[elects]

No, that wouldn't make it easy, unless they opened fire.

So if they aimed a gun at me and said they were going blow my brains out, and I shot them first killing them that wouldn't be self defense? I only ask because I think if I surrounded myself with like minded individuals, I could produce many witnesses backing my side of the story, whether accurate or not - and they would be dead, therefore unable to comment.

Prior to cell phone cameras becoming ubiquitous, court cases often hinged on who had the best witnesses lined up. The testimony of seven police officers for example would trump the testimony of one construction worker, who was 'known to police', even with a videotape of the cops beating him.