IAmALawyer said:
So all you kids who think attempted murder should carry the same sentence as murder:
What if it's physically impossible for the attempt to succeed?
As in the following situations:
1. You take your gun and plan to shoot someone while he is sleeping. You enter your target's house at 1 am. You see his form in bed, in a dark room. You see his head and shoot it.
Little did you know that an hour earlier, at 12 am, some other guy was there first and held a pillow over your target's face until he died. You shot a dead body, but in the darkness you didn't know.
You should be punished the same as the first guy?
2. The same situation as above, but you didn't realize that your gun was loaded with blanks. You pulled the trigger and fired a blank cartridge that was a lot of sound and light, but no actual bullet. Should you still be punished for murder?
3. Different scenario: Mary Sue is a 12 year old girl who really hates her math teacher. Mary Sue believes in magic - like actual witchcraft. Her parents are kinda weird and have given her some weird ideas about how the world works, and Mary Sue thinks she's seen magic heal and hurt people before. So Mary Sue does what she thinks is a magic ritual that will curse her math teacher and lead to his quick death. Obviously, nothing ever happens and he never dies. Should she still be prosecuted for murder?
I should go ahead and tell you right now - those are all actual examples of attempted murder under the law. I'd say most of you kids who think "attempted murder should always be punished the same as murder" haven't thought through all the actual possibilities - of which there are an infinite number of variations.
The fact is effects do actually matter, and a huge problem in the law is what to do with people who have good intentions but end up causing harm. But frankly most of you aren't smart enough or well-read enough to formulate an intelligent answer to these questions. I'd at least start with doing some basic reading before you go on to forums and spout crap about crime and punishment.
If all those people, little Mary Sue included were willing to consciously take steps that they believed would take someones life, then they are as bad as a murderer.
Sure Mary Sue may not actually possess magical powers to kill her teacher, but she thought she did, and was quite willing to use them in order to kill someone. So when she discovers her spell failed, what's stopping her from using a more tried and true method? She obviously has the right mentality to grab a gun and shoot someone, since she willingly and unhesitatingly took measures that she believed would have the same effect as shooting him in the head with a gun.
Of course in Mary Sue's case, she probably should be going to a mental institution and being permanently removed from her parents as she seems to have been raised wrong (not just the whole magic thing, her parents clearly didn't stress the whole, killing is bad message enough).
Basically what you're saying is that I should get a reduced sentence for reasons such as:
-Somebody bumped my arm and made me miss the shot
-My victim was stronger/more resourceful than I thought and managed to overpower me
-I thought the heart was on the right side/I stabbed him in my left, instead of his left
Lets be honest here. The only difference between murderer and attempted murderer is how well they've done the job. They both got to the stage where they thought that taking another person's life was acceptable, people with that mindset need to be removed from society until (if ever) it can be said with confidence that they have changed.
I'd also suggest not making comments regarding people's intelligence or lack thereof. You can disagree all you want, but the moment you claim people are stupid for not agreeing with you is the moment you prove your own ignorance.
