LogFAQs > #962687883

Murder is a weird technical legal word that doesn't really belong in casual conversation about pedantic definitions. When you're charged with a crime, you can either defend yourself by saying you didn't do it, or you can employ an affirmative defense. For example, if you're being sued for stealing a copyrighted video, you can either say "no I didn't steal anything" or employ the affirmative defense "fair use" (well I did take it but it was to make a parody of it)

The same concept applies to self defense and murder. If you kill someone, you get charged with murder and then have to defend yourself with "self defense" in court. At that point the only difference between homicide and murder is what the jury thinks about your story.