[Jeff Higgins]

In the big game hunting world, we well understand the difference between "killing" and "stopping".

The same concept applies in self defense. Seeing the attacker die five hours later on the operating table still counts as a "kill", although things might not have worked out so well for the defender. Even if the attacker (man or beast...) dies ten seconds after being shot, he can still inflict a lot of harm on his victim. We want to stop above and beyond all else. Killing is secondary. Choose accordingly.