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What is the difference between an affirmative defense and a general defense?

Bryson Meeks

An affirmative defense is like saying "yes, I did it, but it's okay because of this reason." It is when someone admits to doing something wrong, like breaking a rule, but they have a reason for why it was okay.

A general defense is when someone says "no, I didn't do it," or "yes, I did it, but it wasn't wrong," without giving a specific reason why.

For example, imagine a game where the rule is that you can't touch the ball with your hands. If someone touches the ball with their hands, they broke the rule. But let's say they had a good reason, like the ball was about to hit someone in the face, so they stopped it with their hands. That would be an affirmative defense - they broke the rule, but it was for a good reason.

On the other hand, if someone says they didn't touch the ball with their hands when they really did, or they say they did touch it but it wasn't against the rules, that would be a general defense. They're not giving a specific reason for why they did or didn't do something.

So basically, an affirmative defense is like admitting you broke the rule but saying it was okay, while a general defense is like denying that you broke the rule or saying it wasn't a big deal.