According to Bergman, crime against persons refers to an offense which by its nature involves the risk that the offender will use physical force against another individual (Bergman, 2016). For example, an assault is a crime against an individual which includes attempts of causing body harm to another person using a weapon such as a gun. Such crimes are punishable, and depend on the jurisdiction where the offender might serve some jail time. Most states stipulate policies which protect its citizen legal rights. Assault and battery laws help determine the degree of the crime together with punishment depending on the statute of a country.
In the state of Ohio, crime laws include cases of both battery and assault against an individual. The law of Ohio stipulates that an attempt to cause harm towards another person or an unborn child is assault. Battery on the other hand is the intentional injury to a person by an offender ("Ohio Assault and Battery Laws - FindLaw," 2016.) The policy in Ohio breaks assault cases into two separate degrees: aggravated and simple assault crimes. Simple assault is a misdemeanor crime whereas aggravated assault is a serious crime depending on who is the victim in the situation. Ohio’s aggression and battery laws are in the code section 2903.13 which explain the prohibited conduct together with the type of punishment for the offense. …show more content…
In this law, the state prohibits simple assault that the rules define as knowingly attempting or causing physical harm to another person’s unborn child or against an individual. The law also defines negligent assault which takes place when an offender uses a deadly weapon in the act. According to this law, a felony assault is causing serious harm to another person whereas aggravated assault is causing severe damage under extreme anger or influence of sudden passion through the use of a weapon.
The Ohio district attorney’s office prosecutes these cases by imposing penalties for each degree of assault. For a simple assault which is a first-degree misdemeanor, the offender serves six months or a fine of $1000 together with restitution to the victim of the crime. On a case of negligent assault is a third-degree misdemeanor that a person serves 60 days and a fine of up to $500. For a felony charge, one takes a sentence of 2-8 years in prison together with a fine of $20000. When facing a case of aggravated assault one serves a prison time of 18 months to six years with a fine of an estimate $5000. Elements for proving a criminal Assault Vukovic states that the elements of battery cases include an act intended to create danger (Vukovic, 2016). In such a case, the defendant must commit assault with the intention of creating danger or a state of fear in the victim. This means accidental actions are not acts of battery. Another element is reasonable apprehension. In this case, the victim has a reasonable belief or thought that the defendant will harm them hence the victim needs to perceive the acts of the accused. The third element is of imminent harm. In this situation, the victim experiences fear due to a threat that is about to take place. Assault charges do not include threats which do not instill fear on a victim. The harm must present evidence of apprehended physical harm on the victim hence words or statements only do to constitute an offense against a person. The fourth element is that of actions which are either offensive or harmful. The defendant’s behavior conduct must show a physical threat or offense. The elements must be evident in a case for the jury to pronounce the offender as guilty of committing an assault to another person. Elements of the crime under Historical Common Law Commonly, any crime which involves physical attack on a victim refers to attack. The government in the establishment of policies that protect its citizens consider various elements which result to an offense. Historically according to the American common law an assault or battery is not a felony unless there is an involvement of a law enforcement officer. The legislation on battery differ from each state and keep changing with time due to emerging issues of crime that are in line with policies of assault. The elements of the common law include committing a violent injury, an unlawful