Given criminal procedures, neither positive nor negative intention has any effects on the commission of a crime. However, a positive motive may mitigate the punishment; from legislator’s viewpoint a positive, non-cruel motive removes criminal title. For example, the legislator stipulates that there is no punishment when the perpetrator proves his/her belief in committing a murder against an unprotected outlaw. There is a consensus among Shiite and Sunni jurisconsults about the issue. Although there are a variety of opinions about the legal basis for the extinction of retaliation mentioned in the clause (b) of article 291 of the Islamic penal code (IPC) and one of its instances that is mistake in personality, the author argued that perpetrator’s motive is practically his/her belief in killing an unprotected outlaw not committing a non-violent murder, because the motive is a reaction to the logic of crime. A murder is classified under a quasi-intentional, providing non-violent motive of the perpetrator, making mistake in personality and killing a person in the mistaken belief that the victim is an unprotected outlaw is proved in the court.
