The Georgia Criminal Defense of Abandonment of Effort to Commit a Crime

Georgia Criminal Defenses include affirmative defenses such as the defense of abandonment. As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I do my best to elaborate on the defenses that are available to those who are accused of committing criminal offenses in the state of Georgia.

There are two different types of legal defenses. First, there are negating defenses which disprove an element of the crime - an element that is necessary for conviction. Examples of negating offenses include Alibi in Georgia and Impossibility in Georgia. Second, there are affirmative defenses which are legal excuses for committing a crime. Examples include Abandonment of Effort to Commit a Crime in Georgia and Self Defense in Georgia.

In today's post, I will elaborate on the affirmative defense of abandonment in Georgia.

The Law on Abandonment of Effort to Commit a Crime

Georgia Law defines Abandonment of Effort to Commit a Crime in Georgia as:

“When a person's conduct would otherwise constitute an attempt to commit a crime under Code Section 16-4-1, it is an affirmative defense that he abandoned his effort to commit the crime or in any other manner prevented its commission under circumstances manifesting a voluntary and complete renunciation of his criminal purpose.” O.C.G.A. §16-4-5. 

A voluntary and complete renunciation is necessary for this defense to be successfully utilized. Voluntary means that you willingly and of your own accord gave up the attempt to commit the crime. This means that you cannot give up committing crime because you thought you were about to get caught. It also means that you cannot give up committing the crime because something as occurred that has hindered or slowed your ability to accomplish the crime. Complete means that you have to fully give up your attempt to commit the crime at hand. It cannot be merely pushing your plans to commit the crime to a later date.

Practice Note

Georgia Criminal Defenses are legally very complicated. I write these posts for more explanation and pure interest only.  

Defenses should NEVER be applied in an attempt to defend your own case without representation. If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime in Georgia, contact us today. Your best defense starts with a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney.