Normally I clearly advocate the punishment of perjury, but the prosecutions of Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart indicate clearly to me that something is way out of hand. Put gently, there is something amiss when a persecutor (oops, prosecutor) spends years of his life trying to prove that someone lied to the court, but there is no other crime to be investigated.
To find out exactly what is wrong, let's go to the Scriptures and see how Moses defines the punishment of perjury in Deut. 19:16-19. The "meat" of the passage:
If the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
In other words, if a witness' words are not relevant to the prosecution of a crime or resolution of a civil action, the Torah offers no punishment for perjury apart from conscience and the wrath of God. I dare suggest we should listen to both the Bible and Blackstone and remember that without motive, there is no crime.
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3 comments:
Bert, I think that you've missed the crux of the text: If someone lies to the court, the punishment that the liar desired for the brother should be meted out to the liar.
Applied to your topic: the liar is the brother, the liar desires no punishment => The liar should get no punishment. Since there is no other victim and no other prosecution was hindered, I don't have a problem with this.
Also, I think that this is why we are not expected to testify against ourselves (5th Amendment).
Actually, exactly my point. You flesh out the logic a little differently than I, but exactly.
I agree with your assertion of "witch hunting" for someone who didn't remember what they didn't say.
Clinton, on the other hand specifically lied to a grand jury. Mike Nifong, a persecutor should be prosecuted.
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