Newport News Unlawful Wounding Lawyer

Unlawful wounding is where a person shoots, cuts, or stabs somebody, causing significant bodily injury, and that they intended to maim, disfigure, disable, or kill the alleged victim. It is more serious than an assault charge. The assault can be merely putting someone in apprehension of injury, but a battery is actual harm, any sort of harmful, offensive contact. With an unlawful wounding, not only was there contact, it was contact that caused an injury and for the purpose of causing serious injury, if not death. A Newport News unlawful wounding lawyer could understand the differences inherent in these assault charges and use that knowledge when building a person’s defense. Individuals charged with unlawful wounding should reach out to a skilled assault lawyer that could advocate for them.

Elements the Prosecutor Must Prove

To prove an unlawful wounding case, the prosecutor must first show that there was a significant injury, either a cut or a stabbing. Normally,  a wounding is considered breaking the skin, but broken bones or a broken tooth also constitute a wounding. They have to show a serious injury and they have to show that it was caused for the purposes of either maiming, disabling, disfiguring or killing the alleged victim. Intent can be shown in many ways. If a weapon was used, that can count as an intent. The prosecution can also use statements made by the defendant, and use the actions and body language of the defendant. A Newport News unlawful wounding lawyer’s role is to disprove intent, in order to weaken the prosecution’s case.

Unlawful Wounding Charges

Unlawful wounding is a lesser included offense of malicious wounding, which is a more serious felony. Generally, one does not see an unlawful wounding charge by the police. If someone ends up being convicted, it is usually on a malicious wounding charge that has been reduced by agreement between the defense and prosecution or by the judge. Unlawful wounding is a Class Six felony punishable by up to five years in prison. If a person receives an unlawful wounding conviction, they will be placed on unsupervised probation for a certain period and will have to meet with a probation officer regularly.

Where Unlawful Wounding Cases Are Heard

Newport News assault charges will be heard first in the district court and ultimately in the circuit court that tries felony cases, both of which in Newport News. When a person is charged with that kind of assault, they should contact a lawyer first. Then they should see if they can line up any witnesses to the incident who can testify as to what happened, and they should try to document any marks or injuries they receive because that could work to mitigate against that type of charge.

With this type of case, often it comes down to a person wanting to try to show that they were not acting with the intent to cause any sort of serious injury. Witnesses may be able to testify that they were defending themselves or that another individual instigated the incident, or that they won in some way that would mitigate a finding that they acted to try and kill that person.

How Can a Newport News Unlawful Wounding Attorney Help

A Newport News unlawful wounding lawyer could help someone with an assault case by getting the evidence together, putting the story together, sifting through what happened and figuring out the best way to proceed. A defense attorney may be able to meet with all the attorneys involved and try to see what the evidence is. If an individual faces unlawful wounding charges, they should contact a persistent defense lawyer that could work towards a positive outcome for them.