Assault with intent to do great bodily harm in Michigan is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. It sits between simple assault and attempted murder on the severity scale and covers two different acts: assaulting someone with the intent to cause a serious injury short of killing them, or assaulting someone by strangulation or suffocation. Either act carries the same penalty under the same statute.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.84 – Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder
The Two Ways You Can Be Charged
Michigan’s statute creates two separate paths to this offense. The first is an assault committed with the specific goal of inflicting great bodily harm less than murder. The second is an assault carried out by strangulation or suffocation.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.84 – Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder
Strangulation and suffocation have a specific statutory meaning: intentionally blocking someone’s ability to breathe or cutting off blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by covering the nose or mouth. For this version of the charge, prosecutors do not need to prove the defendant intended any particular level of injury. The deliberate act of choking or suffocating is enough on its own.
The statute also allows this charge to stack with any other crime arising from the same incident. If a weapon was involved, for instance, prosecutors can file additional charges alongside this one.
What “Great Bodily Harm” Means
Great bodily harm means a serious physical injury, well beyond minor bumps or bruises. Broken bones, internal organ damage, injuries requiring surgery, or anything that significantly impairs a body function fits. A black eye or minor cut does not. The injury has to be severe enough to meaningfully affect the victim’s health.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
The elements depend on which version of the offense is charged, and every element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
For the great-bodily-harm version, the prosecution must prove the defendant assaulted the victim and that the defendant specifically intended to cause great bodily harm.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.84 – Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder An assault can be an actual physical attack or an attempt or threat to inflict harm when the person has the immediate ability to follow through. Physical contact is not required.
For the strangulation or suffocation version, the prosecution must prove the defendant assaulted the victim by intentionally impeding breathing or blood circulation through pressure on the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth. No proof of a specific intent to injure is needed.
Intent is the central battleground in the great-bodily-harm version. An accidental injury, no matter how severe, does not meet the standard. Courts piece intent together from the surrounding circumstances: whether a weapon was used, how many blows were struck and where, the severity of the resulting injuries, any threats made, and whether the defendant kept attacking after the victim was defenseless.
Penalties and Sentencing
A conviction is a felony carrying a maximum of 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.84 – Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder A judge can also impose probation, which may include counseling, community service, and regular check-ins with a probation officer.
The actual sentence depends heavily on Michigan’s sentencing guidelines. The offense is classified as a Class D felony in the “Person” crime category. The sentencing judge calculates a recommended range based on the seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s prior record. Since the Michigan Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in People v. Lockridge, the guidelines are advisory rather than mandatory, so a judge can depart from the calculated range without providing extraordinary justification.2Michigan Courts. State of Michigan Sentencing Guidelines Manual The guidelines range still predicts the actual sentence better than anything else. A first-time offender with a low score faces a very different conversation than someone with prior violent felonies.
Consequences Beyond the Sentence
The prison term and fine are only part of what a conviction brings.
- Firearms. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. Because this Michigan offense carries a 10-year maximum, a conviction triggers a permanent federal firearms ban, and violating that ban is itself a separate federal felony.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Employment and housing. A felony assault conviction appears on background checks and can disqualify applicants from jobs, professional licenses, housing, and educational programs. Employers and landlords in Michigan can and do screen for violent felonies.
- Civil lawsuits. A criminal conviction does not stop the victim from suing for money damages. The civil standard of proof is lower than beyond a reasonable doubt, so a victim can win a civil judgment even where the criminal case ended in acquittal.
Defenses That Commonly Apply
Self-Defense
Michigan is a stand-your-ground state. A person who is not committing a crime can use force without retreating if they honestly and reasonably believe the force is necessary to defend themselves or another person from an imminent unlawful attack. Deadly force is justified when a person honestly and reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or sexual assault.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.972 – Use of Deadly Force by Individual Not Engaged in Commission of Crime; Conditions “Reasonable” does the heavy lifting here. A judge or jury looks at whether a reasonable person in the same situation would have felt threatened and used a similar level of force.
Lack of Intent
For the great-bodily-harm version, the defense can argue the defendant never intended a serious injury. A single punch in a bar fight that happens to break a jaw is a different story than a sustained beating. The prosecution’s inability to prove specific intent is probably the most common path to a reduced charge or acquittal.
Voluntary Intoxication
Because the great-bodily-harm version is a specific-intent crime, extreme intoxication can sometimes negate the required mental state. The argument is that the defendant was too impaired to form the specific intent to cause great bodily harm. It rarely produces a full acquittal, but it can lead to conviction on a lesser general-intent offense. It does not apply to the strangulation variant.
Where This Charge Sits Among Michigan’s Assault Offenses
Michigan’s assault statutes form a spectrum, and where a case falls depends on the level of injury, the defendant’s intent, and whether a weapon was involved.
Aggravated assault covers serious injuries caused without a weapon and without intent to cause great bodily harm. It is a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 750.81a – Assault; Infliction of Serious or Aggravated Injury The dividing line from assault with intent to do great bodily harm is what the defendant was trying to accomplish: a serious but unintended injury belongs here.
Felonious assault involves using a dangerous weapon without intent to kill or cause great bodily harm. It is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.82 – Felonious Assault The weapon elevates it above aggravated assault, but the absence of intent to cause great bodily harm keeps it below this charge.
Assault with intent to murder sits above. It requires proof that the defendant actually intended to kill, and it carries a potential life sentence.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 750.83 – Assault with Intent to Commit Murder The gap between intending serious harm and intending death separates the two charges, and prosecutors sometimes file the higher charge planning to negotiate down.
Clearing the Conviction Later
Michigan’s expungement law classifies this offense as an “assaultive crime.” A person can petition to have up to two assaultive-crime convictions set aside in a lifetime.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code MCL 780.621 – Setting Aside Conviction This conviction is not eligible for Michigan’s automatic expungement process, so a petition has to be filed with the court that entered the conviction.9State of Michigan. Michigan Clean Slate The waiting period for felony expungement petitions is generally measured from the later of sentencing or completion of any prison term. Because the process requires judicial approval, meeting the eligibility rules does not guarantee a judge will grant the request.