Ideological Criminals

[MDMAngel]

To me, this is one of those questions you can not answer, fool-proof.

Even the best idea has its flaws, so I don't think there's a moral way (in modern terms) to stop this 'thing'.

Anyways, there's not a best way to handle this type of situation.

[AquaTeen]

This coming from a lawyer-in-training's standpoint the best way to describe this is say a child has a parent that is terminally ill and is suffering the child may kill that parent to end the suffering that the parent is endeavoring. So that would be considered an ideological crime. Best way to deal with crimes such as my hypothetical is to just let them go because they only wanted their parent to die with dignity and they basically did. So the child was punished enough by killing the parent they shouldn't have to endeavor the pain of having to go to jail just because they did something they felt was morally right just to stop the pain and suffering of a sick and dying parent.

[devonin]

Unfortunately, you run into some problems. Where do you set an objective legal standard to determine what is or is not "A crime that we'll let go, because"?

What that person did is either murder or assisting suicide depending on how they did it, and that's illegal, pretty highly illegal too. So you're suggesting, as a "lawyer-in-training" that someone who does something THEY feel is morally right should be allowed to commit crimes?

What if I think it's morally right to steal bread from a big chain grocery store because I'm poor and my children are starving? Is that something that should be allowed? If so, how poor do I have to be and how starving do my children have to be, before I qualify to be allowed to steal without punishment?

[AquaTeen]

Originally Posted by devonin

Unfortunately, you run into some problems. Where do you set an objective legal standard to determine what is or is not "A crime that we'll let go, because"?

What that person did is either murder or assisting suicide depending on how they did it, and that's illegal, pretty highly illegal too. So you're suggesting, as a "lawyer-in-training" that someone who does something THEY feel is morally right should be allowed to commit crimes?

What if I think it's morally right to steal bread from a big chain grocery store because I'm poor and my children are starving? Is that something that should be allowed? If so, how poor do I have to be and how starving do my children have to be, before I qualify to be allowed to steal without punishment?

I would say to qualify for it to be right to commit a crime because it's morally right is when the parent is terminally ill with a week to live or in your hypothetical you should be living in an environment that is filled with poverty (basically the slums). That was a great question if I may say so.

[devonin]

Okay, and what is the objective legal definition of "filled with poverty" Do you have a property value figure? A monthly income figure? If we're talking legal defenses in a court of law, these things need to be very clear.

If my defense is "I should be allowed to have stolen, because I'm very poor" there needs to be a strict border between "poor enough" and "not poor enough"