Attempted murder and the impossible crime
Attempt (in general) is a special form of crime in which the intended result does not occur, or a conduct that does not lead to the completion of the crime that the offender intended to achieve, provided that the failure to achieve that result is due to an involuntary cause.
In this case, the offender has taken a substantial step toward completing the crime, but completion did not occur due to an external factor beyond their control. For example, a person who fires a bullet at another with the intent to kill but misses, or causes only minor injury, or someone who intervenes and prevents the offender from firing the weapon, is considered to have fulfilled the elements of attempt in the intended crime, which was prevented from completion by an external factor outside the offender’s will; had it not been for that factor, the result would have been achieved.
Forms of Attempt:
There are two main forms of attempt:
1) Completed attempt (also known as the “failed crime”):
In this form, the offender fully carries out their criminal activity, but the result does not occur due to an external cause beyond their control.
Examples include:
- Striking a woman or giving her a substance with the intent to cause abortion, but the result does not occur.
- Firing a gun at the victim but missing.
- Breaking into a safe to steal a specific document but finding it not present.
This category also includes what is known as the impossible crime, where the criminal conduct is fully carried out under circumstances in which the result was impossible to achieve due to a factor unknown to the offender, such as:
- Attempting to steal from an empty pocket.
- Attempting to kill a person who is already dead.
- Using an unloaded weapon.
- Attempting to cause abortion on a woman who is not pregnant.
2) Incomplete attempt (also known as the “interrupted crime”):
In this form, the offender does not complete the criminal activity; instead, it is interrupted or prevented by an external factor before completion and before the result occurs.
Examples include:
- Person “A” preparing to fire a gun at “B”, but “C” intervenes and prevents him from firing.
- Person “A” climbing a house wall intending to steal, but stopping upon seeing a police officer approaching.
Distinction between attempted crime and impossible crime:
Impossible crime:
An impossible crime occurs when the offender performs an act intending to achieve a criminal result, but the result is materially or legally impossible due to a factor unknown to the offender, regardless of the effort exerted.
This is either because:
- The subject matter of the crime does not exist, or
- The means used are inherently unsuitable in the circumstances to produce the result.
In such cases, the protected legal interest is not actually endangered, because the offender’s conduct was destined to fail from the beginning.
Examples include:
- Attempting to steal from an empty pocket or empty safe.
- Attempting to abort a woman who is not pregnant.
- Attempting to kill a person who is already dead.