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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: D. Long who wrote (100483)	6/6/2003 12:22:27 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

In every Western legal system I've studied, criminality of acts is broken down by degrees, and the degrees are based on intentions as well as deeds. In Latin culpability based on intention is called mens rea - wrongful mind. Culpability based on deeds is called actus rea - wrongful act. For some reason I am reminded of an actual example used by the Rabbis in rabbinical school - a man is sleeping on the roof naked. Through no fault of his own he falls off the roof, albeit in an unintentional state of excitement. He falls onto a woman who is sleeping in the courtyard, also naked. By chance, he falls so that he penetrates her, but without intention. Did he rape her? I don't know how the rabbis answer this question, but in the US, assuming the jury believed you, it would not be a criminal act, because you did not intentionally commit a wrongful act. Sitting around debating degrees of criminality and degrees of punishment is one of the oldest known activities of man since we've had written history. For example, the Code of Hammurabi, where laziness and carelessness caused penalties to be more severe than otherwise. Having intercourse with a woman brought different penalties - a fine, exile, death - depending on the status of the woman and the relationship between the parties. yale.edu People who say that all death is the same remind me of Cotton Mather looking for witches to burn. They aren't motivated by compassion, but the lack thereof.