Title 5 — Criminal Offenses

(a) A person or entity that provides treatment or other mental health services under this subchapter may impose a charge for the cost of the treatment or other mental health services rendered. (b) A charge for the cost of treatment or other mental health services under this secti…

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide an additional setting for the provision of restorative treatment services in the least restrictive environment. (b) The Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services may establish and mai…

A person may commit an offense either by his or her own conduct or that of another person.

(1) A person is criminally liable for the conduct of another person if:(1) The person is made criminally liable for the conduct of another person by the statute defining the offense;(2) The person is an accomplice of another person in the commission of an offense; or(3) Acting wi…

(a) A person is an accomplice of another person in the commission of an offense if, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of an offense, the person:(1) Solicits, advises, encourages, or coerces the other person to commit the offense;(2) Aids, agrees to aid,…

(a) Unless otherwise provided by the statute defining the offense, a person is not an accomplice in an offense if:(1) The person is a victim of the offense; or(2) The offense is defined so that the person's conduct is inevitably incident to the commission of the offense. (1) The …

(1) In any prosecution for an offense in which the liability of the defendant is based on conduct of another person, it is no defense that:(1) The offense charged, as defined, can be committed only by a particular class of persons and the defendant not belonging to that particula…

(1) When two (2) or more persons are criminally liable for an offense of which there are different degrees, each person is liable only for the degree of the offense that is consistent with the person's own:(1) Culpable mental state; or(2) Accountability for an aggravating fact or…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Agent” means any officer, director, or employee of an organization or any other person who is authorized to act in behalf of an organization;(2) “High managerial agent” means an agent or officer of an organization who has duties of such respons…

(a) An organization commits an offense if:(1) The organization omits to discharge a specific duty of affirmative performance imposed on an organization by law and the omission is prohibited by criminal law;(2) The conduct or result specified in the definition of the offense is en…

(a) A person is criminally liable for any conduct constituting an offense that he or she performs or causes to be performed in the name of or in behalf of an organization to the same extent as if that conduct were performed in his or her own name or behalf. (b) (1) When a duty to…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Common carrier” means any vehicle used to transport for hire any member of the public;(2) “Deadly physical force” means physical force that under the circumstances in which it is used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical inju…

In a prosecution for an offense, justification as defined in this subchapter is a defense.

(a) Conduct that would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable when it is:(1) Required or authorized by law or by a judicial decree; or(2) Performed by a public servant or a person acting at the public servant's direction in a reasonable exercise or performance of the publ…

(a) Conduct that would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable when:(1) The conduct is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury; and(2) According to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the im…

(1) The use upon another person of physical force that would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable under any of the following circumstances:(1) A parent, school employee, guardian, or other person entrusted with care and supervision of a minor or an incompetent person ma…

(a) (1) A person is justified in using physical force upon another person to defend himself or herself or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and the person may use a degree of phys…

(a) A person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if the person reasonably believes that the other person is:(1) Committing or about to commit a felony involving physical force or violence;(2) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; or(3) …

(a) A person in lawful possession or control of premises or a vehicle is justified in using nondeadly physical force upon another person when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes the use of nondeadly physical force is necessary to prevent or terminate the commiss…

(1) A person is justified in using nondeadly physical force upon another person when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes the use of nondeadly physical force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person's:(1) Commission or attempted commission of theft o…

(a) A law enforcement officer is justified in using nondeadly physical force or threatening to use deadly physical force upon another person if the law enforcement officer reasonably believes the use of nondeadly physical force or the threat of use of deadly physical force is nec…

(a) A person is justified in using nondeadly physical force when and to the extent the person reasonably believes the use of nondeadly physical force is necessary to:(1) Effect the arrest of a person reasonably believed to be committing or to have committed a felony; or(2) Preven…

(1) Whether the arrest is lawful or unlawful, a person may not use physical force to resist an arrest by a person who is known or reasonably appears to be a:(1) Law enforcement officer; or(2) Private citizen directed by a law enforcement officer to assist in effecting an arrest. …

(a) Unless the correctional officer knows or reasonably should know that a prisoner is charged with or has been convicted of only a misdemeanor, a correctional officer employed by the Division of Correction or by a private contractor in a correctional facility housing inmates for…

(a) When a person believes that the use of physical force is necessary for any purpose justifying that use of physical force under this subchapter but the person is reckless or negligent either in forming that belief or in employing an excessive degree of physical force, the just…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Pregnant” means the female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the female's body; and(2) “Unborn child” means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth. (1) “Pregnant” means the female reproductive condition of havi…

(a) The right of an individual to defend himself or herself and the life of a person or property in the individual's home against harm, injury, or loss by a person unlawfully entering or attempting to enter or intrude into the home is reaffirmed as a fundamental right to be prese…

A.C.A. § 5-2-621Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

It is no defense to a prosecution for a crime of violence that a person was seeking recovery or replevin of a gambling debt or loss in circumstances in which civil recovery is permitted by § 16-118-103.

(1) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for criminal attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy that:(1) The conduct charged to constitute the offense is inherently unlikely to result or to culminate in the commission of a crime; and(2) Neither the conduct nor the defendant p…

A person may not be convicted of more than one (1) offense defined by this chapter for conduct designed to commit or to culminate in the commission of the same offense.

(a) It is a defense to a prosecution for solicitation or conspiracy to commit an offense that:(1) The defendant is a victim of the offense; or(2) The offense is defined so that the defendant's conduct is inevitably incident to the commission of the offense. (1) The defendant is a…

(a) A person attempts to commit an offense if he or she purposely engages in conduct that:(1) Would constitute an offense if the attendant circumstances were as the person believes them to be; or(2) Constitutes a substantial step in a course of conduct intended to culminate in th…

(a) A person attempts to commit an offense if, with the purpose of aiding another person in the commission of the offense, the person engages in conduct that would establish his or her complicity under § 5-2-402 if the offense were committed by the other person. (b) It is not a d…

(1) A criminal attempt is a:(1) Class Y felony if the offense attempted is:(A) Capital murder, § 5-10-101;(B) Capital rape, § 5-14-114;(C) Aggravated death by delivery, § 5-10-202;(D) Predatory marketing of fentanyl to minors, § 5-64-421; or(E) Trafficking of fentanyl, § 5-64-440…

(a) (1) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under § 5-3-201(a)(2) or (b) that the defendant abandons his or her effort to commit the offense, and by the abandonment prevents the commission of the offense, under circumstances manifesting a voluntary and complete renuncia…

(a) A person solicits the commission of an offense if, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of a specific offense, the person commands, urges, or requests another person to engage in specific conduct that would:(1) Constitute that offense;(2) Constitute an…

It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for criminal solicitation that the defendant prevented the commission of the offense solicited under circumstances manifesting a voluntary and complete renunciation of his or her criminal purpose.

(1) A person conspires to commit an offense if with the purpose of promoting or facilitating the commission of any criminal offense:(1) The person agrees with another person or other persons that:(A) One (1) or more of the persons will engage in conduct that constitutes that offe…

If an actor knows or could reasonably expect that a person with whom the actor conspires has himself or herself conspired or will conspire with another person to commit the same criminal offense, the actor is deemed to have conspired with the other person, whether or not the acto…

If a person conspires to commit a number of criminal offenses, the person commits only one (1) conspiracy if the multiple offenses are the object of the same agreement or continuous conspiratorial relationship.

(1) Criminal conspiracy is a:(1) Class Y felony if an object of the conspiracy is commission of:(A) Capital murder, § 5-10-101;(B) Capital rape, § 5-14-114;(C) Aggravated death by delivery, § 5-10-202;(D) Predatory marketing of fentanyl to minors, § 5-64-421; or(E) Trafficking of…

(1) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution for conspiracy to commit an offense that the defendant:(1) Thwarted the success of the conspiracy under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of the defendant's criminal purpose; or(2) Terminated his or h…

(a) For the purposes of § 5-1-109, a conspiracy is a continuing course of conduct that terminates when the offense or offenses that are the object of the conspiracy are committed. (b) However, if a person abandons the agreement a conspiracy is terminated as to him or her only, wh…

A prosecution for criminal conspiracy may be brought in any county where any overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy is alleged to have occurred, and that county is a proper place of venue for the prosecution of any person charged as a party to that conspiracy.

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Criminogenic” means those factors that are static and dynamic personal and situational characteristics that increase the risk of criminality and reoffending;(2) “Delinquent” means the defendant:(A) Has failed to pay his or her fines and costs that…

(a) If punishment is fixed by the court, the court may order a presentence investigation before imposing sentence. (b) (1) The presentence investigation should be conducted by a presentence officer or another person designated by the court and should include an analysis of:(A) Th…

(a) If a defendant is charged with a felony and is found guilty of an offense by a jury, the jury shall fix punishment in a separate proceeding as authorized by this chapter. (b) Except as provided by §§ 5-4-601 — 5-4-605, 5-4-607, and 5-4-608, the court shall fix punishment as a…

(a) No defendant convicted of an offense shall be sentenced otherwise than in accordance with this chapter. (b) A defendant convicted of capital murder, § 5-10-101, capital rape, § 5-14-114, or treason, § 5-51-201, shall be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole i…

A.C.A. § 5-4-105Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved