# Thought Crime?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-crime/3907>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 12, 1999, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-crime/3907 "1999-10-12T10:15:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-crime/3907/21 "1999-10-14T06:23:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> So we’re back to thought crime. if she’s really 20, but for the fun of it, and to give him a thrill, she tells him she’s 15, and he buys it and screws her…he’s committed a crime??? I can’t believe that, it’s insane.

Again, I’m no legal expert, but I would believe that in this case no crime was committed (even though the intent is there.)

* * *

Jacques Kilchoer  
Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-crime/3907/22 "1999-10-14T22:27:00Z")

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This is kinda out of the blue, and my memory of it is hazey, so please forgive me: I saw a TV show once (Law and Order, or something like that) where a man spent a lot of time in his basement writing or drawing plans to kill his wife. The wife finds these plans, and an attempt is made to have the husband convicted of attempted murder. The man goes free, however, because he never actually attempted to put his plans into action - it was all conjecture. I don’t know if this would fly in real life, but it does fall in line with the previous messages about the differences between thinking about a crime and actually taking the steps necessary to commit a crime.

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**Author:** ![KentT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@KentT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KentT)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 1999, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thought-crime/3907/23 "1999-10-15T00:36:00Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> So we’re back to thought crime. if she’s really 20, but for the fun of it, and to give him a thrill, she tells him she’s 15, and he buys it and screws her…he’s committed a crime??? I can’t believe that, it’s insane.

> [@](#):
>
> Again, I’m no legal expert, but I would believe that in this case no crime was committed (even though the intent is there.)

But how is this different from a police sting? If anything, this should be worse.

And here’s another twist: What if the guy turns out to be 17 years old, could the policeman be charged with soliciting a minor (or whatever it’s called)?

- 

About hiring a person to kill someone:

I saw a TV show a few years ago (a 60-minutes type show) where a woman hired a guy to kill her husband but the guy went to the police instead. Here’s the strange part, she couldn’t be arrested because the guy she hired had no intention of killing anyone. I think they mentioned something about different laws on this in different states.

Anyone remember something like that?

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