessive defense, and the defender bears no criminal responsibility."

Subsequently, Qin Mu explained the Unlimited Right of Defense to the crowd.

This right is available to every citizen.

Indeed, anyone can exercise this right. When a crime is encountered, it's not just the person directly involved who can retaliate; even bystanders may act bravely and come to the aid of others.

For instance, imagine Zhang San is on his way home and witnesses several people in a shop violently assaulting a woman, causing her serious injury. He is instantly enraged, draws a gun, and kills all nine attackers. This situation would fall under the scope of the Unlimited Right of Defense, and Zhang San would not bear criminal responsibility for his actions in defense.

Of course, one thing must be considered separately: the crime of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition would still apply and could not be escaped.

And the Unlimited Right of Defense has several constituent elements.

First, the action defended against must be a violent crime. If it is not a violent crime, one cannot respond with violent retaliation.

Second, the violent crime must be ongoing. For example, suppose Zhang San is on his way home and sees a group of men beating a woman in a shop. However, by the time he arrives, the assault has already concluded. The nine perpetrators have finished their violent act and do not intend to continue. If Zhang San, filled with righteous indignation and seeing the injustice, then draws his gun and kills all nine men to avenge the woman, this action cannot be deemed a legitimate exercise of the Unlimited Right of Defense.

Third, the defensive action must target the perpetrators of the violent crime themselves.

Fourth, the Unlimited Right of Defense also requires a subjective condition: the purpose of the action must be defense.

The above provisions exist to limit the over-implementation of the Unlimited Right of Defense. This is because this power is essentially a 'right beyond the usual constraints of law,' granted to every citizen by the criminal code. Normally, killing someone results in severe punishment. However, when invoking the Unlimited Right of Defense, even acts that would typically be considered heinous crimes, such as causing death, can be justified, and the individual may not be held accountable.

"Then... does wedding hazing count as a violent crime?"

The bride and groom swallowed hard, a glimmer of hope igniting in their eyes. Having listened to Qin Mu's analysis for so long, they were deeply impressed by his professionalism in this area and couldn't help but trust him more.

The key to whether the Unlimited Right of Defense applies also hinged on whether wedding hazing was considered a violent crime.

"Regarding that... it will depend on the arguments made by your lawyer."

Qin Mu took a deep breath and said gravely.

Judicial interpretations clearly define such violent crimes, categorizing them into three types. The first is violent assault, the second includes murder, robbery, and kidnapping, and the third covers 'other acts that seriously endanger personal safety.'

Wedding hazing doesn't fall into the first two categories. However, if the actions during the wedding hazing can be established as 'other acts that seriously endanger personal safety,' then it could be judged as a legitimate exercise of the Unlimited Right of Defense.

"Could you describe the scene at that time for me again?"

Qin Mu thought for a moment and then asked.

Chen Zishi and Peng Songyue exchanged a glance and quickly said, "There was a videographer who recorded it."

With that, the two hurriedly called over the videographer, retrieved the video from the camera, and handed it to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu's expression brightened, a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

Having video evidence would be immensely helpful for the lawsuit.

He then took the camera and began to watch the footage carefully.

The video of the wedding hazing lasted twenty minutes.

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