Your best friend tells you they killed someone

[Dead Seerius]

Yes, a moral dilemma thread.

So, one day your best friend calls you up and tells you he/she needs to talk to you in private - they sound worried.

You get to your friend, and they tell you they just murdered someone. The specifics are not necessary divulged - but you know that they killed someone in cold blood (wasn't involuntary) because they absolutely hated this person, and now they're looking to you for consul.

Assuming you believe them, and they are telling the truth, how would you react, and what would you do?

EDIT: 'Necessary' was poor word choice on my part. I was intending to make it a more bare-bones scenario. Obviously, if the friend had an insanely credible reason for doing what they did, then we wouldn't have as much of a moral dilemma, now would we?

 

[Loop Stricken]

Is this before or after I help dispose of the body?

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I've seen this before, no I will not help you. The best I do is give advice and not speak a word, but my hands wont go anywhere near a crime scene like that.

 

[Heronblade]

I agree with Smash above

Far more likely than not, I would either turn my friend in, or cut him off and pretend the conversation never happened. If I can do something to help avoid a harsh sentence, I will, but he made a choice that virtually guarantees that his life is effectively over. Anything I do to help him avoid being caught at that point will only make it more likely that both of us end up at the defendant's stand.

Depending on the specifics however, my reaction may very well be different. (ie: person who REALLY deserved it in a location where effective police protocols are about as common as tapdancing elephants.)

 

[Scarim Coral]

Ha! I wish I can meet up to talked to my mate privately in person! My best friend lived miles away that it take a 2 hours trainride to meet up face to face.

Anyway I would probably try to convince him to turn himself in, making reference to films (most films, they don't get away with it) and comicbook (turning into a villain) unless he really does want to be bad as in no remorse for his action.

If he still doesn't give him then I either tell him I won't be involve with it (I pretty much become his accomplist at this point) or called the police behind him back (sure I don't want to betray him but I will worried more about his mental state).

 

[bojackx]

The specifics are not necessary -

Actually, they are.

What I would do would depend completely on why they hated this person. Maybe it was the evil baby of Satan, Hitler and Stalin, raised from the depths of hell to enslave the world under a banner of nazi satanist communism. Maybe someone killed his wife and he wanted revenge. Maybe he snapped because he couldn't handle his life anymore. Or maybe he's just a ****.

Obviously these different scenarios would provoke different reactions, you can't just go and say "Oh the specifics aren't necessary, just answer this question". They do fucking matter.

This.

Even if it's in cold blood, it could have still been for good reasons.

 

[HardkorSB]

Yes, a moral dilemma thread.

So, one day your best friend calls you up and tells you he/she needs to talk to you in private - they sound worried.

You get to your friend, and they tell you they just murdered someone. The specifics are not necessary - but you know that they killed someone in cold blood (wasn't involuntary) because they absolutely hated this person, and now they're looking to you for consul.

Assuming you believe them, and they are telling the truth, how would you react, and what would you do?

I would answer:
"Finally, I thought I was the only killer in town. Wanna team up?"

 

[Dinwatr]

Yes, a moral dilemma thread.

So, one day your best friend calls you up and tells you he/she needs to talk to you in private - they sound worried.

You get to your friend, and they tell you they just murdered someone. The specifics are not necessary - but you know that they killed someone in cold blood (wasn't involuntary) because they absolutely hated this person, and now they're looking to you for consul.

Assuming you believe them, and they are telling the truth, how would you react, and what would you do?

I would immediately turn them in to the local authorities. Probably after forcibly restraining them. Or I'd kill them myself--I have a few promises to keep in that regard. Friendship does NOT give you a free pass from me--in fact, I hold my friends to higher standards, as they're closer to me and my family and therefore more of a threat to us.

Though that could merely be my reading of the question. I wouldn't classify killing the man who killed your wife to be killing someone because you absolutely hate them. It's revenge, which is another issue entirely, and the exact situation would dictate my response. I myself have threatened to kill someone in cold blood--but considering what they were planning to do (kidnap a sibling of mine) it's not an irrational or unwarranted response. In fact, I could probably have gotten away with it (courts really don't like kidnapping young girls, and killing someone to free another person is usually considered a good thing). If my friend had done something similar I'd probably call the police, but I'd also buy him a beer and work like hell to make sure he didn't go to jail.

So really, there's no dilemma. If I'm reading the question right only an immoral monster wouldn't stop the murderer, and if I'm reading the question wrong the issue isn't a dilemma but rather a lack of data.

 

[IndomitableSam]

If my best friend did it, then the person deserved it, so I would help. No question. If you consider my best friend my twin sister, then doubly so, I wouldn't even ask what happened before I helped. If my best non-family member friend did it, I may ask what happened and yell at my friend whilst telling them to grab the feet. Then when cleaned up, settle in to try and figure out the best way to handle everything coming.

If it's my twin sister... then the cops will have a hard enough time figuring out which one it was in the first place, so that makes the clean-up a bit easier. (Yes, I know fingerprints are different, but my sister knows what she's doing.)

 

[ClockworkPenguin]

I'd tell them to turn themselves in. And I'd make it clear to them that if I'm questioned I'm not going to lie to the police. I'd offer to be a character witness, maybe try and help them get a lawyer, but if they killed a guy then I wont lie for them. The way I see it, if there where extenuating circumstances, then going to the police and explaining early can only strengthen that case and if there weren't then friend or not they deserve punishment.

 

[White Lightning]

I wouldn't believe him unless he showed me the body, afterwards I would heavily critique his murder and give him pointers for next time. Because godamnit if you're going to kill someone you better do it right.

 

[Flamezdudes]

I would demand specifics because they are god damn important. Plus, i'm pretty sure if my best friend hated someone enough to kill them then I would have known about this hate for this person before hand as well. My best friend would never kill someone unless it was necessary or a complete accident, either way I still need specifics.

In the end, it's likely though that i'd try to convince him to probably turn himself in. As painful as doing that would be.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

I'll have no problem with it, I already killed my best friend

 

[klown]

Seeing how my best friend is my brother, the answer would be easy. "Let me get my kit, and I'll be right there. Which shoe are you wearing, and where is your second one?" (He is an amputee, easy way to make a crime scene not look like it was him, both shoe prints).

 

[manic_depressive13]

I don't care why they did it, I would help them. I'm shocked at how many people would happily sell out their "best friend".

 

[Lizardon]

Depends. Did they kill someone because they saved their pet instead of the other person from drowning?

 

[Genocidicles]

It depends who he killed. If it was someone I hated too, or someone I thought was an asshole then I'd help my friend.

If it was just some random guy who he killed I wouldn't help my friend, but I wouldn't tell the police or anything. I aint a snitch yo.