Final answer:
The man who hired a hitman to kill his wife would face attempted murder charges. His intent to kill, paired with the significant step of hiring someone to commit the murder, meets the legal criteria for an attempt, regardless of the actual outcome. The charge carries a severe potential punishment analogous to that of a completed murder in many jurisdictions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Attempted Murder Charges
The man would likely be charged with attempted murder. While the man's wife was unharmed, the intention to kill was clear, constituting a criminal offense. In legal terms, an attempt to commit a crime is treated seriously, often similarly to the completed act. The man demonstrated a 'mens rea' (guilty mind) and took tangible 'actus reus' (guilty act) towards committing the crime by hiring a hitman. Legal doctrine usually requires both of these elements for an attempt charge. Legal outcomes depend on the jurisdiction's laws. In many places, a charge of attempted murder could carry a long prison sentence. The undercover operation that revealed the intent to commit murder protected the wife from harm, resulting in the man's arrest before any physical act of violence occurred.
However, the arrest doesn't mitigate the man's intent, shown by contracting what he believed to be a hitman. Court cases and literature, such as A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell, demonstrate how legal systems value the intention behind actions, further validating the attempted murder charge. Understanding historical and cultural context of laws, like those in the Roman Digest, affects interpretations of modern-day legal situations. Yet, in the current criminal justice system, legal precedents typically draw clear lines regarding attempts to commit crimes like murder, regardless of the parties involved or their emotions at the time.