人民日报谈“刺死辱母者”案：法庭应谨慎定义“正当防卫”

A 22-year-old in Guanxian county, East China's Shandong province, who stabbed to death one of the local gangsters sent by a loan shark to bully and threaten the man's mother after she failed to repay a high-interest loan, was sentenced to life imprisonment in February. People's Daily commented on Saturday:

山东冠县一22岁青年因刺死当地一名涉黑团伙成员于二月被判无期徒刑。此前，该青年的母亲因无法偿还死者所在的高利贷集团的债务而遭到了死者的凌辱和恐吓。对于这起事件，《人民日报》周六给出了如下评论：

What happened to the mother and son has sparked a heated debate over what constitutes legitimate self-defense. The son, witnessing his mother enduring unbearable humiliation including slapping and sexual harassment for more than an hour, eventually fought back with a fruit knife and injured four gangsters, one of whom died in hospital.

这对母子的遭遇引起了社会关于“如何定义正当防卫”这一话题的激烈讨论。身为人子，这名青年在目睹母亲遭受超过一小时的包括扇耳光、性侵等行为在内的非人折磨后，最终用水果刀进行反抗——刺伤了4名高利贷团伙成员并导致其中1人送医后不治身亡。

 

The court in the first trial ruled that the son's action was not legitimate self-defense, because the "debt collectors" were unarmed and the local police were present. The danger facing the mother and the son was limited and thus did not justify the son's violence.

法庭在第一次审判中裁定该青年的行为不属于正当防卫，理由是“债权人”并没有携带武器而且事发时当地警方在场，从而认定该母子当时受到的人身威胁已经受到控制，故该青年的行为不属于正当防卫。

The court of the second instance should take seriously the situation that led to his actions. For example, the police did show up and try to persuade the gangsters not to use violence, but they then attempted to leave without explaining why, which probably made the son believe that he and his mother were helpless.

但法院应慎重考虑，为何在警察在场的情况下，依旧未能阻止悲剧的发生。例如，警察确实在场，并劝说高利贷团伙成员不应使用暴力，但随后他们未作任何解释就准备离场，这是否或让该青年认为他和母亲处于无助的境地。

 

Emotionally traumatized and infuriated by what was happening to his mother, the 22-year-old was apparently emotionally distraught when he grabbed the knife.

发生在母亲身上的事情让这位22岁的青年受到巨大的心理伤害并处于盛怒的情绪状态，当他最终拿起水果刀的时候，很明显已经情绪失控了。

The incident raises many questions, such as: What is the proper thing to do when a loved one faces unbearable humiliation? How to distinguish between an assault and legitimate self-defense? Under what circumstances can one legally defend oneself and others?

这一事件牵涉出很多疑问，例如：当你挚爱的人面临非人道的羞辱时正确的做法是什么？如何区分防卫过当和正当防卫？在什么情况下可以采取正当防卫来保护自己和他人？

The laws are not just about setting rules and boundaries, but also about protecting people's safety and dignity. That is why the case is being closely watched.

法律的意义不在于设立规矩和界限，而在于保护人民的安全和尊严。这也正是为何这一案件备受关注的原因。