INCHOATE CRIMES

RSA tit. LXII, ch. 629

in effect

RSA 629:1 Attempt.

629:1. Attempt. I. A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if, with a purpose that a crime be committed, he does or omits to do anything which, under the circumstances as he believes them to be, is an act or omission constituting a substantial step toward the commission of the crime. II. As used in this section, "substantial step" means conduct that is strongly corroborative of the actor's criminal purpose. III. (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor voluntarily renounces his criminal purpose by abandoning his effort to commit the crime or otherwise preventing its commission under circumstances manifesting a complete withdrawal of his criminal purpose. (b) A renunciation is not "voluntary" if it is substantially motivated by circumstances the defendant was not aware of at the inception of his conduct which increase the probability of his detection or which make more difficult the commission of the crime. Renunciation is not complete if the purpose is to postpone the criminal conduct until a more advantageous time or to transfer the criminal effort to another but similar objective or victim. IV. The penalty for attempt is the same as that authorized for the crime that was attempted, except that in the case of attempt to commit murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for life or such other term as the court shall order. Source. 1971, 518:1. 1979, 126:5. 1999, 158:3, eff. June 28, 1999.

RSA 629:2 Criminal Solicitation.

629:2. Criminal Solicitation. I. A person is guilty of criminal solicitation if, with a purpose that another engage in conduct constituting a crime, he commands, solicits or requests such other person to engage in such conduct. II. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor renounced his criminal purpose by persuading the other not to engage in the criminal conduct or by otherwise preventing commission of the crime under circumstances manifesting a purpose that it not occur. III. It is no defense to prosecution under this section that the person solicited would be immune from liability for engaging in the criminal conduct by virtue of irresponsibility, incapacity or exemption. IV. The penalty for criminal solicitation is the same as that authorized for the crime that was solicited, except that in the case of solicitation of murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 years. Source. 1971, 518:1. 1999, 158:2, eff. June 28, 1999.

RSA 629:3 Conspiracy.

629:3. Conspiracy. I. A person is guilty of conspiracy if, with a purpose that a crime defined by statute be committed, he agrees with one or more persons to commit or cause the commission of such crime, and an overt act is committed by one of the conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. II. For purposes of paragraph I, "one or more persons" includes, but is not limited to, persons who are immune from criminal liability by virtue of irresponsibility, incapacity or exemption. III. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this statute that the actor renounces his criminal purpose by giving timely notice to a law enforcement official of the conspiracy and of the actor's part in it, or by conduct designed to prevent commission of the crime agreed upon. IV. The penalty for conspiracy is the same as that authorized for the crime that was the object of the conspiracy, except that in the case of a conspiracy to commit murder the punishment shall be imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 years. Source. 1971, 518:1. 1999, 158:1, eff. June 28, 1999.

Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-LXII-629.htmFetched: 10/20/2026