3

There's a criminal scenario I'm writing for a novel.

Let's say I'm a perp and kidnapped a pair of siblings.

I threatened one to rape the other at gunpoint and I had to shoot at his foot to make him comply.

The catch is that rape is the only crime punishable by death in this hypothetical U.S. city. All the other crimes are at worst, life imprisonment.

From what I hear, duress is unacceptable as defence in reality. Is this true?

If so, will the threatened person be guilty of rape? Would I also be guilty of rape since I had threatened him and shot him for not complying.

Also, what are my list of crimes as the perpetrator?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

Firstly, there is no jurisdiction in the US where rape is a potentially capital crime, and murder is not - so you are discussing a hypothetical (and rather implausible) jurisdiction. Given your jurisdiction is hypothetical, you can make the law be what you would like.

Secondly, duress is accepted in almost all jurisdictions as a defence to a charge of anything except homicide (and some jurisdictions allow it to reduce the severity of a homicide charge). Courts can be reluctant to accept a charge of duress, but a bullet wound would probably be persuasive.

I don't know if someone who had just been shot would be physically able to perform though.

The precise crimes the perpetrator is guilty of would depend on your specific jurisdiction, but I would expect at least:

  • rape (because they organized it)
  • kidnap
  • shooting the brother
Improve this answer
2
  • Shooting the brother would be either "Assault" or "Assault and Battery" or "Assault" and "Battery" (2 seperat charges) depending on the Jurisdiction AND the nature of the phrase " I had to shoot at his foot to make him comply" as it was unclear if the bullet actually penetrated the foot or if the bullet was shot into the ground near the victim's feet (A "Let's see ya dance" threat from just about every Western Movie and then some).
    – hszmv
    Jun 16, 2021 at 14:06
  • "I don't know if someone who had just been shot would be physically able to perform though." Would also like to do a standard "Phrasing" to this, especially given that the OP's screen name is Martin Bonner.
    – hszmv
    Jun 16, 2021 at 14:07

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .