Negligence and intentional torts are subject to civil litigation as opposed to criminal litigation. However, should a person who commits a civil tort like battery, also be prosecuted criminally? Some famous examples of criminal defendants who were prosecuted civilly as well as criminally are OJ Simpson and Bernard Madoff. How was it possible for OJ Simpson to be acquitted in the criminal case but found liable for wrongful death in the civil case? Solution Intentional tort such as battery is two dimensional in nature. If they are not severe they can be treated as civil wrong and are handled as a civil lawsuit for demand of compensation as monetary damages. However, if they are severe and are result of the criminal intent of the person they will be considered a crime and can lead to prosecution by the state under criminal laws. In the case of the OJ Simpson he was acquitted because the plaintiff failed to prove the presence of death by criminal intent. But he was responsible for the death as even if there is no criminal intent one can be found responsible under various civil theories such as negligence etc..