1.15: Is "Conspiracy to Commit Murder" equal to murder itself?
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This article is from the Lawful Arrest/Search/Seizure FAQ, by Ahimsa Dhamapada ahimsa@mu.clarityconnect.net with numerous contributions by others.
1.15: Is "Conspiracy to Commit Murder" equal to murder itself?
No! If A hires B to kill C, and B actually kills C, then one
person is a murderer, and the other isn't. Simple. Sure A
shares in the moral responsibility in causing the death, but in
actual fact, A is NOT a murderer.
For a real shocker, consider the case of Charles Manson. He
is unsightly, bizarre acting, and probably derainged.
I wouldn't want to live next door to this fellow,
but he has never been accused nor convicted of murder. He
will spend the rest of his life in jail for the crime of
"conspiracy to commit murder", but not murder itself.
Where this concept really becomes significant is in cases of entrapement.
Cops place an ad in a magazine and claim to be a killer for hire.
Mr. A hires the undercover cop B to kill C. Mr. A is arrested for
"conspiracy to commit murder". Mr. A simply had the "criminal intent"
to kill, even though no one actually was killed!
And while "criminal intent" is necessary in proving an actual
crime occured (injury caused by the hand of another), as opposed to a
simple accident, it is important to note that simple intent by
itself, in absence of any injury, CAN NOT BE CONSIDERED CRIMINAL,
(Except by the Thought Police), and should not be considered equal
to the act of the crime itself. More and more, however, "conspiracy
to commit Z" is treated as if Z had actually been committed.
The muddled legal definition of "conspiracy" is:
a) two or more persons gathered for the purpose of doing something
really nasty (Oooo! did someone actually get hurt?, and how can
their intent be proven?), or
b) committing *legal acts* be using "illegal means" (Huh? Is the act
legal, or isn't it?)
I'm not kidding; look it up! Conspiracy is either "people talking about
committing a crime" or "LEGAL ACTS committed via unlawful mechanisms",
whatever the hell that could possibly mean.
It is interesting to note that the root of the word "conspiracy"
is the same as the root of "aspire" (to breathe). So if "spirit" is the
breath of life, then "conspiracy" might be the "crime of breathing".
Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of
its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live
under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies, The
robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at
some point be satiated; but those who torment us for own good
will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval
of their own conscience. - C.S. Lewis
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