[dragonwriter]

> murder is only bad if it is successful?

If it’s nobody gets killed, it’s not murder. I think the principle that attempted murder, unsuccessful conspiracy to commit murder, or soliciting a murder which does not actually occur are lesser offenses than murder is fairly well established.

[belorn]

Here in Sweden, conspiracy to commit murder (which includes solicitation of murder) carries the exact same punishment as murder, successful or not.

I remember a old conspiracy case (not for murder) where the actually crime could not be proven to have even existed, but the conspiracy could, so the accused got convicted and sentenced as if the crime had existed and they did it.