Also known as: voluntarily renounce · voluntary renunciations · voluntarily renounced · voluntarily renouncing · renunciation of purpose
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An affirmative defense to attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation charges. The defense applies when the actor abandons the criminal effort or prevents its commission under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of criminal purpose. Renunciation is not voluntary if motivated in whole or in part by circumstances that increase the probability of detection or make the crime more difficult.
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Vincent Vale sprinkled a cleaning chemical into a coworker's meal intending to cause illness. After learning that staff meals would be photographed and posted online, he discarded the tainted plate and served a fresh meal instead. Because the change occurred only after the new risk of detection arose, the renunciation was not voluntary and the attempt charge stands.
Viola Volkov and a colleague agreed to delete failure entries from a test database so substandard aircraft panels could ship. After a near-miss incident, Volkov uploaded the accurate failing results and alerted the customer, halting the shipment. Her actions thwarted the conspiracy under circumstances showing complete and voluntary renunciation, establishing the defense for her.
Virgil Volpe solicited an associate to falsify records for a contract deadline. Later, before any action occurred, Volpe persuaded the associate not to proceed and took steps to ensure the records remained accurate. The persuasion and prevention under circumstances showing complete and voluntary renunciation supply the affirmative defense to the solicitation charge.
Renunciation is voluntary only when it stems from an internal change of purpose and is not motivated in whole or in part by circumstances that increase the probability of detection or make the crime more difficult. The defense fails if the actor abandons the effort because new risks of apprehension have appeared or the crime has become harder to complete.
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No. Prevention satisfies the defense only when it occurs under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of criminal purpose. If the prevention is prompted by fear of detection or other external pressures that arose after the course of conduct began, the defense is unavailable even though the crime was stopped.
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Yes. The defense is personal to the actor who thwarts the conspiracy under circumstances showing complete and voluntary renunciation. The liability of an accomplice who does not join in the abandonment remains unaffected.
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For attempt the actor must abandon the effort or prevent commission under circumstances showing complete and voluntary renunciation. For conspiracy the actor must thwart the success of the conspiracy under the same circumstances. Both require an internal change of purpose rather than reaction to new detection risks.
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