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Politics : The Judiciary

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From: TimF	1/15/2009 1:34:29 PM
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Letter about the erosion of the mens rea (guilty mind) requirement- "...By passing statutes that criminalize innocent or merely negligent behavior or that are so broadly defined that citizens cannot be sure when they are violating the law, the federal and state governments have significantly eroded the traditional mens rea requirement for criminal conviction. This is a development to be much regretted. There are many things a liberal government may do to improve social welfare. Government may properly ask individual citizens to make significant sacrifices for the common good. However, there are also many things a liberal government may not do. Visiting the opprobrium and stigma of criminal punishment on those who have not behaved in a blameworthy way is among them. Such official scapegoating is inconsistent with a liberal legal regime. A just legal system does not permit punishment without fault. Hence, justice demands the reinvigoration and preservation of the mens rea requirement for criminal punishment..." wlf.org sentencing.typepad.com

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