Aggravated mayhem is a grave felony that happens when you deliberately cause another person to suffer permanent disability or disfigurement. You can do that in so many ways, including causing someone to lose a part of their body, a limb, or an organ. A conviction for aggravated mayhem can result in life-changing penalties and consequences, including a life-in-prison sentence and an expensive court fine. A felony conviction will also affect your gun rights.

Understanding your charges is crucial as you plan your defense. A skilled criminal lawyer can help you understand your options and legal representation. They can use proper fighting strategies to compel the court to dismiss or reduce the charges. Thus, finding a reasonable attorney should be the first thing you do immediately after your arrest for aggravated mayhem.

The Legal Meaning of Aggravated Mayhem

California law against aggravated mayhem is under PC 205. Charges under this statute will occur if the police have evidence that you deliberately caused another person to suffer lasting damage to their physical well-being and your actions were in extreme indifference. However, the DA must prove your case's facts beyond a reasonable doubt, regardless of the evidence the police have against you. The elements provide the legal definition of the crime and include the following:

  • You willfully, unlawfully, and maliciously caused another person to sustain a physical injury.
  • The person became disabled, disfigured, or simply lost an organ, limb, or any other part of their body.
  • Your actions were explicitly intended to disable, disfigure, or cause the person to lose a part of their body.
  • Your actions were in extreme disregard for the person’s psychological and physical well-being.

Aggravated mayhem means that your intent was more than to cause harm to the other person but to disfigure or dismember them. Thus, you should have used more force than you would need to threaten the person or cause them a minor injury. Aggravated mayhem must result in a significant bodily injury that affects a person’s ability to use or enjoy a part of their body.

Let us discuss some of these elements in detail:

Causing a Person to Suffer Actual Harm

Charges under this statute apply only when you cause another person to suffer actual harm. There must be a physical injury to demonstrate the severity of your actions. The prosecutor will not only prove that you threatened or attempted to harm another person, but you harmed them physically. The DA must also demonstrate the extent of the physical harm in the form of disfigurement, disablement, or loss of a particular body part.

Thus, if you only threatened to harm a person or attempted to disfigure them, charges under this statute will not hold. However, the prosecutor can file charges under a different law. Here are examples of physical harm that can support charges under PC 205:

  • The victim of your crime lost a toe, eye, finger, or a part of their body.
  • You caused the person to sustain severe burns in their body, which resulted in massive scarring on their skin.
  • The person became paralyzed or lost the function of a particular body part, like a leg or hand.
  • The victim’s injuries were disabling or resulted in chronic pain.

Willful, Unlawful, and Malicious Actions

Charges for aggravated mayhem require you to have acted willfully and not accidentally. The DA must demonstrate that your actions were deliberate or done on purpose, even though you did not intend to cause physical harm to the person. Your actions must also be unlawful and not through a lawful act.

Acting maliciously means that you intentionally committed a wrongful act against the person or acted against them with a wrongful intent. Your actions must have been meant to injure or annoy the person. For example, when you throw a rock, a dangerous weapon, or a substance like a knife or acid at a person, you intend to injure or cause suffering or pain to the person. However, the prosecutor does not have to demonstrate that you intended to cause a significant bodily injury to the person.

Permanent Disfigurement or Disability

The result of aggravated mayhem is usually a permanent disability or disfigurement. It means that a part of the person’s body will not function as it should due to your actions. The DA must demonstrate that you caused the other person to suffer a lasting injury. The injury can be one of the two:

  • A permanent disability which occurs when a person sustains a permanent or long-term loss of a body part, system, or the functioning of a body part. The disability must gravely impact a person’s life and ability to accomplish specific functions like walking or holding objects. It could also affect their ability to engage in the fun activities they did before the injury.
  • A permanent disfigurement whereby a person sustains a permanent or long-term alteration of their appearance. The alteration must be significant and noticeable, like a massive scar on the skin.

You can cause a person to suffer a permanent disability if:

  • They lose vision in one or both eyes.
  • They suffer paralysis or lose the function of one of their hands or legs.
  • They sustain severe damage to their muscle or nerves, resulting in lost sensation or chronic pain.
  • They suffer permanent impairment in hearing, speech, or other vital bodily functions.

A disfigurement should be more significant than an insignificant blemish or scar. It must be noticeable and significant enough to affect their self-image. For example, a permanent loss or disfigurement of a nose, ear, or other facial features can significantly impact a person’s appearance. A significant burn from an acid attack or burn can also significantly affect a person’s physical self. The DA must show that the disability or disfigurement is substantial and lasting.

Possible Penalties after a Conviction for Aggravated Mayhem

PC 205 is a felony, punishable by these penalties:

  • A life-in-prison sentence
  • A court fine of $10,000

The judge can impose an additional sentence if your case has multiple victims and all the victims sustained a significant disfigurement or disability. You could also receive additional penalties if the prosecutor proves that your primary intent was to murder the victim or victims.

Typically, an aggravated felony is a violent felony. This makes it a strike under the state’s Three Strikes Law. A strike affects your subsequent strike convictions. For example, if you have one strike in your record, and this is your second, the judge will sentence you to twice the penalties provided for the offense under the law. If you have two strike convictions, and this is the third, your sentence automatically becomes a life sentence.

Although the law provides the penalty you must receive for aggravated mayhem, the judge can increase or reduce your sentence in the presence of aggravating or mitigating factors. Mitigating factors will worsen your sentence, while mitigating factors could result in a more lenient sentence. Here are some of the factors the judge considers in making the final ruling during sentencing:

  • The gravity of the alleged victim’s injuries
  • Your criminal history
  • Other aggravating factors in your case

A skilled criminal defense attorney can help your situation in many ways. For example, your attorney can introduce mitigating factors to compel the court to consider a more lenient ruling. They can also introduce evidence to counter the prosecutor’s case to fight for a favorable outcome.

Legal Defense Strategies for Aggravated Mayhem

An aggravated mayhem conviction can be life-changing. A life in prison sentence takes you away from your family, friends, career, business, and the life you are accustomed to. It deprives you of your freedom for life, making it impossible for you to care for your family or grow your career or life in any other way. However, a successful defense can change the outcome of your case, causing the judge to give a more favorable ruling that gives you a second chance at life.

Working with a competent criminal lawyer will help you achieve that. Fortunately, skilled defense attorneys can use various legal defense strategies to change the outcome of their clients’s cases. Some of the strategies your attorney can use in your favor include the following:

The Victim Did Not Suffer a Disability or Disfigurement

Aggravated mayhem occurs when a person suffers a disability or disfigurement in the hands or due to the actions of another. You can fight your charges under PC 205 if the alleged victim did not sustain a grave injury that disfigured or disabled them. A skilled attorney will gather and present evidence to counter the prosecutor’s case and demonstrate your innocence against your charges.

Remember that prosecutors have the burden of proof in criminal cases. They must provide irrefutable evidence that your actions caused a person to suffer a disability or disfigurement. If this does not happen, the judge will dismiss your case.

Your attorney can successfully use this defense by bringing in a medical expert to demonstrate the gravity of the injuries the alleged victim sustained. The medical expert can say that the injuries were minor and that they can recover after treatment and rehabilitation. This means that the victim did not sustain a life-changing injury that affects the function or appearance of a particular body part.

An aggressive defense attorney can argue that even though the victim sustained a significant injury, it does not satisfy the legal definition of a permanent disability or disfigurement. Although you will not be absolved of all the blame, the judge can reduce your charges and penalties after a successful defense. You could be sentenced to a few or several years instead of a life sentence.

You Did Not Have Malicious Intent

A malicious intent or indifference to the victim’s well-being is one of the elements the district attorney must demonstrate to obtain a guilty verdict. Your attorney can fight it to weaken the prosecutor’s case and obtain a favorable outcome for your case.

Typically, it is challenging for prosecutors to demonstrate a person’s intent. They deduce intent from a perpetrator’s actions. Although a victim’s injuries can prove your intent, the prosecutor cannot use them to demonstrate that you intended to disable or disfigure the victim. Your attorney can use that to weaken the prosecutor’s case and compel the court to dismiss or reduce the charges.

Your attorney can argue that the victim’s injuries were accidental or due to self-defense and not sustained by your indifference to their well-being. Your attorney can also bring your mental state into question, arguing that you could not form a specific intent at the time of the crime. They can state that although the victim suffered a grave injury, you did not intend to cause them harm.

For example, if you push a person in the heat of an argument and they sustain a disabling or disfiguring injury, you can successfully use this argument to avoid the grave penalties of aggravated mayhem.

You Were Mentally Incapacitated

Mental incapacity defense works very well in cases where a person commits a crime without realizing the gravity of their actions. It could happen if you have an underlying mental illness and are stressed or depressed. A skilled criminal lawyer can challenge your mental capacity, stating that you were your usual self when you committed the crime. They can provide such evidence as a medical report showing a recent diagnosis of a mental illness that affects your reasoning and judgment. They can argue that your illness makes it impossible for you to control your impulses, understand your actions, or understand the gravity of your actions.

A skilled attorney can also use intoxication as a defense, arguing that it made it impossible for you to understand the nature and gravity of your actions.

If this works, the judge could sentence you to treatment and rehabilitation instead of prison.

You Acted in Self-Defense

Self-defense is a viable defense strategy for violent-related charges. You are legally allowed to use reasonable force to defend yourself or another person against imminent danger.

For your attorney to use this strategy, they must demonstrate that you or another person were at risk of harm. They must argue that you must use reasonable force to protect yourself or others. Your attorney must also show that you only used reasonable force and not more force than was necessary to stay safe. If the court accepts your defense, the judge will dismiss your case.

For example, you can push someone away to protect yourself or another person, causing them to sustain a disabling injury. You can also hit someone with what you have in self-defense, causing them to maintain a permanent scarring on their face or body.

The Police Violated Your Rights

Everyone’s constitutional rights must be safeguarded or accorded, regardless of the gravity of their criminal charges. Sometimes, the police negligently or deliberately violate a defendant’s rights, which is unlawful and could cause the judge to dismiss crucial evidence in a criminal case. The police could have violated your rights in many ways, including the following:

     1. Through an Unlawful Search and Seizure

Police officers need a warrant to search your person or property during a crime investigation. The warrant states the specific area they must search. If the police entered your house or searched your person or vehicle without a warrant, any evidence they gathered against you is inadmissible in court. The same applies if they exceed the provisions of their search warrant. A skilled attorney can use this strategy to make it difficult for the prosecutor to prove your case's elements beyond a reasonable doubt.

     2. Through Violating Your Miranda or 5th Amendment Rights

The law requires an arresting officer to read and explain your Miranda rights during an arrest. These rights include your right to stay silent and to have an attorney. You can incriminate yourself if an officer questions you without ensuring you understand your rights. They must allow you time to hire an attorney or provide state counsel if you cannot afford one. Anything you say to the police must only be in the presence of your attorney.

If you incriminate yourself because you did not understand your rights or because an officer coerced a confession, the confession is inadmissible in court. This could weaken the prosecutor’s case, causing the judge to favor you.

Find Experienced Criminal Defense Services Near Me

Aggravated mayhem is a grave felony that can result in life-changing penalties. In addition to a lengthy prison sentence and an expensive fine, the conviction will completely alter your life and affect all aspects. However, you can fight for a favorable outcome for the case with the help of a skilled criminal attorney.

Our Los Angeles Criminal Attorney attorneys have the skills and experience to handle all kinds of violent felonies. We could use our best legal defense strategies to obtain a fair ruling. Our attorneys will also protect your rights and represent you in court. We will remain by your side until you are happy with the outcome of your case. Call us at 424-333-0943 if you or someone you know faces aggravated mayhem charges in Los Angeles. We will review your case, advise you on your options, and start working on the defense immediately.