Free Essay on Assault, Battery and Crimes against Persons

Crimes have defenses to committing the offenses. 'Crimes against persons' is a broad generalization of an array of crime and criminal offenses that involve bodily harm, the threat to harm (threat to bodily harm), or any other action that is taken against an individual without his consent (Michelson, 2015). In this generalization, we specifically look at the criminal offenses that have bodily harm as part of their definitions. These include assault, domestic violence, rapes, sexual assault and battery among many other forms of crime that cause harm to a person's body. Another classification that involves crimes against persons includes; stalking, kidnapping, and harassment. It is important to understand some of these areas of law and how they affect an individual in his day to day life (Robert, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016). As such, this paper aims at identifying assault, battery, and crimes against persons and generalizing their ideas with the objective of having a better understanding of the laws pertaining to these issues.

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Indeed, there are many areas of law that define these offenses and how causing them should be handled by different jurisdictions. However, it is clear that these are criminal offenses no matter where you are and should be dealt with lawfully. There are different articles that discuss and explain the basic concepts that cover these crimes and their basis including sentencing guidelines and definitions. For instance, the Assault, Battery, and Intentional Torts can be found under Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act of 1998 (Werle, 2009).

Assault is defined as the act of creating an apprehension intentionally towards another person (Roberson, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016). , on the other hand, is the act of applying force intentionally or putting your hand on another person in a way that causes harm to his being (Michelson, 2015). It is important to note that assault and battery although with little to no difference because the battery can be seen to be a form of assault, are viewed differently under Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act of 1998. The case of DPP vs. Little 1992 confirmed this difference (Roberson, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016). The case defined assault as causing one to apprehend force whereas battery is applying the force yourself on someone. For instance, waving a fist at an individual's face to provoke him/her is considered assault whereas throwing a punch at someone to harm him/her intentionally is a form of battery (Werle, 2009). However, it is also important to note that assault does not require actual physical contact contrary to popular belief. The defendant placing an individual in fear because of the imminent danger that is going to take place is what qualifies the offense to be an assault. Furthermore, mere words also do not simply constitute an assault. It requires an action which does not necessarily need to have physical contact (Roberson, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016).

Talking about crimes against persons in this paper will prove to be somewhat difficult because of the wide and broad nature of its definition. For one, assault and battery that have been carried separately in the introduction of this paper can be considered to be crimes against persons. It is why it has been defined in the introductory paragraph of this paper because it carries with it a lot of crimes and offenses. This section will try to identify some of the crimes against persons in a way that they add to the discussion. Crimes against persons are also called violent crimes simply because of the violent nature that they are committed. Many consider it as the most serious segment of a crime under criminal law (Michelson, 2015). These crimes have the potential of carrying and incurring heavy penalties and punishments dished out by criminal law. These could go well to the point of the death penalty especially when considering the worst and most hateful crimes and offenses. Political crimes, treason, and espionage are the only other crimes that can match the heavy penalties that crimes against persons carry (Werle, 2009).

It is clear that deliberateness and clear intent define crimes against persons rather than the actual bodily harm that may involve serious injuries that require treatment. Even with that, it is not right to discount actual bodily harm as not being a form of crime against persons because it is (Roberson, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016). The idea is that it is not necessary to inflict actual bodily harm to an individual but the fact that one is afraid of threats and impending attacks to his well-being by can also be identified as a crime against a person (Werle, 2009). For instance, a person who tries to poison another by administering a lethal poisonous drink can be found guilty of crimes against the other person. This can be classified by law as attempted murder even if the person who was to take the poison does not take it but pours it down the drain. Kidnapping which involves taking a person hostage unwillingly to demand ransom is also a crime against an individual. The individual may be treated like a king while he is held hostage, but that still does not indemnify the other person of the crime against his person. Indeed, these examples involve acts that do not harm an individual's body but are still considered crimes against persons and carry heavy penalties (Michelson, 2015).

It is important to note that crime is considered an offense against the whole society. This is true because society cannot exist without the composition of individuals who are the members of the society. It is no wonder as stated in earlier chapters, the heavy penalties that the crimes against persons carry even to the extreme of death (Michelson, 2015). The best explanation for this is that the law considers a crime perpetrated against the life, health, liberty, or well-being of any member of the society is considered as the worst and most heinous act or species of crime and criminal activity. Affecting the fabric of the society which is its people is the major reason for putting heavy penalties (Roberson, Wallace, & Wallace, 2016).

In conclusion, assault, battery, and crimes against persons, in general, form the most dangerous species of crime especially because they are perpetrated to man directly and physically. It is also important to note that assault and battery are separate and differently defined under the law. Furthermore, and more importantly, they are also considered as crimes against persons. Indeed many jurisdictions and countries around the world have different connotations and definitions of crimes against persons, but one thing that is common is that they are considered as some of the worst crimes with the highest sentences. Crimes against persons do not necessarily need the involvement of physical and bodily harm to an individual as the threat and intent to commit a crime is enough to prosecute one for crimes against persons.

References

Michelson, R. (2015). Introduction to criminal investigation: Introduction to concepts and applications.

Roberson, C., Wallace, H., & Wallace, H. (2016). Principles of criminal law.

Werle, G. (2009). C. War Crimes against Persons. Principles of International Criminal Law, 378-417.