When is murder justified by self-defense?

[TallSilhouette]

hershel_layton said:

TallSilhouette said:
Many of you would end up in worse trouble than your assailant for the things you are reportedly willing to do in nonlethal (or no longer lethal) altercations, sometimes rightfully so. Continuum of Force, people.

Good point. I was always taught to shoot in the area of the arms/legs, and only in the head/heart if it's a life or death situation(i.e they're set out to kill you).

A gun is a lethal weapon. It's use in a defense scenario is pretty much only justified if life is in immediate lethal danger. If you're shooting a person ANYWHERE (or even just a warning shot), it better fall under those parameters. You can't just wing them if the altercation has not yet reached that lethal level of danger. You shouldn't really try to wing anyone under almost any circumstance, anyway. If a situation is bad enough to justify a shot to the arm or leg, it should be bad enough to justify a shot to the vitals, to say nothing of how less reliable a target that is (aim center mass).