Justice in Strife: Argentina's New Jury Trials and the Meaning of Self-Defense

Abstract: Self-defense cases evince a primal scene of political life because they reveal the vulnerability to violence citizens may feel and highlight the power of discretionary judgment by jurors about which killings are excusable and which carry the liability of punishment by the state. This paper includes an account of a self-defense trial in La Plata, Argentina, which the author attended in May of 2024 and an interpretation of the factors, including the framework of "justifiable homicide," public distrust in the police, and empathy for the defendant, that led to the surprise acquittal.