Murder vs aggravated assault vs attempted murder
<p>Just watched "Night watching" on A&amp;E. On the show, someone was stabbed 23 times. At the end the narrator said that a suspect was arrested and charged with 23 counts of aggravated assault.</p>

<p>Why not charge attempted murder? I would imagine the penalty for attempted murder is about the same as murder right?</p>

<p>It could depend on jurisdiction: in Georgia, attempted murder has a 10 year maximum term and aggravate assault has 20 years max. The essential difference is that attempted murder requires proving intent to kill, whereas "harm" is much broader and thus easier to prove.</p>

united-states criminal-law murder