Unusual Punishment and Death Penalty Law Research Paper

Unusual Punishment and Death Penalty
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Unusual Punishment and Death Penalty
A crime of assault refers to a threat of bodily harm that causes fear to a victim. As such, the crime occurs when the victim has only been threatened without being touched. On the contrary, the crime of battery takes place when a victim is touched in a violent, offensive, harmful, or painful way by the perpetrator. A minor touch can be considered as a battery if it is offensive or painful to the afflicted person (Hg.org, n.d.). The primary difference between the crimes of assault and battery is that in the former no touching but only threats while in the latter there exist a painful, offensive, or harmful touch.
A person can be convicted of an assault without battery. For example, consider a scenario where two individuals, Jeff and Gordon, are walking in the opposite direction in the same street. Gordon is carrying a bottle of soda. If Gordon lifts the soda bottle ready to hit Jeff when they are about to pass each other, and Jeff runs away, the crime of assault has occurred. In other words, Gordon did not touch Jeff, but he threatened to hit him by using a bottle of soda, which caused fear to the victim who freed himself by escaping.
The crime of battery cannot occur without assault. In simple terms, assault refers to an attempted battery. For this reason, assault takes place before the battery, which explains why one cannot be convicted of a battery without assault (Searles, 2018). For example, in the example above involving Gordon and Jeff, Gordon can be convicted of assault. However, if Gordon threw the soda bottle and hit Jeff, it would be considered as a battery. An assault occurs before a battery.
A simple battery entails minor bodily injury to a victim, which is considered as a petty misdemeanor. On the other hand, aggravated battery refers to intentional bodily harm that might lead to permanent disability or disfigurement ...