Criminal Law Assignment: Battery, Assault, and Kidnapping Analysis

This Criminal Law assignment analyzes two scenarios involving assault, battery, and kidnapping. The first scenario differentiates between assault (threat of harm) and aggravated battery (infliction of harm with a weapon), concluding that the attacker committed aggravated battery. The second scenario examines kidnapping versus hostage-taking, asserting that the actions described constitute hostage-taking because the intent was self-preservation from law enforcement rather than financial gain. The assignment provides definitions, distinctions, and relevant legal concepts, supported by cited references.

Running head- CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Scenario 1
1. Assault is referred to as inflicting a threat to injury or cause any physical harm to the
person. It is generally the threatening part and can often constitute threatening with
the use of weapons or any other objects that may physically harm the person. Whereas
Aggravated Battery is referred to as the act where the person causes physical harm to
any other person knowingly or unknowingly with the use of sharp objects or weapons
that may cause bodily harm or permanent disability upon that person. The primary
difference between the two is generally the fact that an assault is just threatening to
inflict harm, and aggravated battery is the act of inflicting harm with the use of such
weapons. The only similarity between the two is the intention to inflict damage upon
the person. For example in the case of petty theft where a person shows a knife to
another person in order to obtain the resources without causing any physical harm that
is assault and when the thief strikes the knife knowingly or unknowingly to the other
person in order to obtain the resources that are aggravated battery.
2. As per the facts of the case, the person who has committed the crime will fall under
the purview of battery and especially aggravated battery. This crime will be
charged under battery as the attacker strikes A with the knife in order to inflict some
kind of injury (Gallo, & Soskice, 2014). Also, as per the provision of battery, when a
person strikes another person with any object in order to inflict harm or injury
intentionally or unintentionally, it will constitute a battery, and the attacker shall be
charged with the offense of aggravated battery.
3. As per the facts and the scenario of the given case in order to change the situation and
the offense from aggravated battery to simple assault, the strike by the attacker shall
be omitted. When the attacker pointed the knife to the person and demanded her

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purse, it was the act of assault. As for the fact that it only constituted the threating in
order to inflict harm and not caused the harm is real. So, if the attacker has not struck
her with the knife, the case would have been just for assault in order to impose the
threat, but as there were actions to cause injury, it will fall under the purview of
aggravated battery.
Scenario 2
1. Kidnapping is generally defined as the act of abducting, confining, seizing,
captivating, or carry away a person by the use of fraud or force in return for
demanding an amount to return the person (Jefferson, 2015). It refers to unlawfully
detaining the person from his actual position by any kind of fraudulent activity against
the will of the person with a motive of gaining out something from that captivation.
As per the changed scenario in question 3, the court will not be able to convict
the person against the charges of kidnapping. It will constitute the crime of hostage.
As per the scenario of the case, the person threatened in order to refrain from some
kind of act that was in order to behave against law enforcement. So, in this case, the
facts stated that the attacker threatens the person in order to move the attacker to a
safe position that was to protect himself from law enforcement. The fact that the
motive of the attacker was to protect himself from the law and not to gain something
from the person driving the car and as he unlawfully threatened the person to make
himself safe from the police would fall under the purview of hostage and not
kidnapping.
2. The primary difference between hostage-taking and kidnapping the fact that
kidnapping is generally defined as the unlawful detainment of the person without
having the lawful authority over that person and in return of some amount (Uzorma,

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& Nwanegbo-Ben, 2014). Whereas hostage-taking is referred to as when a person is
captivated and held by the captor as security that would protect the person from the
lawful actions that might take place due to misconduct of the person.
Kidnapping can be referred to as a more severe offense or crime as it includes
the unlawful captivation of a person in return for some kind of money (Fox &
Wallace, 2018). These issues can seriously inflict harm or permanent injury to the
person kidnapped, and it is upon the interest of the kidnapper as it may not be sure
whether they will return the person or kill him.
The hostage can be referred to as a more serious crime as it is against the
action of the state or the authorities. Moreover, the person detained can lose his life if
the authority of the state does not act appropriately.

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Reference
Fox, C. V., & Wallace Jr, J. A. (2018). SB 160-" Blue Lives Matter" Protection of Public
Safety Officers. Georgia State University Law Review, 34(1), 89.
Gallo, Z. A., Lacey, N., & Soskice, D. (2014). Comparing serious violent crime in the US and
England and Wales: Why it matters, and how it can be done.
Jefferson, M. (2015). Criminal Law. Pearson Education Limited.
Uzorma, P. N., & Nwanegbo-Ben (2014). Challenges of hostage-taking and
kidnapping. International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and
Literature, 2(6), 131-142.