Assault & Battery by a Mob in Columbia
Criminal charges can have a monumental impact on your life. They may cause significant financial, professional, and personal consequences that you may be unable to handle alone. Depending on the circumstances, such as location or intent, criminal offenses can be considered a misdemeanor or felony. First-time offenders are often worried about how their futures will be affected. However, mistakes happen to everyone, and sometimes people are falsely accused.
Assault and battery by mob is when two or more people attack someone. It is a more serious crime with harsher penalties than one person committing the offense on their own. Regardless of whether or not you committed the crime, there are many defenses to explore. You do not need to fight for your rights alone. You deserve to have a legal professional with years of experience on your side to work to have the charges against you dismissed or reduced. The potential penalties can be too risky for you to handle on your own. If you or a loved one are charged with assault and battery by a mob in Columbia, hire a skilled attorney to fight for the best outcome possible.
About Assault and Battery
While assault and battery are often charged together, they are separate crimes. The degree of these crimes varies based on the severity of injury the victim incurs. The simplest legal definition of an assault is when a person intentionally does something that gives another person reasonable fear that they would be physically harmed or offensively touched; no contact has to actually occur. In comparison, battery is an unlawful use of force directly or indirectly upon another person or something attached to their person, which results in bodily injury or offensive touching. They are often charged together. It is important to hire a lawyer well acquainted with the legal foundations of assault and battery separately and together.
The South Carolina Code §16-3-210(B) defines assault and battery by mob. A mob is defined in SC Code §16-3-230 as a group of two or more people, without color or authority of law, united for the premeditated purpose and intent of committing violent acts upon others. Importantly, it is legal to infer that all people who are members of a mob when an act of violence is committed have aided and abetted the crime and are guilty under SC Code §16-3-240. Simply put, assault and battery by mob is when multiple people in Columbia choose to commit assault and battery together. Since the penalties for assault and battery by a mob are more severe than committing assault and battery alone, a person must hire a knowledgeable defense attorney.
The Specifics of Assault and Battery by a Group Under Local Law
There are varying degrees of assault and battery by a mob, and separate elements must be present for a conviction. Each degree has different penalties. Notably, assault and battery addresses lynching and other organized violence often associated with hate crimes, although South Carolina does not have a hate crime law. This charge is often used to charge teenagers who get into large fights. Regardless of what happened, it is imperative to hire a Columbia attorney who can parse out the various factors affecting assault and battery by mob charges.
In the first degree, a person’s death must have happened because of the mob’s violence, and the defendant must have been a member of that mob. The penalty is jail time for no less than 30 years. Assault and battery in the second degree is different in that the victim suffered serious bodily injury but did not die. The penalty is imprisonment for between 3 years minimum and 25 years maximum. In the third degree, the victim suffers bodily injury, and the penalty is up to one year in prison. Seemingly minor details can have big impacts on the outcome of the assault and battery by a group charge, and a practiced attorney can work to get the lightest sentence possible.
Reach Out to a Columbia Attorney for Help With Assault and Battery by a Mob Charge
If you were accused of assault and battery by a mob in Columbia, you should reach out to a legal professional immediately. The penalties are serious and can have long-term effects on your life. It can also affect your present and future finances. You should fully understand your rights and options. Consult with a seasoned lawyer to get information about possible defenses for your case. Call today for a free case evaluation.