Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Tennessee recognizes three different types of inchoate (basically another word for preparatory) offenses which allow a person to be charged with a crime even though the crime was not committed.

The first type of inchoate offense recognized by Tennessee is an "attempt" offense. Attempt basically occurs when a person has the requisite mental state required for a crime (such as intentional, knowing, or any other mental state set out in the statute describing the attempted offense) and "attempts" to commit the crime. This can happen where a person tries to commit the offense but is caught before he or she can carry it out, where a person tries to commit the offense but is mistaken about the facts (thinking a certain poison will kill someone but it turns out to be harmless), or where a person does everything he or she thinks necessary to commit the crime but is unsuccessful (picking up someone's suitcase thought to have $100,000 in it but which is actually empty). Attempt is graded one offense lower than the offense actually attempted.

A person can defend an attempt charge by proving that the person did not have the requisite mental intent to commit the offense or by showing that the person abandoned the offense and prevented its completion (renunciation). Such defenses can be hard to prove however, and consulting a skilled criminal defense attorney can greatly increase the effectiveness of these defenses and provide the defendant with the best opportunity to avoid conviction.