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Chuckles

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Sins of the Fathers Visited on the Children?

I believe in western civilization, one of our core princilpes
is that when a person commits a crime their children are not liable to be
punished for that same crime. Especially if the child was very young,
essentially an infant or toddler when the offense occurred.

Is this
true.?

Can anyone cite anything in US, British or Canadian law about
this?

2 weeks ago

Additional Details

I am specifically looking at non-violent civil
offenses. Nothing involving robbery or anything that actually hurt someone else
or involved loss of property. And in most cases the child was under 10 years old
and happened to be in the company of the parent when the offense occurred.

1 week ago

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by Erica

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I would think it would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
For example, if an adult were to rob a bank, and he told his 14 yr old kid to
call him on his cell phone if he hears police sirens, the kid would probably not
face charges. On the other hand, if the kid went inside with the father and went
around zip-tying peoples hands together, throwing them on the floor, kicking
them & telling them to shut up or he'd shoot them, he might very well be
charged as an adult accomplice.

2 weeks ago

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by flixy

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I'm from the United States and in this country the only
person responsible for the crime they commit is the person who committed the
crime. I don't understand how someone can blame someone's child for a crime
the father committed...

2 weeks ago

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by Jason R

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The United States Constitution specifically prohibits
"corruption of blood" in treason cases in Article III, Section 3. This means a
child cannot be punished for his father's treason. I think, however, that you
might be confusing two things.

In the United States, only the one who
commits a crime (or is a co-conspirator/accomplice) is criminally liable. If
two family members commit the same crime (i.e., both rob a liquor store), both
are criminally liable. If a 40-year-old father and his 16-year-old son both
commit the same crime, or are both conspirators in the same crime, both can be
charged as adults and tried for that crime. They're being held accountable for
their own actions, not those of their family member (leaving aside conspiracy
issues).

Age does come into play in United States jurisprudence. A
state can try a minor (under 18) as an adult under certain circumstances. The
age cutoff varies by state, with many gravitating towards 14-16 years old.
Some states, such as Florida, allow for a child of any age to be tried as an
adult for some heinous crimes. Generally, however, a child under 12 will not
be found to have the legal capacity to form the necessary intent to commit a
criminal act.

Source(s):

http://www.jreddish.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_(law)

2 weeks ago

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