What would happen if someone killed someone making a prank like this?

[Deleted]

Lately there has been a sort of viral trend of clowns with guns, which reminded me of this video:

(NSFW due to what might appear as gore even if it's not)


So, obviously, it's night, and you see such a character with a mallet or a sword or a gun appearing to be killing someone right before your face. Sure, it's a prank, nobody died, as it's a mannequin in disguise that got hit, but you have no way of realizing that on the spot, now do you?

And then said murderer (what appears to you) comes after you. What happened if you pulled a gun and shot them? or knocked them down and they'd break their skull on pavement? Or something like that? Would you be guilty of murder or would it be self-defense? Would you go to jail or walk free?

I know what you're thinking "call the police!" but... you just saw someone apparently get killed and the killer is coming after you, all this in the timespawn of 30 seconds, you don't have time to call the police now, do you?

This is not about clowns in particular, but about pranks like this, with what appear to be murders and such.

[Deleted]

Any lawyer worth his money would get you off the hook with ease.

[Puri]

I don't see what court would not see that as self defense or defense of others.

[McFuu]

Chances are you wouldn't even be charged.

[IIamaKing]

If you saw a clown(or anyone really) bash/shoot/slash, what a reasonable person would think was another person, and you acted to protect yourself or them from that, I cant imagine you would get in any trouble.

[ranzino]

You are entitled to self defense...and also to stop the staged attack. "Clowning around" would stop very fast, if you would hit them hard every time.

[apples]

if you were to get indicted you would just use a justification defense as you could reasonably believe someone who kills someone in front of you is an imminent threat to yourself or others

if you had any knowledge beforehand you may get yourself in trouble though, this one would be all about intent

[Rudkobing]

Self defense.

[Independent voter]

Manslaughter with jury nullification, IMO. F'ck clowns.

[Colmadero]

My thought is that, if you are killed as the result of this prank, it's Darwinism in effect.

[Powerogue]

It'd only be murder if you kept going after they tried to yell "it's just a prank bro"

Good thing you're the only one who heard them say it.

[jimboa24]

In cases like these, it's always about the mindset of the offender. Regardless of whether the whole thing was a prank, the question that a prosecutor will ask when determining how and if to sentence an offender is, did the offender have a reasonable belief that there was an imminent threat on his or her life? Cause obviously an average person is not God, they have no way of knowing if there is a real danger or it's just a prank. Would a reasonable person look at this scenario, and fear for his or her life?

If yes, then it's highly unlikely that the shooter will see any prison time. The worst they might get is manslaughter with probation. A good lawyer might even get all charges dismissed. But unless a prosecutor can prove that the shooter did not have any reason to believe they were under imminent threat of harm, there is no way that the shooter in this kind of situation will see any real, hard legal consequences. At least in the United States. I can't speak for the U.K. or other nations.

[ranzino]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_(novel)
being horrified by memories of Pennywise is a nice excuse for hitting on the clown.

[Deleted]

In cases like these, it's always about the mindset of the offender. Regardless of whether the whole thing was a prank, the question that a prosecutor will ask when determining how and if to sentence an offender is, did the offender have a reasonable belief that there was an imminent threat on his or her life? Cause obviously an average person is not God, they have no way of knowing if there is a real danger or it's just a prank. Would a reasonable person look at this scenario, and fear for his or her life?

If yes, then it's highly unlikely that the shooter will see any prison time. The worst they might get is manslaughter with probation. A good lawyer might even get all charges dismissed. But unless a prosecutor can prove that the shooter did not have any reason to believe they were under imminent threat of harm, there is no way that the shooter in this kind of situation will see any real, hard legal consequences. At least in the United States. I can't speak for the U.K. or other nations.

Yes, but would this not open a huge can of worms? I mean, let's say I'm paranoid. I could very well believe that someone is out there to get me. And strike first. Which would obviously be illegal. But then, what if I believed the other person was a threat just due to paranoia?

Sure, here one could say "hey, but he used a giant hammer on a guy and murdered him. But then it's a mannequin. So... could this be compared to the previous situation? And where could one draw the line?

[Zandalarian Paladin]

Anyone with a brain will know that it's self-defense.

To be honest, I thought the same thing about the people who pretended to be zombies, but in this case - the clown case - it's much more plausible considering that some people have actual phobias of clowns.

What they trigger is the fight or flight response. FIGHT or FLIGHT. Yes, someone can get killed.

[jimboa24]

Yes, but would this not open a huge can of worms? I mean, let's say I'm paranoid. I could very well believe that someone is out there to get me. And strike first. Which would obviously be illegal. But then, what if I believed the other person was a threat just due to paranoia?

Sure, here one could say "hey, but he used a giant hammer on a guy and murdered him. But then it's a mannequin. So... could this be compared to the previous situation? And where could one draw the line?

What do you mean "would this"? This is the law as it is now, and has been for a very long time. So...no, it's not opened a can of worms.

If you're stupid enough to randomly pull a prank like this in the United States, if you are idiotic enough to randomly select a stranger and purposefully scare the piss out of him or her, and you get shot, there isn't a prosecutor in the entire country that would charge him or her with murder. Manslaughter, maybe, but that's only if they can prove that he/she didn't have reason to believe that he/she was under imminent threat of harm.

[fosheeze]

Yes, but would this not open a huge can of worms? I mean, let's say I'm paranoid. I could very well believe that someone is out there to get me. And strike first. Which would obviously be illegal. But then, what if I believed the other person was a threat just due to paranoia?

Sure, here one could say "hey, but he used a giant hammer on a guy and murdered him. But then it's a mannequin. So... could this be compared to the previous situation? And where could one draw the line?

If this is your scenario, and your paranoia drove you to act out in a way that would be considered beyond normal/rational behavior you are essentially making an insanity plea. You are unable to control your paranoia to the extent that it made you kill someone a sane person would not have.

However, in the case of the video, a "normal" person acting in self defense would never be convicted of murder.

[dextersmith]

If they get killed, it'll be rightfully deserved. The police wouldn't hesitate to kill kids with toy guns and this is no different.

[Blueobelisk]

It's only okay if they kill the whole prankster crew. Make them all pay.

[dextersmith]

It'd only be murder if you kept going after they tried to yell "it's just a prank bro"

Good thing you're the only one who heard them say it.

I've seen a handful of bad attacks-gone-wrong being played off as "it's just a prank bro".

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Yes, but would this not open a huge can of worms? I mean, let's say I'm paranoid. I could very well believe that someone is out there to get me. And strike first. Which would obviously be illegal. But then, what if I believed the other person was a threat just due to paranoia?

Sure, here one could say "hey, but he used a giant hammer on a guy and murdered him. But then it's a mannequin. So... could this be compared to the previous situation? And where could one draw the line?

Were you able to discern it was a mannequin from a distance?