“ By the criminal law a man could not be punished for the acts of another. Punishment must follow a man's own act. ”
Anthony Trollope, Phineas Redux (1874). copy citation
| Author | Anthony Trollope |
|---|---|
| Source | Phineas Redux |
| Topic | punishment law |
| Date | 1874 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18640/18640-h/18640-h.htm |
Context
“The judge's summing up was very short, and seemed to have been given almost with indolence. The one point on which he insisted was the difference between such evidence of bribery as would deprive a man of his seat, and that which would make him subject to the criminal law. By the criminal law a man could not be punished for the acts of another. Punishment must follow a man's own act. If a man were to instigate another to murder he would be punished, not for the murder, but for the instigation. They were now administering the criminal law, and they were bound to give their verdict for an acquittal unless they were convinced that the man on his trial had himself,—wilfully and wittingly,—been guilty of the crime imputed.”
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