A person can be convicted of mayhem, assault with intent to commit mayhem, or aggravated mayhem.

Mayhem is defined in California Penal Code Section 203, which reads:

“Every person who unlawfully and maliciously deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables, disfigures, or renders it useless, or cuts or disables the tongue, or puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of mayhem."

In order to convict a person of mayhem, all elements of the offense must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the California criminal jury instructions (CALJIC) No. 9.30 the following elements must be proved:

1.One person unlawfully and by means of physical force deprived a human being of a member of his or her body or, disable, permanently disfigured, or rendered it useless and
2.The person who committed the act causing the bodily harm, did so maliciously, that is with an unlawful intent to vex, annoy, or injure another person.

Case law has held that even something like a 3-inch laceration scarring the face may constitute mayhem. It is not a defense that a disfigurement has been or may be medically alleviated. Mayhem is a general intent felony. A felony is a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment in the state prison. General intent crimes mean that the person committing the crime need not intend a specific outcome, but rather purposely acted to produce an unlawful action. In the case of mayhem, it need only be proved that the person is punishable by a state prison term of 2, 4, or 8 years.

Assault with Intent to Commit An assault with intent to commit mayhem is a felony, governed by California Penal Code Section 220. An assault is the threat or attempt to commit a violent injury on another person, whether successful or not. It is required that the assaulter be reasonably capable of carrying through with the attack and that the target is aware of the danger. It is not necessary that any actual injury be inflicted. An assault with intent to commit mayhem is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 4, or 6 years.

The following elements for assault, as defined by CALJIC 9.00 must be proved:

1.A person willfully and unlawfully committed an act which by its nature would probably and directly result in the application of physical force on another person; and
2.At the time the act was committed, the person had the present ability to apply physical force to the person of another.

In a situation where a different person is assaulted than the one originally intended, the law will punish the resulting assault as though the person assaulted was the original target.

Aggravated Aggravated mayhem is a felony, governed by Penal Code Section 205, which reads:

“A person is guilty of aggravated mayhem when he or she unlawfully, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the physical or psychological well-being of another person, intentionally causes permanent disability or disfigurement of another human being or deprives a human being of a limb, organ, or member of his or her body. For purposes of this section, it is not necessary to prove an intent to kill."

In order to prove the crime of aggravated mayhem, the prosecution must prove that the defendant specifically intended to permanently disable, disfigure, or to deprive the other person of a limb, organ, or member of his or her body. However, it is not necessary to prove that the defendant had intent to kill.

Aggravated mayhem is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole.