What is Mayhem Under California Law?
The crime of mayhem, defined under California Penal Code section 203 (PC), refers to maliciously disfiguring or disabling another person. When someone commits mayhem intending to disfigure or dismember another person, they can be charged with aggravated mayhem under California Penal Code 205 (PC). Several details distinguish mayhem from torture and the less serious crime of battery. With so many critical distinctions in this crime, you must speak with a criminal defense lawyer in San Diego as soon as someone accuses you of mayhem.
How is Mayhem Defined Under the Law?
Under California Penal Code section 203 (PC), mayhem is the act of “unlawfully or maliciously” removing, disabling, disfiguring, or otherwise rendering a part of another person’s body useless. Examples include:
- tattooing someone against their will
- intentionally burning someone’s face with a hot pan
- cutting or disabling a victim’s tongue
- taking out someone’s eye
- slitting someone’s ear, nose, or lip
- removing a person’s limb
Most mayhem cases involve an attack done with malicious intent, meaning someone was acting in a way highly likely to cause injury, but the defendant wasn’t necessarily trying to disable or disfigure the victim permanently. In cases where someone is accused of purposefully causing these types of injuries, aggravated mayhem charges may be filed under California penal code 205 (PC).
How Does Mayhem Differ From Torture?
Whereas torture charges are primarily based on the defendant’s intent rather than the injuries to the victim, mayhem cases are more focused on the nature of the victim’s injuries than the type of force used. Even aggravated mayhem cases tend to focus on the specific intent to cause disability or disfigurement rather than the intent to make the victim suffer. As you may imagine though, aggravated mayhem and torture charges are frequently filed alongside one another because there is a significant overlap between the two crimes.
Fighting Mayhem Allegations
For the prosecutor to prove someone guilty of mayhem under 203 (PC), they must show the defendant unlawfully and maliciously deprived, disabled, or disfigured a part of the victim’s body, cut their tongue, removed an eye, or slit their nose, ear or lip. If the attack resulted in no disfiguring injury or permanent disability, mayhem did not occur. To prove aggravated mayhem, the prosecutor must even go a step further and show the defendant acted with intent to disable or disfigure a body part.
Despite mayhem having a precise legal definition, there is a lot of room for debate regarding whether or not specific injuries resulting from a particular incident apply to this criminal offense. In many cases, the suspect’s defense attorney can have the charges reduced to battery by arguing that the victim’s injuries are not disabling or disfiguring.
Alternatively, a strong defense is to argue that the defendant acted in a way that was not malicious or unlawful. For example, if someone suffered a permanent disability due to an accident at an axe-throwing range, that doesn’t mean the person responsible is guilty of mayhem.
Another common defense against mayhem charges is self-defense, which is considered a complete defense against many violent crimes as long as you can prove that you were acting to protect yourself or another person. Many women’s self-defense classes go out of their way to show students how to dismember or disable an attacker to provide the victim time to get away.
Since there are so many nuances involved in mayhem laws, you should only speak with the police or anyone else about the case with a lawyer present at your side.
The Penalties for Mayhem Under 203 (PC) and 205 (PC)
Those convicted of simple mayhem under 203 (PC) face up to eight years in state prison, a $10,000 fine, and formal probation. When the victim is under 14, over 65, blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic, or a quadriplegic, an extra 1 to 2 years will be added to the sentence —but only if the defendant knew or should have known this information about the victim.
Aggravated mayhem charges carry even more severe consequences, as a conviction carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Both simple and aggravated mayhem are violent felonies and strikes under the state’s three-strikes law. If this is your second strike under the law, your sentence will automatically be doubled, and you must serve 85% of your sentence before becoming eligible for parole. If you have two prior strikes, you will automatically face 25 years to life imprisonment.
Call a Defense Lawyer Today
Mayhem is a very serious criminal offense. If you have been charged with any violent crime, including mayhem, torture, assault, or battery, please call (760) 643-4050 or (858) 486-3024 to schedule a free consultation with top criminal defense attorney Peter M. Liss.
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