Joseph is a member of the notorious Crips gang, while Walter is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. These two organizations are often engaged in violent confrontations, often motivated by racial hatred

Question

One evening, Joseph enters an area of the city within the control of the Aryan Brotherhood and is attacked by Walter. Joseph survives the encounter but is severely beaten. Joseph suffers a broken nose,a broken jaw, severe facial lacerations, and internal bleeding. The prosecutor wants to charge Walter with battery and attempted murder. Walter is challenging the attempted murder charge, claiming that he only wanted "to teach Joseph a lesson" about trespassing on the Brotherhood's land and that he never intended to kill him. Is Walter guilty of attempted murder? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but answer should include definition of attempt, which is an inchoate offense in which the defendant has the specific intent to commit the underlying offense and takes some action in furtherance of that intent, but is unsuccessful in completing the crime. The prosecution will need to prove the intent (mens rea) for a successful conviction of attempted murder. Because an attempt is not a completed crime, it is more difficult to prove mens rea. There are two parts of the mens rea of attempt: to (1) intend the act and (2) intend the result. To intend the act means the offender must intend to commit some sort of overt act toward completion of the offense. As to intending the result, the defendant must also intend for the substantive crime to occur. Based on the information provided within the question Walter did not intend Joseph to die, Walter has not satisfied the mens rea of attempted murder. Walter will likely be convicted of some other crime, however, as he certainly did something illegal.