The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 9: At Least You Tried
Attempt pg 19: The Defense of Abandonment
The closer the line is drawn to the mere formulation of the idea, therefore, the more likely the jurisdiction is going to have a defense of ABANDONMENT.
[SUGGESTED EDIT: The closer a jurisdiction gets to charging the mere idea as an attempted crime, the more room there is for injustice. And so the more likely it is that the jurisdiction will allow a defense of ABANDONMENT.]
So with that in mind, let’s look at Maude.
Silhouette of Maude.
She used to want to kill you, but now she’s completely given up the idea. She no longer intends to cause you any harm, and isn’t a danger to anyone, any more.
Does Maude have an abandonment defense?
No, she pulled the trigger.