Being charged with a violent crime such as robbery can be overwhelming and can also result in serious penalties and consequences for accused individuals. For that reason, anyone facing robbery charges or other charges related to allegations of a violent crime should be familiar with some of the possible defense strategies available to them to fight the charges.
Innocent of the charges
Accused individuals always have the option to argue that they are innocent of the charges against them. The accused individual may be able to challenge the evidence being offered to show that they committed the crime or challenge that there is a lack of evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they committed the alleged crime in question. This can include alibi evidence, evidence from witnesses and other forms of evidence.
Intoxication defense
If the accused individual was intoxicated at the time of the alleged crime, they may be able to pursue an intoxication defense. If the accused individual was not able to form the necessary intent to meet that element of the prosecution’s case, this defense strategy is an option for the accused individual to consider.
Entrapment and duress defenses
An entrapment defense is based on the assertion that the accused individual would not have committed the crime if another party, such as the authorities, had not pushed them to commit the crime. A duress defense may be made based on another party forcing the accused individual to commit the crime by threatening the accused individual with death or immediate bodily injury.
Other criminal defense options can include those based on improper actions taken by authorities that may have violated the protected rights of the accused individual. For individuals facing robbery charges, or allegations of some other type of violent crime, the penalties and consequences can be severe which is why they should be familiar with legal defense options available to them.
