  In addition to distinguishing between offences and defences, many writers distinguish between types of criminal defence. The most familiar distinction is between justifications and excuses. The most familiar account of the distinction has it that while justified actors deny wrongdoing, excused actors deny either responsibility or culpability (Austin 1956; Fletcher 1978; Greenawalt 1984; Baron 2005). Two questions are worth asking here. Is the familiar distinction worth drawing? If so, is the familiar account of the distinction the right way to draw it?