Ellington, Justice. Following a jury trial, Carlos Richard McClure was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault, see OCGA § 16-5-21 (a) (2),[1] based on an indictment that charged him with assaulting Armando Cuevas and Jamie Thun with a lever-action BB rifle by aiming the gun at them. McClure requested that the jury be instructed on the affirmative defenses of justification in defense of self and justification in defense of habitation. The trial court refused to give the requested instructions on justification on the basis that McClure, who testified that he carried the BB gun during an encounter with the victims but denied pointing the gun at them, could not both deny that he performed the act of pointing the gun at someone and at the same time argue that he was justified in performing that act. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed, reasoning that, because McClure did not admit to aiming the BB gun at the victims, an element of aggravated assault as charged, he was not entitled to an instruction on any affirmative defense. McClure v. State, 347 Ga. App. 68, 70-71 (2) (815 SE2d 313) (2018). McClure petitioned for a writ of certiorari, and this Court granted his petition to consider the following questions: What, if anything, must a criminal defendant admit in order to raise an affirmative defense? Must the defendant make any such admissions for all purposes or only for more limited purposes? As will be more fully explained below, an affirmative defense is one in which the defendant argues that, even if the allegations of the indictment or accusation are true, there are circumstances that support a determination that he cannot or should not be held criminally liable. In raising an affirmative defense, the defendant asks the finder of fact to find him not guilty of the offense charged regardless of whether he committed the underlying act. Circumstances that can support a determination that the defendant cannot or should not be held criminally liable include, but are not limited to, those that justify or excuse the prohibited act alleged. A defendant may assert alternative affirmative defenses and may assert one or more affirmative defenses while also arguing that the State failed to carry its burden of proving every material allegation of the indictment and every essential element of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. In asserting an affirmative defense, a criminal defendant may accept for the sake of argument that the evidence authorizes a finding that he committed the act alleged in the charge at issue. Based on these principles, we answer the certiorari questions as follows: A criminal defendant is not required to “admit” anything, in the sense of acknowledging that any particular facts are true, in order to raise an affirmative defense. To the extent a defendant in raising an affirmative defense accepts for the sake of argument that he committed the act alleged in a charge, the defendant may do so only for the limited purpose of raising the affirmative defense at issue. 1. Under Georgia law, many, but not all, affirmative defenses are statutory and are set out in Chapter 3 of Georgia’s Criminal Code (Title 16).[2] Title 16 includes the term “affirmative defense” in its list of definitions that apply generally throughout the Criminal Code. OCGA § 16-1-3 (1) provides in pertinent part: “‘Affirmative defense’ means, with respect to any affirmative defense authorized in [Title 16], unless the state’s evidence raises the issue invoking the alleged defense, the defendant must present evidence thereon to raise the issue.” This provision defines “affirmative defense” only in terms of the defendant’s burden of production.[3] As we have explained, this rule of affirmative defenses authorized in the Criminal Code follows the general rule in this State that, “If the defense is made out by the witnesses on the part of the prosecution, then the defendant need not call any; but if not, then the defendant must call witnesses, and make out his defense by proof.” Chandle v. State, 230 Ga. 574, 576 (3) (198 SE2d 289) (1973), quoting Crawford v. State, 12 Ga. 142, 149 (5) (1852) (other citations omitted). In other words, to raise an affirmative defense under Title 16, the defendant must present evidence supporting the affirmative defense only if the State’s evidence does not support the defense. For matters other than the burden of production, Georgia courts have often defined an “affirmative defense” as a defense “that admits the doing of the act charged, but seeks to justify, excuse, or mitigate it.” Williams v. State, 297 Ga. 460, 464 (3) (773 SE2d 213) (2015) (citation omitted; emphasis supplied).[4] In Williams, we noted that “the first articulation” in Georgia jurisprudence of this principle “in its current form” was “taken from a definition that appeared at [former] 21 AmJur2d 204, § 135,” citing Chandle, 230 Ga. at 576 (3). Williams, 297 Ga. at 465 n.4 (3). As we noted in Williams, this definition of “affirmative defense” appears in Georgia’s pattern jury instructions[5] and has been approved in multiple opinions of our appellate courts since our decision in Chandle. Id. at 465 (3). But, as then-Presiding Judge McFadden observed in his partial dissent in McClure, defining an affirmative defense as a defense that “admits” the doing of the act charged does not explain whether the “admission” necessary to an affirmative defense is a legal admission that is binding upon the defendant[6] or merely a non-binding assumption of facts for the sake of argument. 347 Ga. App. at 73 (McFadden, P.J., dissenting in part). Commentary surrounding the definition in the American Jurisprudence treatise from which the language quoted in Chandle was drawn suggests that, when a defendant raises or asserts an affirmative defense, “admit[ting] the doing of the act charged” does not entail stipulating to the truth of the facts alleged in the indictment or accusation: An affirmative defense is defined as a matter which, assuming the charge against the accused to be true, constitutes a defense to it; an “affirmative defense” does not directly challenge any element of the offense. Otherwise stated, an affirmative defense is one that admits the doing of the act charged, but seeks to justify, excuse, or mitigate it. . . . [A]n affirmative defense goes beyond the elements of the offense to prove facts which somehow remove the defendant from the statutory threat of criminal liability. 21 AmJur2d Criminal Law § 177 (2d ed.) (formerly 21 AmJur2d § 135) (footnotes omitted; emphasis supplied). Stated another way, in raising an affirmative defense, a defendant argues that he should be acquitted of the offense regardless of whether he committed the act charged because of circumstances other than those that make out the material allegations of the charging instrument.[7] Some affirmative defenses reflect a policy determination that persons with certain characteristics should not be punished for acts that would otherwise bring consequences, including persons who, at the time of the act, are too young or lack the mental capacity to be held responsible.[8] Perhaps the most used affirmative defenses are those where the circumstances are deemed to justify or excuse the commission of the prohibited act.[9] Criminal defendants, like other litigants, are entitled to pursue alternative theories, even when those theories are inconsistent.[10] As then-Presiding Judge McFadden pointed out in McClure, requiring a defendant to admit the crime for all purposes in order to raise an affirmative defense and secure a jury instruction “creates practical quandaries for defendants who, like McClure, have both a viable claim that he committed no crime and a viable claim that, if the jury believes him to have committed a crime, the act was justifiable or subject to another affirmative defense.” 347 Ga. App. at 77-78 (1) (McFadden, P.J., dissenting in part). The limited nature of an “admission” for purposes of raising an affirmative defense is illustrated by cases involving a shooting death where the defendant raises the alternative defenses of accident and self-defense.[11] By asserting the affirmative defense of justification, the defendant accepts for the sake of argument that the jury could find that he fired the gun at the victim intentionally but asks the jury to conclude that his use of force against the victim was justified by a reasonable belief that such force was necessary to defend himself against the victim’s imminent use of unlawful force. By asserting the defense of accident, on the other hand, the defendant does not “admit” intentionally firing the gun at the victim; rather he accepts for the sake of argument only that he caused the victim’s fatal gunshot injuries and asks the jury to conclude that he did so accidentally.[12]By asserting the alternative defenses of accident and justification in this scenario, the defendant in essence tells the jury, “I didn’t mean to shoot the victim. But if you find that I shot him intentionally, I was justified in doing so, because it was the only way to stop him from seriously injuring me.” This type of argument in the alternative is entirely permissible under such circumstances. See Williams, 297 Ga. at 461-462 (2). As cases involving both accident and justification illustrate, the key procedural moment in asserting an affirmative defense will often be securing the trial court’s approval of relevant jury instructions so that counsel can argue the affirmative defense to the jury. In one such case, Turner v. State, 262 Ga. 359 (418 SE2d 52) (1992), we held that, “where the court finds evidence of the involvement of [two distinct affirmative defenses], and there has been a timely request for instruction as to both, the court should charge the jury as to both. The defendant should not be forced to elect between the two” affirmative defenses. Id. at 360 (2) (c) (footnote omitted).[13] In that case, the defendant, who testified that his gun accidentally discharged during a struggle when he was defending himself from the victim’s knife attack, requested jury instructions on both accident and justification. Id. at 359-360 (2) (a). The trial court gave an instruction on justification, but refused to give one on accident. Id. at 360 (2) (a). The case of Koritta v. State, 263 Ga. 703 (438 SE2d 68) (1994), presented the mirror situation – the trial court gave a requested instruction on accident but refused to give one on justification. In that case, the defendant testified that the victim was drunkenly playing with the defendant’s loaded gun; the defendant believed that he and his children were at risk of being shot; the defendant got control of the gun; the victim threatened the defendant and came at him as if to strike him; and, the gun went off as the defendant turned his body to ward off the anticipated blow. Id. at 704. In both Turner and Koritta, we determined that instructions on both accident and justification were warranted by the evidence, and it was harmful error to give one but not the other. Koritta, 263 Ga. at 705; Turner, 262 Ga. at 360-361 (2) (b), (c).[14] Trial court error in rejecting requested and applicable affirmative-defense instructions may be compounded by prosecutorial argument. In Williams, the prosecutor argued that the affirmative defense of justification was not, as a matter of law, available to the defendant, who testified that he only fired a warning shot above the victim, because he did not admit that he fired the shot that struck and killed the victim. 297 Ga. at 461-462 (2). We determined that the prosecutor’s argument misstated the law because the defendant could pursue the seemingly contradictory defenses of lack of causation and self-defense, so long as some evidence supported each theory. Id. at 463 (2). That is, the defendant could deny firing the fatal shot for the purpose of his lack-of- causation defense even if he “admitted” the act for the sake of argument in raising and presenting his affirmative defense of justification. Although the trial court gave both jury instructions and we found that prosecutor’s argument was harmless under the circumstances, we noted that the prosecutor’s incorrect statement of the law could “potentially mislead the jury.” Id. at 463 (2) (citation omitted). See also McLean v. State, 297 Ga. 81, 83 (2) (772 SE2d 685) (2015) (“The existence of an alternative defense does not change the fact that the defendant admits the charged act for purposes of raising and presenting his affirmative defense, even if he denies it for other purposes.” (emphasis supplied)) As is the case generally, “[t]o authorize a requested jury instruction, there need only be slight evidence supporting the theory of the charge.” Garner v. State, 303 Ga. 788, 790 (2) (815 SE2d 36) (2018).[15] And the defendant need not present evidence to support the theory of an affirmative defense if the State’s evidence raises the issue. Adams v. State, 288 Ga. 695, 697 (1) (707 SE2d 359) (2011); Chandle, 230 Ga. at 576 (3); OCGA § 16-1-3 (1). “Whether the evidence presented is sufficient to authorize the giving of a charge is a question of law.” Garner, 303 Ga. at 790 (2) (citations and punctuation omitted).[16] In summary, in order to raise an affirmative defense, a criminal defendant need not “admit” anything, in the sense of acknowledging that any facts alleged in the indictment or accusation are true. Rather, in asserting an affirmative defense, a defendant may accept certain facts as true for the sake of argument, and the defendant may do so for the limited purpose of raising the specific affirmative defense at issue. A defendant is entitled to a requested jury instruction regarding an affirmative defense when at least slight evidence supports the theory of the charge, whether in the State’s evidence or evidence presented by the defendant, and regardless of whether the theory of the affirmative defense conflicts with any other theory being advanced by the defendant. It follows that a trial court errs in denying a defendant’s request for a jury instruction on an affirmative defense solely on the basis that the defendant did not admit for all purposes the truth of the allegations in the indictment or accusation regarding the allegedly unlawful act. Appellate decisions affirming such rulings, where the affirmative defense was supported by at least slight evidence, are hereby overruled to that extent.[17] As noted above, this Court has held that the following jury instruction is a correct statement of Georgia law: An affirmative defense is a defense that admits the doing of the act charged but seeks to justify, excuse, or mitigate it. Once an affirmative defense is raised, the burden is on the State to disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Suggested Pattern Jury Instructions, Vol. II: Criminal Cases, 3.00.00 (4th ed., 2007, updated January 2019).[18] Because the phrase “admits the doing of the act charged” can easily be misinterpreted, see Williams, 297 Ga. at 463 (2), wording more in line with our analysis herein would be advisable. We will now apply these principles to the case before us. 2. McClure contends that he was entitled to his requested jury instructions on justification despite the fact that he did not admit pointing the BB gun at the victims. As noted above, the trial court refused to give the requested instructions on justification on the basis that McClure could not both deny that he pointed the gun at the victims as alleged in the indictment and at the same time argue that he was justified in doing so. Under the principles explained in Division 1, supra, the trial court’s ruling was incorrect. As long as the theory of the affirmative defense was supported by at least slight evidence, McClure was entitled to argue both that the State failed to carry its burden of proving that he assaulted the victims by pointing the gun at them, a material allegation of the indictment, and also argue in the alternative that, if the jury credited the victims’ testimony that he pointed the gun at them over his testimony that he did not do so, the evidence nevertheless showed that he was justified in that act. The Court of Appeals erred in affirming the trial court’s failure to give the requested jury instructions on justification solely on the basis that McClure did not admit pointing the BB gun at the victims. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment and remand to the Court of Appeals for consideration of whether the trial court erred in failing to give the requested instructions regarding the affirmative defenses of justification, that is, whether the theory of the instructions was supported by at least slight evidence, and, if so, whether any such instructional error was harmful. See Shah v. State, 300 Ga. 14, 21 (2) (b) (793 SE2d 81) (2016). Judgment vacated and case remanded. All the Justices concur, except Nahmias, P. J., who concurs specially. S18G1599. McClure v. The State. Nahmias, Presiding Justice, concurring. I concur fully in the Court’s opinion, which clarifies when a defendant may obtain a jury instruction on an affirmative defense and reaffirms that the law allows a defendant to present inconsistent defenses so long as each defense is supported by at least slight evidence. It is important to recognize, however, that what the law allows may be bad strategy for a defendant. Presenting inconsistent defenses to the jury, particularly when the evidentiary support for one defense is considerably weaker than for others or where a defense is contradicted by the defendant’s own account of events, risks losing credibility for all of the defenses. Thus, a decision by defense counsel to forgo the option of presenting an inconsistent alternative defense and instead to focus on the defense or defenses that he reasonably believes to be the strongest under all the circumstances will usually not constitute deficient performance under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (104 SCt 2052, 80 LE2d 674) (1984).[19] Similarly, our opinion today should not cause trial courts to worry too much if they fail to give an instruction on an alternative defense that is supported by only the slightest evidence and that is inconsistent with the defendant’s own account of the events or with the main defense theory presented at trial. Such an omission will likely be harmless error and almost certainly will not amount to plain error.[20]
