Which doctrine applies when a defendant intends to harm one person but ends up harming a different person?

• A. General Intent
• B. Specific Intent
• C. Negligence
• D. Transferred Intent

Answer: (D)

When someone intends to harm one person but ends up harming another, the law treats the situation as if the defendant intended to harm the actual victim as well. This is the transferred intent doctrine. The essence is that the defendant’s mental state to commit a certain harmful act is applied to the person who is actually harmed, as long as the kind of harm is the same. For example, if a person aims to shoot one individual but hits someone else, the charged offense can be tied to the actual victim because the intent behind the act transfers. This prevents escaping liability simply because the target differed. General vs specific intent describe mental state categories, and negligence involves a lack of intent, so they don’t fit this scenario.