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An essay on motive and intent for Criminal Investigations (CJ 230).
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Motive and Intent 1
Motive and Intent
Jake J. Koppenhaver
CJ-230
Professor Jakalski
April 7, 2023
Motive and Intent 2
Motive and Intent
The concepts of motive and intent, while similar, are quite different as they pertain to
criminal investigations. They are both conducive to the progress of an investigation, specifically
the elimination or inclusion of various suspects. The example story of the elderly woman being
murdered for her inheritance, with her three nephews Hugh, Lou, and Stu being suspects due to
financial difficulties, is a prime example of the relationship between motive and intent. The
police have arrested Lou because he has the most obvious motive, being that his home and car
are close to being repossessed and his business is going under. While Lou does appear to have
the most motive for killing his aunt, one can see how the police are lacking in proving intent for
the murder.
Motive, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is “An emotion, desire, physiological need,
or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action.” (2006) It is the motivation one has for
committing a crime, or any other action for that matter. Intent is the actual intention to perform
an action, and often comes right before the planning stage of committing a crime. Many would
attribute the relationship between motive and intent to the question of which came first between
the chicken and the egg. Some believe motive is present before intent, others believe the
opposite. Either way, one can see that both concepts go hand in hand.
Police investigators have arrest Lou, one of three nephews of the elderly victim, on the
charge of murder because they have found the evidence sufficient enough to do so. Lou does
have a fair amount of motive to commit this crime, to use his portion of the money to save his
business and pay the debt to secure his vehicle and home from repossession. However, intent is
not mentioned in the situation at all, and would be expressly needed for any sort of criminal
justice action against Lou as a suspect. For example, if Lou had verbally expressed a plan to
commit his aunt's murder and that person came forward, this would constitute intent. The same
Motive and Intent 3
would apply if he had written plans, previous attempts at this crime, or previous violent crimes
on his record.
Motive alone does not necessarily mean that there is intent. Many people have motive to
commit a crime of some sort. For example, a woman is found by her husband engaging in sexual
activity with another man, who is stabbed one week later. The husband, while he has no alibi,
has also neither said nor done nothing that would implicate himself. Yes, one in his position
would be motivated to hurt the man he found with his wife, but he did not express his intention
to do so.
Motive and intent are often confused with one another to the non-investigator, and may
even be enough to convict another of guilt in one's mind. In the criminal justice system a suspect
must have the motive and expressed intent to commit the crime, and opportunity to perform the
act. In the given scenario, Lou did not have an alibi (meaning he cannot prove that he was void
of opportunity), he did have a solid motive (the reason to commit the crime), but he did not have
the expressed intent. Motive is a definite prerequisite for intent, however in this case, the police
did not yet have enough grounds to arrest him for his aunt's murder. Certainly he is a prime
suspect and should be investigated further, which could possibly lead to discovery of intent, but
it was not possessed at the time of arrest.