"well, I shot him because I was afraid" probably ain't gonna cut it in court.
Correct, but since no one has asserted such an absurdity, you are once again irrelevant. Fear must be reasonable based on the context. There's that word again that keeps you so confused about this case.
The person must reasonably believe that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Fear is a word best avoided when articulating reasons for using deadly force in self defense. Believe is a substantially different and stronger word. That's why it is used in the language of the law. To further qualify that comment I'll mention that people are afraid of ghosts. They are never reasonable in their belief that a ghost will harm them.
I am not confused by anything other than the struggles people have in clearly articulating why they felt like the kid was reasonable in his belief that the molester was an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. To your credit, you were one of the few who gave it a shot the first time. Though with the information you profess to have had when you responded, it fell woefully short.
I was keeping it simple for you, Paul. My point is that you mischaracterized your oppositions position as one of "I was afraid, so I was justified to shoot." No one said that. Stop dodging and distracting.
