The Law
Elements of murder
For a case to be considered an attempted murder, there are several conditions that have to have been fulfilled. These are the elements of attempted murder. The first element is cause of death (ABC.net, 1999). If the act that a defendant engages in causes the death of a person this can be given to prove murder. For attempted murder, the defendant has to have engaged in actions for the purpose of committing murder even though the acts do not cause a murder. The second element is that the unlawful act that the defendant engaged in caused the death of that person (ABC.net, 1999). For attempted murder, the acts to cause death of a person must be believable to a reasonable person (Rodriguez, 2010).
The third element is that the circumstances for the act leading to death were that first, there was intent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm (ABC.net, 1999). The second circumstance is that the act was conducted with reckless indifference to human life (ABC.net, 1999). For attempted murder these two circumstances also apply with actions which are presented indicating beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant’s acts were capable of causing serious harm or death (Morrison and Brennan,1996). In addition, the defendant’s acts may involve plans to facilitate omission that would be grave enough to cause death.
According to New Jersey Judiciary (NJJ) (1992), in circumstances where these elements are not met, the defendant may not be charged with murder. If the circumstances however are met, the defendant may be charged with first degree murder (NJJ, 1992). In order to convict someone of attempted murder, there has to prove that the defendant engaged in an act with the purpose of causing the death of a person. It can also be that the defendant omitted doing something with the same purpose of causing the death of a person as a result of the omission (NJJ, 1992). The Law must therefore prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had the purpose of causing a person’s death (Morrison and Brennan,1996).
Verdict of scenario
Given the elements of murder and circumstances under which a defendant can be charged with attempted murder, Mr. Assin did not commit an attempt to commit the murder of Sally’s husband.
Evidence for verdict
This is based on the fact that there is no connection between his acts and the intended purpose of the murderer to be. Mr. Assin did not have any connection with planning that had been going on for the murder of Sally’s husband. Since Mr. Assin was the wrong person, there is no prove of an intention to cause the death of Sally’s husband (Friedman, 2009).Assin had no knowledge of the murder ploy and his actions do not indicate any purposeful involvement. Mr. Assin thought what he was getting was different than what he is accused of propositioning. In addition none of the acts that Mr. Assin engaged in can be concluded beyond reasonable doubt to be acts of compliance with the agreement that Sally had with the murderer to be.
It is not unusual for someone to order what someone they are with orders, nor for someone to show interest in a seemingly single woman. The fact that Mr. Assin did not actively accept the money means that there is no conclusive evidence that he had accepted the deal with Sally. In this case therefore, the Law can not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Assin actions constituted a breaking of the law or that he attempted to commit the murder of Sally’s husband.
References
ABC.net (1999). Legislation and legal notes. Retrieved on 20th January, 2011, from
http://www.abc.net.au/mocktrial/thecase/legal.htm
Friedman, J. W. (2009). Friedman’s practice series: criminal law. (2nd ed.). New York: Aspen
Publishers.
Morrison, A. B. and Brennan, W. J. (1996). Fundamentals of American Law. New York: Oxford
University Press.
New Jersey judiciary. (1992). Attempted murder. Retrieved on 20th January, 2011, from
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/charges/inchoate2.pdf
Rodriguez, S. (2010). Attempted murder. Retrieved on 20th January, 2011, from
http://www.uslaw.com/library/Criminal_Law/Attempted_Murder.php?item=388281
Violent and property crimes
Definition of property and violent crimes
According to US department of justice (2009), violent crimes are defined as those crimes which cause serious harm including aggravated assault, robbery, forcible rape and murder. According to US Legal (2011), property crimes refer to those crimes where the perpetrators try to benefit from the property of another, or to destroy another person’s property even though they do not threaten or use force. As a result, even though the perpetrator does not benefit from the crime, someone else’s property is destroyed and the person suffers a loss. These crimes include theft, vandalism, arson, larceny and shoplifting.
Classification of robbery
Robbery is a violent crime and not a property crime since it involves use of force or the threat of force. In the case against Mr.Menace, the use of a gun made it an armed robbery case. His use of the gun implied force and as such his crime can not be categorized as a property crime. His crime is an armed robbery.
Seriousness of violent and property crimes
Robbery can result in serious harm and is perpetrated against people as opposed to the other property crimes. Property crimes as well as violent crimes are both serious. This is because their consequences can be far reaching. Property crimes can result in serious consequences for communities where people lose property or businesses. Some crimes like arson can also result in serious harm including death even when that is not the intention. On the other hand violent crimes cause a lot of harm to the victims. Some crimes like rape have far reaching effects on the lives of the victims and they may carry the damage for life. According to Mathews (2002), armed robbery is one of the most serious of crimes committed in society.
References
Matthews, R. (2002). Armed robbery. Portland, OR: Willan Publishers.
US Department of Justice. (2009). Criminal victimization 2008. Retrieved on 20th January, 2011,
from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/ascii/cv08.txt
US Legal, Inc. (2011). Property crime law and legal definition. Retrieved on 20th January, 2011,
from http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/property-crime/
