A defendant cannot be acquitted for
legitimate self-defence if they have accepted a challenge to
fight, Italy's top court said Thursday.
"Someone who accepts a challenge or reacts to a voluntarily
determined situation of danger cannot invoke legitimate
self-defence," the supreme Cassation Court said.
This despite the possibility of "getting away from the place
without prejudice and without dishonour," it said.
The high court thus confirmed a guilty verdict for Umberto
Stregapede, who killed his brother-in-law Stefano Petroni with
31 stab wounds in 2015 in Rome.
The court upheld a prison term of six years and two months
with the extenuating circumstance of provocation.
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