Should "Consent" Be a Defense to Murder?
The proprietor of a Japanese how-to-commit-suicide WEB site has been arrested for murder, apparently for killing a woman who asked to be murdered. From the story:
Saito, a 33-year-old electrician in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, opened the bulletin board site in June 2006 under a handle name. He posted such messages as "I will help you commit suicide" and "I will undertake whatever job, legal or illegal."
He was arrested in July on suspicion of violating the Narcotic and Psychotropic Drug Control Law and was later indicted. On Wednesday, Saito was arrested on suspicion of murdering Sayaka Nishizawa, 21, in April in Kawasaki's Takatsu Ward.
Through the Web site, Nishizawa asked Saito to kill her and paid him 200,000 yen for the job, police said. On April 12, Saito gave her 20 to 30 sleeping drugs to end her life and wrapped a plastic bag around her head to ensure she was dead, police said.
I should note that this is the method of "suicide counseling" that has often been used by our local suicide purveyors. (The illustration above is of the infamous "Exit Bag" sold by a Canadian assisted suicide group.) But let's leave that aside for the moment. Should her consent be a defense?
That is certainly the rationale behind euthanasia in the Netherlands and was Kevorkian's excuse for murdering Thomas Youk. I recall also a few years ago, a German case in which a man advertised that he was willing to murder and eat anyone who wanted to be murdered and eaten. (Here's Debra's take on that 2004 case.) He got a taker and was not charged with murder due to the consent issue. Sick, I know. But when I was in law school, I was taught that consent is not a defense to murder. Should that change? If not, we had better change our current course.
Labels: Consent to Murder?
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 10:16 AM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
I didn't know what had happened in that German case. That's horrible. It says in Debra's article that the prosecutors were appealing. I guess that didn't get them anywhere?
Actually, I think the sentence was stiffened, but it still wasn't life the way it should have been (Germany not having a death penalty).
To your title question - should consent be a defense? No. It shouldn't.
But, I would consider it as a mitigating circumstance when deciding the punishment.
Royale: Why should it mitigate?
Well, of the 5 rationales for criminal justice, the one that strikes the strongest to me is victim compensation.
Hence, if the victim subjectively feels there is less/no damage (even if this mental state is caused by depression), then there is less/no damage, and hence, there should be less/no punishment, at least in terms as what debt the criminal owes the victim.
Before you ask...yes, the logic also quite appropriately extends to statutory rape laws.
Now, should we still punish for the OTHER 4 rationales of criminal justice? i.e., should the criminal owe something to society by virtue of breaking the laws?
I'm tempted to say unequivably yes, but I know I would be persuaded by exceptions. So, I'll take that on a case by case basis.
Fak!
That is absolutely ridiculous! The guy is a pervert - he obviously gets off on killing people in some way and should be locked away to keep society safe from his twistedness, and the murder victim should have been helped by family and friends to keep stable during the crisis.
Royale -
Maybe *this* victim didn't think there was damage being done, but if the sicko murders someone else who *doesn't* approve of being murdered, then after being primed by getting away with this one, he may still be compelled to kill someone else, and that would be a preventable murder. We're not just paying back the poor victim, we're protecting future victims from someone who'll prey on them.
I'm not saying that because I think consent does away with guilt - the guy's guilty. I'm just adding a dimension. Once a man commits murder, it's nearly impossible for him to turn around and stop cold there. The thrill is too big. That's why rapists always escalate as they move from victim to victim, and it's always a matter of time before they find new victims.
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