Impossibility no defense
It is no defense to a charge of criminal attempt that the crime the accused is charged with attempting was, under the attendant circumstances, factually or legally impossible of commission if such crime could have been committed had the attendant circumstances been as the accused believed them to be.
Abandonment as affirmative defense
Abandonment of crime as affirmative defense
(a) When a person’s conduct would otherwise constitute an attempt to commit a crime under Code Section
Criminal attempt - Penalties
(a) A person convicted of the offense of criminal attempt to commit a crime punishable by death or by life imprisonment shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than 30 years. (b) A person convicted of the offense of criminal attempt to commit a felony, other than a felony punishable by death or life imprisonment, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than one-half the maximum period of time for which he or she could have been sentenced if he or she had been convicted of the crime attempted, by one-half the maximum fine to which he or she could have been sub- jected if he or she had been convicted of the crime attempted, or both. (c) A person convicted of the offense of criminal attempt to commit a misdemeanor shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.