Ethical Question

[messy]

This question was given to me in school awhile ago and I was wondering how people on the escapist would react.

Question "your friend has committed a crime (although the actually crime doesn't matter we'll say assault) and you were the sole witness (the victim is in hospital)and have been asked in for questioning by the police. Your evidence alone is enough to condemn your friend. Do you give evidence?"

Now the unwritten laws of friendship state you always should protect you're friends and the "playground rules" state you should never report a friends "unlawful" acts. However can a just society truly function if people are given "special privileges" just because they are known to witness. An extreme of this is judges letting of friends etc.

So would you give evidence? Personally I like to think I wouldn't grass on my friends but in the actual police station etc. I think I'd crack.

EDIT; since a lot of you have asked the severity of the crime or reasons i'm putting this forward "what laws are more important; laws of the land or friendship laws" since the legal requirement is to give evidence against all crimes regardless of size

 

[pffh]

Depends on which of my friends comitted the crime. For three of my mates the answer is no for the rest the answer is yes.

 

[Caimekaze]

For me, although this goes against absolutism, it rather depends on the severity crime committed. If it has drastically affected someone's life, then yes I shall. If it hasn't, chances are I won't.
I'm a very subjective, hypocritical person. Bite me~<3

 

[AdamAK]

I would give the evidence. I wouldn't want to have a violent friend like that. How would I know that he wouldn't turn on me?

 

[DrDeath3191]

If it was a serious crime, I would rat on my own mother.

 

[Captain Pancake]

well, if it was most of my "Friends", i would let em burn, there would be one less obstacle in the world. I would only protect one of them, and we've been friends for years now.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Depends on why he/she did it.
If they did it for no good reason, I myself would let them know I'm not going to lie for them.
If they did it because, say, the guy had beaten up their sibling, then I wouldn't rat them out.
I'd say that's fair.

 

[Kiutu]

Anything I would report about a stranger, I would report about a friend. That said, some things I dont think deserve jail time for and would not say anything for those if they could go to jail for it.
Why? Well, if someone assaulted me or something, I would want them reported, but if only their friend who was there would be able to do anything, I would hope they would. Wrong is wrong.

 

[GodsOneMistake]

I wouldn't rat unless he killed an orphanage fool of babies

 

[Gooble]

If the victim had been hospitalized, then yeah, I'd testify, though I would strongly encourage the friend to confess to the crime first. With CCTV I'd probably be placed at or near the scene of the crime anyway, meaning that I would be under suspicion, and I'm not going down for anyone. Plus if it was a deliberately malicious attack then I probably wouldn't want to be friends with that person.

 

[ThatJagoGuy]

For me, although this goes against absolutism, it rather depends on the severity crime committed. If it has drastically affected someone's life, then yes I shall. If it hasn't, chances are I won't.
I'm a very subjective, hypocritical person. Bite me~<3

This.

... sans the 'Bite me' remark. I prefer not to be bitten.

 

[Mezrev]

Depends on the severity of the crime. Very minor things, I propably would claim I didn't see anything. But a "real" crime? Yes I would.

 

[yeah_so_no]

For me, it's not a question. My friends, all of them, know I would never lie for them, not for something as serious as assault. Unless there was some kind of serious justification for it--and I can't even begin to imagine a justification for assault--I wouldn't even still be friends with the person after they did something like that.

 

[Caimekaze]

... sans the 'Bite me' remark. I prefer not to be bitten.

You get used to it.
Although some people bite a little harder than is usually acceptable. I'm glaring at you, Labyrinth.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

It depends on which friend it was, and what crime. If it was a friend who was a complete fuckhead and needed to be punished for what he did, rat his ass out. If it was a closer friend who isn't a fuckhead... keep quiet.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I wouldn't befriend someone that goes around beating people up so if one of my friends did beat someone up, I would re-consider my friendship with that person. If I don't find them to be the friends they were, if they show a side of themselves I do not like or detest then I will probably tell the poilce they did it. After all, when they beat someone up they stop being the person I befriended.

Ofcourse, there can be certain scenario's that change what I tell the police. I'd have to know why my friend beat the guy (or girl) up. If he/her beat up a guy because he was trying to blackmail him (or something) then I might not tell the police. If he beat up a girl in that situation then I probably would tell the police as there are other things he could have done to fixed his/her situation then beating up on a woman.

It really depends on the whole picture but most of the time I would tell the police as I am a firm believer in the justice system. It would suck to rat out a mate but it would feel worse to let a guilty man go free.

 

[dontworryaboutit]

I wouldn't rat unless he killed an orphanage fool of babies

The Orphanage Fool! Ahahahahaha!

Sorry that's my two cents.

Depends which of my friends (though I can't imagine any of them actually putting someone in the hospital) did it.

Though I'd probably just say I didn't see anything on general principal - I dislike police.

FUCK DA POLICE