This came up in comment discussions about analogies in this question.
If I hire an assassin to kill someone, I'm presumably guilty of offenses like murder, conspiracy, and solicitation of murder. Even if the assassin is incompetent and fails to carry it out, the murder charge would be reduced to attempted murder.
But what if I call off the hit and they never go through with it? Is there still an offense, or is it "no harm, no foul"?
Here is the case of Michael Musbach, who hired a hitman over the internet on a murder-for-hire website, paying him $20,000 to kill his target. When he was asked to make additional payments, he sought to cancel the contract and get a refund, at which point the "hitman" revealed the whole site was a scam and sent his information to the authorities. Even though Musbach never actually hired a real hitman, and sought to cancel the hit before any damage was done, he was found guilty of "knowingly and intentionally using... a facility of interstate and foreign commerce with the intent that a murder be committed."
The use of the internet made this an interstate federal crime, but Musbach's actions based on the mere intent to arrange a murder was sufficient convict him, regardless of whether he was successful or later thought better of it. Other statutes may apply when hiring a local hitman.
In Washington, this violates RCW 9A.28.030(1)
A person is guilty of criminal solicitation when, with intent to promote or facilitate the commission of a crime, he or she offers to give or gives money or other thing of value to another to engage in specific conduct which would constitute such crime or which would establish complicity of such other person in its commission or attempted commission had such crime been attempted or committed.
This is a Class A felony, as is actual first degree murder. Calling off the hit could enter into mitigating circumstances for sentencing.
