Felony
In common law, a felony is considered to be a very serious crime. Felony, in many cases, is often contrasted with a misdemeanor. The minimum punishment that can be given for a felony can be about a year in jail and not more than that. Felonies are in some states divided between Class A to Class J or from Class 1 to Class 7. Crimes like burglary, arson, theft, drug abuse, robbery, rape, murder, kidnapping, fraud, and the like come under the category of a Felony. But, it so happens sometimes that the same crimes could also be put into the category of misdemeanors and not a felony. Felonies have been divided into a few categories which are discussed below-
- category 1- it is for those people who had committed the crime
- category 2- helpers or the accomplices who were present at the crime scene fall into this form of category
- category 3- things apart from the helpers and accomplices which were used before the crime had been committed
- category 4- things apart from the helpers and accomplices which were used after the crime had been committed
The punishment for a felony can vary from either imprisonment or even execution if the case demands so depending upon the kind of crime committed. MISDEMEANOR
Misdemeanor, on the other hand, is a less serious crime as compared to a felony. A person who commits a misdemeanor is called a misdemeanant. The punishment that can be given for a misdemeanor can be serving twelve months in a local jail. The crimes associated with a misdemeanor are prostitution, assault, vandalism, trespass, and the like. An example of a misdemeanor can be a taxi driver losing his driver’s license due to reckless driving. Misdemeanors are also classified into four classes in some states. A president can be impeached due to a ‘misdemeanor’. Here the misdemeanor committed by the president is of a very high degree.
Offenses
An offense is simply a violation of the law. While playing a game, both the opposition teams play a defensive as well as an offensive game. The violation of any law or a rule regarding the game can result in an offense that has to be paid by the team or the player which/who has committed the offense.
Treason and Espionage
Treason occurs when a person shows disloyalty to his or her nation or country. A person who commits treason is called a traitor. Outside legal spheres, the word “traitor” may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, religion, social class, or another group to which they may belong. The punishment given for treason is life imprisonment.
Treason is considered to be a highly serious crime. Causing loss to one’s country or working against the interests of one’s sovereign comes under treason. In many countries like Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States, the punishment for high treason is life imprisonment and that for treason can be either imprisonment for 12 years or life imprisonment.
Espionage, on the other hand, is also called ‘spying’. A person may hold some vital information that is not supposed to be with him and the legal holder of that information does not know that the information has leaked to illegal or unwanted sources. Espionage or spying is done using human intelligence. The US defines espionage towards itself as “The act of obtaining, delivering, transmitting, communicating, or receiving information about the national defense with an intent, or reason to believe, that the information may be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of any foreign nation.
A person who is employed to do the spying on any organization or an army is called a ‘Spy’. For example, if a person tries to gather some valuable information from a troop, and eventually succeeds in obtaining it, is known as espionage. In times of war, many troops used to take the help of spies who would sneak out in the opposition troops and would amass information or data which would be confidential and valuable for their troops.
Inchoate Offenses
An inchoate offense is a crime of preparing for or seeking to commit another crime. It is also termed as ‘inchoate crime’. For an inchoate crime to occur, the criminal has to intend for the crime which he or she has to commit. In other words, a person must have an intention to commit that crime even before it is committed by him or her. A common example of an inchoate offense or an inchoate crime is ‘conspiracy’.