Which of the following best describes a withdrawal defense in New York law?

Which of the following best describes a withdrawal defense in New York law?

• A. Change of heart, not fear
• B. Voluntary renunciation
• C. Complete renunciation
• D. Prevented the crime from occurring

Answer: (B)

Withdrawal from a criminal plan in New York is a defense that works when a conspirator genuinely and deliberately ends participation before the crime happens and takes steps to thwart it. The best description of this is voluntary renunciation because it signals both the voluntary nature of the end to involvement and a complete disengagement from the plan. It must be more than a mere change of heart; there has to be an actual, voluntary act of withdrawing and, ideally, some effort to prevent the crime from succeeding. Mere change of mind or fear of consequences doesn’t meet the standard, and while effectively stopping the crime can be related, the decisive point is the voluntary, complete withdrawal from the plan.

Withdrawal from a criminal plan in New York is a defense that works when a conspirator genuinely and deliberately ends participation before the crime happens and takes steps to thwart it. The best description of this is voluntary renunciation because it signals both the voluntary nature of the end to involvement and a complete disengagement from the plan. It must be more than a mere change of heart; there has to be an actual, voluntary act of withdrawing and, ideally, some effort to prevent the crime from succeeding. Mere change of mind or fear of consequences doesn’t meet the standard, and while effectively stopping the crime can be related, the decisive point is the voluntary, complete withdrawal from the plan.