Assault, Battery, and Crimes against Persons

Assignment Three – Assault, Battery, and Crimes against Persons Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name September 16, 2019 Crimes against persons are one of the most frequently committed crimes in the United States. A 2017 survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows that about 248.9 individuals have been assaulted in a population of 100,000 people. Accordingly, this highlights the importance of lawyers in society. Being agents of the justice system, lawyers must be adept at understanding these crimes and ascertaining the right penalties for each. This would ensure that justice is properly served without sacrificing the life, liberty, or property of one of the parties in a case. To understand these different crimes against persons, this paper would discuss the different elements of a crime and the corresponding penalties. All in all, the author believes that by being able to distinguish whether or not an act constitutes a crime, lawyers can help the justice system achieve its purpose.   Assault and Battery            The case talks about the suspect (S) who pointed a knife at the victim’s (A) face in a shopping mall’s parking lot. During the altercation, it was said that S struck A and was able to rip the handle of her purse. Fortunately, this ended with A’s act of self-defense, who was then able to protect both her life and property as she ran to safety.             In light of the facts provided, it can be argued that S should be charged with either (1) crimes of assault with a deadly weapon or (2) crimes of felonious and aggravated battery. On the one hand, assault is the crime when an attacker (S) places the person of the victim (A) under the threat of physical harm. Accordingly, a ‘crime of assault with a deadly weapon’ is similar to simple assault but coupled with an aggravating factor, such as “the use of a weapon or the intent to commit a serious crime” (Bergman, n.d.). In the case, this aggravated form of assault has been consummated as S pointed a knife towards A’s face, thereby resulting in an immediate threat of bodily harm with the aid of a weapon.             On the other hand, battery is a felonious act where a person intentionally induces physical contact with another person, despite the lack of consent from the other (USLegal.com, n.d.). This can also be attended with an aggravating factor such as the use of a knife (S). Although its aggravated type requires the use of a weapon, its consummation does not require that the victim suffers from a bodily injury as long as the attacker induces physical contact without his consent and that there is an intent to harm the victim. Going back to the case, it is clear that an aggravated form of battery was consummated, despite A’s ability to protect herself, due to S’ act of striking A.             Despite the inherent differences between the two types of crimes, both of them require (1) a ‘malicious intent’ and not simple negligence on the part of the suspect and (2) the presence of an aggravating circumstance such as a weapon. Nonetheless, S’ mens rea has been sufficiently established due to his demand to take A’s purse, as well as the subsequent attack against A, thereby making t...