Crimes Against Persons, include for example, murder, rape, and assault.
The victims are all persons.
The object of these crimes defines the category: crimes against persons
The object of Crimes Against Property, is property. For example, theft, bribery, and burglary, are Crimes Against Property.
The objective of these crimes is to obtain money, property, or some other benefit.
And our third category, Prohibition Crimes, includes prostitution, gambling, and possession of contraband, like certain drugs or a gun without a serial number (privately made firearm).
These represent criminal prohibitions against certain types of activity. But they are victimless “crimes,” in which property is not the object. And they tend to be about government efforts to control and divide the People, for example, drug prohibition laws.
Crimes Against Persons
Policy-makers have categorized crimes for hundreds of years. These are the three categories that dominate the discussion in American and English law. We find them useful. But they are not perfect.
The best definition of crimes against persons may be “crimes where a person is a victim, that don’t involve property.”
An example of a difficult crime to categorize is robbery. Robbery is a crime against a person since by definition a robbery involves violence or the threat of violence against a person . It also could be called a property crime, since the object of the crime is to get money or other property. But since violence to persons is worse than property loss, we call robbery a crime against persons.
Another category buster is burglary.
If a burglar steals from an empty building, we have a property crime. But if a person is in the building, we have a crime against a person.
And, what about a burglary of a building but the burglar didn’t know a person was in it? When we analyze Minnesota Statutes on burglary, we can see that the severity of the punishments reflects these concerns.
We generally view Crimes Against Persons as more serious than Property Crimes. And the criminal laws reflect that.
So, though these categories are not clean and perfect, we find them useful.
Three Categories of Crimes Against Persons
We have traditionally divided Crimes Against Persons into three categories:
- Homicide offenses
- Sexual offenses
- Non-fatal, non-sexual offenses
Homicide Offenses
A homicide is when a person causes the death of another person. Of course, most homicides are not crimes. Motor vehicle accidents resulting in death are rarely crimes, for example.
Yet some homicides are the result of a criminal act. These range from:
- Murder, to
- Manslaughter, to
- Criminal Vehicular Homicide.
While their common element is a resulting death, the severity of these crimes varies with the level of criminal intent.
For example, premeditated, intentional murder is a more serious crime that a grossly negligent DWI resulting in a death.
Sexual offenses
Most sex crime laws involve a victim who is present at the time of the crime. These are crimes against persons. But whether there is an identifiable victim in the presence of a perpetrator at the time of the crime; is questionable for some sex crimes.
We have three act-based categories of sex crimes:
- Penetration
- Touch (contact)
- Non-touch (e.g., child porn)
We also categorize sex crimes based on level of criminal intent (force vs. age-based), and level of harm (injury vs. consensual).
Non-fatal, non-sexual offenses
This is the “other” category. The most common non-fatal, non-sexual offense is Assault. And the most common assault charges today are domestic assault charges.
But other examples of these Crimes Against Persons include:
- Assault with a weapon (Assault Second Degree)
- Robbery
- Kidnapping, Abduction, False Imprisonment
The severity of these Crimes Against Persons varies with the level of criminal intent and the level of harm caused.
Problems of false accusation, and problems of proof
People sometimes make false allegations. Sometimes they do so intentionally. They seek to fool the police and make the prosecutors their weapon.
But often false allegations are the result of human error. We are all subject to cognitive bias and error in perception and recollection. Yet we are completely unaware.
The jury won’t see the truth. The jurors only see the available evidence that the judge allows. You know you’re innocent. But someone testifies falsely against you.
The result?
The courts do convict innocent people for crimes they did not do. It happens every day.
And because Crimes Against Persons are the most serious crimes, a person facing these charges needs serious criminal defense help.
So, you need the best criminal defense lawyer with the most resources to fight for the truth, for liberty, for justice.
Gallagher Criminal Defense can help
We work hard to help you learn about the law and defenses. This website contains a wealth of content to help you, available to you now.
And when you call Minnesota Criminal Attorney Thomas Gallagher, you can get help on the phone.
Then, when you retain Thomas Gallagher as your defense attorney; he works to protect and defend you from a government hell-bent on destruction.
Question about defending against charges of Crimes Against Persons? Call Minnesota Criminal Attorney Thomas Gallagher at 612 333-1500
Other crimes against persons articles of interest
Homicide & Murder Defense in Minnesota
Minnesota Criminal Vehicular Homicide
Minnesota Domestic Assault Law
What is a revenge porn crime?
Is Coercion (blackmail, extortion) a crime in Minnesota?
Riot Charges Defense in Minnesota