Miguel Angel Martinez Cerrada and his brother Paco slaughter a sheep for Easter at their family ranch in the tiny village of Zarzuela de Jadraque, Spain. (From the book What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.) The sheep will be skinned, gutted, and hung in the cold house, and the meat will be eaten at Easter, when the extended family comes for dinner.

The Common Law doctrine of acting in defense of others allows the use of whatever appropriate force is necessary to prevent harm or death to another. One may use deadly force to prevent someone from killing another person.

The victim could be an imbecile or someone in a vegetative state. The perpetrator could be another Einstein or Schweitzer.

No allowances are made for the intellect of either.

The law so values human life that it permits extinguishing the life of anyone threatening it, without regard…