Sins and Crimes 8-3-2010

 St. Augustine revived a bit of my lawyer training in Confessions III, viii (16) – xi (117). There is a lot of material here that challenges my abilities for summarizing.

In III, viii (16) St. Augustine describes what we would call intentional crimes. He discusses how the impulse may be caused by motives among which he includes revenge, fear, envy, and this collection for which I am not finding a modern analogy:

...or merely by the pleasure of watching other peoiple's pain like spectators of gladiators or those who mock ridicule others.

He also wrote:

These are the chief kinds of wickedness. They spring from the lust for domination or from the lust of the eyes or from sensuality - either one or two of these, or all three at once (i  John 2:16)... Your punishment is that which human beings do to heir own injury because, even when they are sinning against you, their wicked actions are against their own souls...

I understand that last sentence all too well. I felt the ruin, and I plunged forward into my self-destruction. The forensic psychiatrist who interviewed me thought I had to be shading the truth of my crime. I put myself in too strange a position. No one expects anything like what I did. No one believes that there was anything but an interest in the subject matter itself, not in the use of the material without any real concern to the content. When I did start paying attention, my actions only confirmed by self-image as a worthless human being. I have written elsewhere in these notes of my self-loathing. I had hopes of being discovered, and the ensuing scandal free me for suicide. Then I did see what I transmitted. This convinced me of suicide's rightness. Only being presented with the possibility of another being influenced by my suicide, did I halt my plans for suicide. I suppose death will catch up with me in prison. But what other punishment does one have for the harm they have done to themselves other than suicide?

I do not believe we can legislate morality. The historian in me knows the damage done by Prohibition, and the libertarian in my head has arguments even less empirical in nature. But this country tries to do so. We hide the legislation's morality under other titles. At bottom, my crimes consist of immoral behavior rather than acts injuring people. Legislating against behaviors leading to obesity is legislating against the sin of gluttony.

In legislating against sinful behavior rather than acts injuring others, we do not include reform within the punishments for crime.

That is the coutcome when you are abandoned, fount of lie and the one true Creator and Ruler of the entire universe, when from a self-concenred pride a false unity is loved int eh part. Return to you is along the path of devout humility. You purify us oif evil habit, and you are merciful to the sins we confess.

Indiana's constitution requires our penal laws work towards reformation rather than mere punishment. [Article I, Section 18. The penal code shall be founded on the principles of reformation, and not of vindictive justice. sch 3/5/23.] Federal law has no such constitutional protection. They have, instead, mandatory minimum prison sentences. Indiana can thank its Quakers for this provision. Like St. Augustine, the Quakers followed the teachings of Christ.

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