Offenses of Violence Against the Person

Abstract

Laws covering crimes of violence against the person, in statute and in decision, although they vary among jurisdictions, have been significantly influenced by the com mon law of England. The four categories of common law homicides, except for the occasional combination of justifiable and excusable homicides, are used in every jurisdiction. Malice aforethought and felony murder doctrines are retained. Assault, battery, and mayhem remain in the law, and the Model Penal Code proposes a complete revision based on bodily injury. Common law definition of rape prevails, and, for common law and for statutory rape, penalties, although varied, are severe. Mistake of fact as to age adds an inter esting dimension to the problem of statutory rape. False im prisonment, a misdemeanor at common law, is retained in only fourteen jurisdictions; in extreme cases, it falls under kidnap ping statutes. Kidnapping, a misdemeanor at common law, is treated with far greater severity in the United States than in Europe. The factor of brief detention or asportation makes it possible to prosecute other crimes, for which there are im prisonment penalties, as kidnapping, a crime for which there is a possible death penalty. American criminal law has some times retained archaic common law concepts that should have been discarded, and it tends to ad hoc change more in response to emotion than to reason. Recodifications, much needed, are rarely attempted. The Model Penal Code, however, does exist as a beacon and guide.—Ed.