Types of Offenses Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Types of Offenses - Assignment Example Introduction It is important to note that there are specific elements of a crime that constitute any given type of crime, an attempted murder included. When one has been accused of attempted murder, he or she has not necessarily been convicted of attempting to kill someone because an accusation is not considered a conviction. Emanuel (2007) argues that such an accusation must have the elements of the crime for one to be considered guilty of committing it (Scaros, 2004). Since Mr. Assin has merely been formally accused in a court of law of committing the crime of attempted murder, it does not mean that he is guilty of the crime (Currier & Eimermann, 2009). In this particular case, Mr. Assin is simply in trouble because he was caught in between an interesting scenario and has been mistakenly accused of being responsible for planning to kill Sally’s husband. This essay will present a memo addressing Mr. Assin’s worries of whether or not he is guilty of the crime of attempt ed murder, and explaining to him the elements of such a crime. MEMO TO: Mr. G. Ilty Assin FROM: Criminal attorney DATE: 21-January-2012 SUBJECT: Charges of attempt to commit murder in the first degree Following the scenario at the restaurant involving Sally, the woman who was attempting to murder her husband, this memo addresses your concerns, explaining the elements of murder including what is required to convict one of attempted murder and whether or not you committed the crime of attempted murder. 1. Explanation of the elements of murder including what is required to convict someone of attempt to commit murder. The elements of a crime such as murder are all those basic sets of common law principles that are necessary for criminal liability. The elements of murder therefore refer to the predetermined factors of a crime that sustain its conviction. According to Emanuel (2007), murder is defined as the unlawful killing of another human being, often with malice. Murder has several el ements that are recognizable by law. The first element of murder is the intent of killing someone else. This means that the accused must have had the intentions of committing murder or might have been very reckless or negligent to such an extent that his or her acts showed the intention of murdering someone else (Scaros, 2004). The second element of murder is the actual act of killing someone else. This refers to the physical action (s) taken by someone that resulted in the death of someone else (Currier & Eimermann, 2009). The third and final element of murder it the causation of murder. In this case, the act or intention to murder someone must be determined as the legal and actual cause of death. If a person had the legal obligation to act or not act in a certain way and he or she fails to follow this obligation, he or she will be held liable if their actions or failure of caused the death of some