LogFAQs > #922551394

Ivany2008 posted...

as much as I hate to say it, planning isn't the same as implementing. Not saying it shouldn't be looked into, and the guy get treatment/locked up in a mental hospital, but you shouldn't be able convict him of murder until he actually commits a murder, or attempts a murder.

Words written on a sheet of paper are just that, words. It's a very slippery slope to deal with. If you charge him with the crime of "planning to commit a crime", where does the justification begin? sure it starts with someone physically planning out a crime, listing how they are going to do things, or when they will do things, but it could very well escalate very fast, and the definition could get muddled fairly quickly.

Next thing you know people will start to get charged for picking up a chefs knife from a knife shop, because "they are in possession of a dangerous weapon".

But then you also have to go review weaponry laws, which most Americans will go up in arms about. Should you be allowed to own a gun? should you be allowed to carry a pocket knife? It's just one giant mess to have to deal with.

I mean, owning a gun or knife is one thing.

Saying "I'm going to shoot people" or "I am going to stab you" and going out and buying those tools to commit a crime is more than just a thought. It implies pre-meditation doesn't it?
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